Bill O'Reilly dropped by literary agency

By HILLEL ITALIE

NEW YORK (AP) -- Bill O'Reilly has been dropped by his literary agency.

"We no longer represent Bill O'Reilly for future deals," William Morris Entertainment announced Thursday. "It is our fiduciary responsibility to service the existing deals we have under contract, but we will not be working with him moving forward."

O'Reilly spokesman Mark Fabiani said there was no comment "at the moment." O'Reilly's publisher, Henry Holt & Company, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. O'Reilly is under a multi-book contract with publisher Holt, including for at least one more "Killing" book. In May, Holt president and publisher Stephen Rubin told The Associated Press that he was "totally committed to Bill, long-term."

"We have created the most successful adult nonfiction franchise in recent publishing history and we are thrilled to continue it," Rubin said at the time.

According to Holt, more than 17 million copies of O'Reilly's "Killing" series are in print. The historical books, co-written by Martin Dugard, include "Killing Kennedy" and "Killing Lincoln." The most recent book, "Killing England," was published last month and quickly topped the nonfiction best-seller list of The New York Times, although sales have been lower than with his previous works. "Killing England" was the first O'Reilly book to come out since he was forced out of Fox in April amid numerous allegations of sexual harassment.

More recently, The New York Times reported that O'Reilly paid $32 million to a Fox legal analyst to settle a harassment claim. The conservative commentator has denied any wrongdoing, telling the AP in May that he was the victim of false and ideologically driven attacks.