Amanda Knox

Amanda Knox, the American college student who spent nearly four years in an Italian jail for murder, only to have her conviction overturned, is read to tell her story.

And be paid handsomely for it.

The international drama that unfolded on TV and in newspapers is now about to be told from the inside, in a subjective and profitable account, by Amanda Knox herself.

Knox, who was freed last fall after her conviction in the murder of Meredith Kercher was thrown out, has sold her book to HarperCollins for what is said to be $4 million.

"It is a story everyone else seems to have told except for the person at the center of it all," Jonathan Burnham, the publisher of HarperCollins, told The N.Y. Times.

"There has been plenty of rumor and conjecture about her, the role she played in events, and speculation about what happened. This book will tell the full story from her point of view for the very first time, and it will be told in her own words."

Amanda Knox, 24, kept prison diaries, the newspaper reports.

In addition, her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, who was also cleared in the killing of Meredith Kercher, is said to be preparing to sell his own memoir.

Are you interested to hear what Knox's book has to say?

[Photo: Fame/Flynet]

It's been nearly four months since Amanda Knox returned to the U.S. after spending four years in an Italian jail. Now she may be going back to the country.

Why return to a place where she was jailed for so long?

Not to see the sights, although her lawyer says she still loves the country and would even consider returning as a tourist one day. But in the more immediate future, Amanda may testify on behalf of her parents, who face criminal charges of slander.

Curt Knox and Edda Mellas, who are divorced, are charged with slandering the Perugia police based on statements they made to London's Sunday Times.

In the interview, they repeated Amanda Knox's claims that she had been physically abused and verbally threatened by police during an interrogation.

How living at home in Washington State, Amanda Knox, 24, is expected to be called as a defense witness at their trial, which is set to begin on March 30.

Knox's murder conviction was overturned last October, but she also faces slander charges for statements regarding police conduct she made during her trial.

[Photo: Pacific Coast News]

The Amanda Knox story is coming to bookshelves near you.

According to reports, she's signed with a powerful literary agent in D.C., Robert Barnett, who has brokered book deals for some of the biggest names imaginable. Think Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin.

Barnett taking her on means there's likely plenty of interest.

Amanda's Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who was also convicted and then exonerated in the murder of Meredith Kercher, has signed with his own agent.

Sharlene Martin, famous for brokering deals for several New York Times bestsellers, will head the efforts to find a deal for Raffaele, who broke up with Knox recently.

Knox has kept a relatively low profile since being freed from an Italian jail, though she did step out as a cat burglar for Halloween, which drew some harsh criticism.

Kercher was murdered by a home invader after all. Not tactful, A.

Despite having their murder convictions overturned and their freedom restored, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito say their relationship can never be repaired.

"It's all over between us," an emotional Sollecito said during an interview, according to the Daily Mail. "I still have a great affection towards her but nothing else."

According to Raffaele Sollecito, their romance in Perugia, Italy, abruptly ended when they were convicted of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in 2007.

That will typically do it.

The pair subsequently spent four years in prison before the guilty verdicts were overturned last month. Don't hold your breath for a reconciliation, though.

"Our love was like a seed that was not allowed to grow because it was brutally stamped on," Sollecito said. "We were both victims of a cruel injustice."

"Our relationship was overcome by this tragedy."

Amid reports that Knox, 24, has a new boyfriend, Sollecito also said he has thus far declined an offer from Knox's family to stay with them in Seattle.

"I just want to build up my life as it was before and it will have to be piece by piece," he said. "She has suffered like me and now I just want her to be happiest woman in the world. Our lives are linked by circumstances but are very different."

Almost four years to the date after her roommate Meredith Kercher was brutally murdered by a still unknown intruder in Italy, Amanda Knox went out for Halloween.

Dressed up as a cat burglar.

Knox, recently acquitted of the crime after an appeal that set her free following years behind bars, is a free woman now and trying to assimilate into regular society.

This may not help her ...

Amanda Knox Halloween Costume

Knox's costume seems relatively harmless at first, but when you stop and think about it, it could be seen as insensitive. Or a bit desperate. Or insane and vindictive.

Could she really be so clueless that she wouldn't consider how this might be seen by others? Or was she trying to make a statement ... consciously or otherwise?

Is it possible part of her is addicted to the limelight? Maybe she knew that dressing up as a criminal would get people talking. Maybe it's a big eff-off to authorities?

We'll never know, because she's not talking. But it makes you wonder.

What do you think of Amanda Knox's Halloween costume?

