Atria Books Signs Deal for THE GIRL: Emerging from the Shadow of Roman Polanski by Samantha Geimer

Atria Books today announced a deal for a memoir by Samantha Geimer, who in 1977 at the age of 13, was ?the girl? at the center of the infamous Roman Polanski sexual assault case. Now 47, Geimer will finally tell her own story and reflect on the events of that day and their lifelong repercussions. THE GIRL: Emerging from the Shadow of Roman Polanski, to be published in fall 2013, will be a powerful and deeply moving memoir in which Geimer reclaims her identity as a flesh and blood person whose life was irrevocably altered by her involvement in one of the most notorious and complex stories of all time. Breaking a virtual 35 year silence, the memoir will give readers insight into many dimensions of the story that have never previously been revealed.

Geimer?s attorney, Lawrence Silver, who was present from the beginning to protect her interests, will add his insights on the many fascinating and even shocking legal aspects of the story, which is still unresolved to this day.

?I am more than ?Sex Victim Girl,? a tag the media pinned on me. My friends in junior high, scolded by their parents to stay away from that girl, also labeled me,? says Geimer. ?I offer my story now without rage, but with purpose?to share a tale that in its detail will reclaim my identity. I have been dogged by tired thinking and easy tags nearly my entire life. I am not a stick figure. I know what it is like to be a woman and a victim in the realest possible way.?

?This book will have resonance far beyond the Hollywood angle. Samantha?s journey is an extreme example of what happens to many young girls when they are taken advantage of at particularly vulnerable moments in their lives,? says Judith Curr, Executive Vice President and Publisher, Atria Books. ?In Samantha?s case, the perpetrator of the crime became a fugitive from justice; in essence, the crime has never stopped. Writing this book will finally lay to rest many ghosts from those years, and answer many questions that have remained unresolved.?

The deal, for world rights including audio, was negotiated by Geimer?s agent, Rebecca Gradinger of Fletcher & Company, and Atria?s Vice President and Editorial Director Peter Borland, who will also edit the book.