Pulling off the perfect murder is a task for only the most cunning criminal. Putting out the perfectly marketable murder “confessional” — that’s a job for a publishing powerhouse, Judith Regan.

On November 30, Ms. Regan’s 12-year-old HarperCollins imprint, Regan-Books, will publish “If I Did It,” an avowedly hypothetical account of the gruesome murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman — by none other than the man accused and acquitted of their murders.

Yes, the football legend O.J. Simpson, the defendant in one of history’s most sensational murder trials, has written a book about the slayings of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles on June 12, 1994. And yes, Ms. Regan has scored a two-hour, pre-publication interview with Mr. Simpson, which is expected to air on Fox later this month, in advance of the book’s publication.

Mr. Simpson will receive a reported $3.5 million for the book and the television special.

“I want you to forget everything you think you know about that night, because I know the facts better than anyone,” Mr. Simpson writes, according to an excerpt released by ReganBooks.

In a statement, Brown Simpson’s sister, Denise Brown, said: “We hope Ms. Regan takes full accountability for promoting the wrongdoing of criminals and leveraging this forum and the actions of Simpson to commercialize abuse.”

Ms. Regan refused a request by The New York Sun for an interview yesterday.

“If I Did It” is the latest in a long line of attention-grabbing ReganBooks titles. In recent years, the imprint has published Anne Bird’s “Blood Brother: 33 Reasons My Brother Scott Peterson Is Guilty”; “The Other Man: John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette, and Me” by Michael Bergin; and the adult-movie actress Jenna Jameson’s “How to Make Love Like a Porn Star.”

As a recent college graduate in the 1970s, Ms. Regan worked as a reporter for the National Enquirer tabloid. In the late 1980s she joined Simon & Schuster, where she turned out low- and middle-brow moneymakers by the likes of Kathie Lee Gifford, Howard Stern, and Rush Limbaugh. With a slew of best sellers under her belt, the head of News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, wooed her over to HarperCollins with the promise of her own imprint.

Throughout her professional life, Ms. Regan has cultivated an image as a brash and outspoken businesswoman. For those who love to hate the less-than-demure Ms. Regan, the O.J. book is emblematic of the literary mogul’s penchant for salacious, sensational tomes that are cash cows for sometimes unsavory characters.

Last night, the Drudge Report reported that Ms. Regan was saying that she did not pay Mr. Simpson directly. “I contracted through a third party who owns the rights, and I was told the money would go to the children,” the Web site reported. “That much I could live with.”

Publishing “If I Did It” and subsequently interviewing its author dredged up painful memories from Ms. Regan’s own past, according to the Drudge Report. The site quotes her as saying: “I made the decision to publish this book, and to sit face to face with the killer, because I wanted him, and the men who broke my heart and your hearts, to tell the truth, to confess their sins, to do penance and amend their lives.”

Ms. Regan has her share of critics, but she has plenty of fans as well. A ReganBooks author, Sharon Boorstin, said Ms. Regan is warm, supportive, and not focused on just publishing sensational books. In 2003, Ms. Boorstin wrote “Let Us Eat Cake: Adventures in Food and Friendship” about her poignant memories of cooking with her relatives and friends. “She does publish books that are shocking and cutting-edge, but she loved that my book was warm and fuzzy,” Ms. Boorstin said. “I saw the feminine side of her.”

An author of a ReganBooks children’s novel, Sean Delonas, said it is unfair to blame Ms. Regan for her decision to publish Mr. Simpson’s book.”It’s less a reflection on Judith Regan, and more a reflection of society,” Mr. Delonas, who wrote “Scuttle’s Big Wish” with his young son, Ryan, said. “Judith Regan gives the public what they want, and that’s why she’s so successful. I personally think O.J. should spend the rest of his life in jail, but I also think that with this book, Judith Regan has a major best seller on her hands.”

A former supermodel and now a reality-show host, Janice Dickinson, the author of three books published by ReganBooks, said she has read an advance copy of “If I Did It.” Ms. Dickinson, who called the book “chilling” and Mr. Simpson “cuckoo,” said she approves of the decision to publish the title.

“Judith Regan never runs away from controversy,” Ms. Dickinson, whose most recent work, “Janice the Original” came out in April, said. “She’s smart and shrewd, and she knows how to get people talking better than anyone I know.”