The Casey Anthony and Amanda Knox have obvious parallels.

Both are attractive white women accused of murder and acquitted after spending years behind bars - in Knox's case, she was actually convicted first - and who have become national stories (and eviscerated by Nancy Grace) for better or worse.

One area where they differ - to Casey's detriment, according to her lawyer Jose Baez - is in the parenting department. Amanda alone has that going for her.

Baez says he was happy when the Amanda Knox verdict was overturned and she was freed. Having gone through it with Anthony, it brought back memories.

"It was a surreal moment ... I remembered being in that situation - a young woman's life hung in the balance, and in a split second, her life was given back to her."

Baez says he felt Amanda's family played a key role and they should "be applauded" for sticking with their 24-year-old daughter through the entire process.

Contrarily, Casey's parents George and Cindy Anthony did not support her and "hurt her case." That was even before their shameless Dr. Phil interview, too.

In the end, Baez says they're just a pair of "all-American girls." A lot of people would likely choose different words, but we suppose that's true, if only literally.

You tell us, readers: Casey Anthony ...

Then tell us: Amanda Knox ...

She was welcomed home by friends and family in Seattle this week.

Will Amanda Knox reunite with boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito next?

The two were dating at the time of Meredith Kercher's 2007 slaying. Both were found guilty of murder in 2009, only to see their convictions overturned in a Perugia, Italy, courtroom Monday evening. What does the future hold for the pair?

Amanda's father, Curt, say she's expecting to see Raffaele Sollecito soon. "I think Raffaele at some point in time will visit Seattle," he told the UK's Telegraph.

"It will be very nice for them to actually see each other again."

Knox's father was "not aware" if Amanda had reached out to Raffaele via phone since their releases. Sollecito was quoted as saying just after his release:

"Amanda? Maybe I'll see her again, but now I only want to be with my family."

Amanda Knox was cleared of murder charges in Italy on Monday after jurors threw out a 2009 conviction that sent the American student to prison for a quarter-century.

Almost immediately following her exoneration in the slaying of Meredith Kercher, media watchers began pondering when/if a book deal for Knox is on the way.

She certainly has a compelling story to tell ... but would you buy it?

This summer, another young woman who attracted massive media attention was found innocent of murder, and quickly drew offers exceeding $750,000 for such a book.

Casey Anthony has not written a book or even given an interview, of course. Due to widespread public hatred of her, one wonders if there will ever be a market.

Knox, however, seems to enjoy much wider public support. It helps that a review of DNA evidence and long appellate proceedings resulted in her winning her freedom.

Meredith Kercher's throat was slashed in 2007, officials believed, after a sadistic sex game between the victim, Knox, and her boyfriend gone horribly, fatally wrong.

Knox always maintained her innocence, although what happened to Kercher still remains a mystery. Would you be interested in hearing her side of the story? Tell us:

Amanda Knox:

Amanda Knox's father says she's traumatized following her release from an Italian jail, and he's suing to have Lifetime's film - Amanda Knox: Trial in Italy - yanked off the air.

Lifetime originally aired the movie, starring Hayden Panettiere as Amanda, in February.

Knox and her family sued the network shortly thereafter, claiming the movie exploited her ordeal and contained several "implausible" scenes.

Here's a low-quality recording of the Amanda Knox movie trailer:

Amanda Knox Lifetime Movie Trailer

Curt Knox believes the Lifetime movie that depicts his daughter as a violent murderer is complete bull$h!t and, given this week's events, possibly libelous.

Lifetime has yet to pull the film, but has recently edited the end of the movie to reference Monday's vindicating Amanda Knox verdict, just before the credits.

The movie concludes with an acknowledgment that Knox was freed due to overwhelming doubts about the legitimacy of DNA evidence used to convict her.

Amanda Knox may be a free woman, but her ordeal is far from over.

Released from an Italian prison and back home with her family after her murder conviction was overturned Monday night, the 24-year-old must now begin the hard part - coming to grips with what happened and what lies ahead.

"What's the trauma ... and when will it show up?" Curt Knox, her dad, asked reporters rhetorically. "She's a very strong girl, but it's been a tough time for her."

Amanda Knox may return University of Washington, where she was a student studying abroad at the time she arrested for murdering her roommate in 2007.

She was convicted in 2009 in the Meredith Kercher slaying, along with her boyfriend.

After two years of appeals, she wept as the verdict was read in Perugia, Italy this week, ensuring she could finally return home and resume a life outside jail.

What remains uncertain is her future, however.

Amanda Knox: