Stephen King to Testify in Government’s $2.2 Billion Book Merger Trial

As the Justice Department tries to convince a federal judge that the proposed merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster would harm the careers of some of its most popular authors, it is relying in part on the testimony of a writer who has had little success. . Others: Stephen King.

by the author Carrie, shines and many other favorites, King willingly, even reluctantly, took on Simon & Schuster, his longtime publisher. He was handpicked by the government not only because of his fame, but also because of his public criticism of a $2.2 billion deal announced in late 2021 to join two of the world’s biggest publishers, which Hachette Book Group chief executive Michael Pitch described it as “extremely remarkable. ” theme.

“The more publishers consolidate, the harder it will be for independent publishers to survive,” King wrote last year.

King, one of the authors best known for his modestly sized glasses and thin features, is due to take the witness stand on Tuesday, the second day of a two- to three-week federal antitrust trial.

He may not have the business savvy of Piech, the DOJ’s first witness, but he’s been a published novelist for nearly 50 years and is well aware of how much the industry has changed: some of his former publishers have been acquired by bigger companies. For example, Carrie was published by Doubleday, which merged with Knopf Publishing Group in 2009 and is now part of Penguin Random House. Another former King publisher, Viking Press, was a Penguin brand that joined Penguin Random House when Penguin and Random House merged in 2013.

King’s affinity for small publishers is personal. Although he continued to publish under Simon & Schuster’s Scribner imprint, he wrote independent detective novels. Years ago, a publisher asked him to submit a review, but King offered to write a novel, The Colorado Kid, which was published in 2005.

“Inside, I was freaking out,” recalls Hard Case co-founder Charles Arday when contacted by King.

King himself would likely benefit from the Penguin Random House-Simon & Schuster deal, but he has a history of favoring priorities other than his material well-being. He has long been critical of tax cuts for the rich — though “the rich” certainly includes Stephen King — and has openly called for the government to raise taxes.

“In America, we all have to pay our fair share,” he wrote. the everyday beast in 2012.

On Monday, advocates on both sides offered contrasting views on the book industry. Government attorney John Read said the market is dangerously narrow, tightly controlled by the “Big Five” (Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins Publishing, Macmillan and Hachette), with little chance of smaller or newer publishers going bankrupt. through the.

Attorney Daniel Petrocelli argued in the defense that the industry was indeed diverse, profitable and open to newcomers. The publication refers not only to the Big Five, but also to medium-sized companies such as WW Norton & Co. and Grove Atlantic. According to him, the merger will in no way undermine the ambitions of literary success.

“Each book starts out as an anticipated bestseller through the eyes of the author or publisher,” he said.