Stephen King, the bestselling author, graciously took the witness stand Tuesday during a federal antitrust trial. Tracing his own story, he created a portrait of a publishing industry that had become increasingly concentrated over the years, and he generously rewarded his creative efforts.
“My name is Stephen King. I’m a freelance writer,” King said when he began testifying as a witness for the US Department of Justice. The government is trying to convince a federal judge that a merger between Penguin Random House and rival Simon & Schuster, two of in the world, would impede competition and damage the careers of some of its most popular authors.
King has been published by Simon & Schuster for years. Some of its former publishers were acquired by larger publishers. The $2.2 billion merger of Penguin Random House, the largest US publisher, and Simon & Schuster, the fourth largest, has reduced the US “Big Five” to four.
King’s appearance in the US District Court in Washington, highly unusual for an antitrust court, brought the narrative of the evolution of book publishing into the realm of the Big Five. While government attorney Mel Schwartz reviewed King’s story, starting as an unknown new author in the 1970s and his relationships with agents and publishers, King criticized the industry as it is now.
Dressed in gray (suit, shoes and tie), King answered Schwartz’s questions forcefully, with some humor and brief flashes of mild indignation, as he showed on the second day of the trial, which is expected to last from two to three. weeks.
King’s displeasure with the proposed merger led him to voluntarily testify for the government.
“I’m here because I think consolidation is bad for competition,” King said. As the industry has evolved, he said, “it’s getting harder and harder for writers to find money to live on.”
“The Big Five are pretty deep,” he said.
King expressed skepticism about the two publishers’ commitment to continue to offer books separately and competitively after the merger.
“You can also say that you will have a husband and wife face to face in the same house,” he said. “It’s going to be very gentlemanly and something after you,” he said, waving his hand politely.
In another surprising move, attorney Daniel Petrocelli, representing the companies, told King he had no questions for him and declined to question him.
Publishing 60 bestsellers since his first book in 1974, King has flourished like few other writers.
by the author Carrie, shining 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.
He may not have the business savvy of Piech, the Justice Department’s first witness on Monday, but he’s been a published novelist for nearly 50 years and is well aware of how much the industry has changed, as some former editors have been acquired by larger 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 for The Daily 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 opening the way.
Petrocelli argued in his defense that the industry was indeed diverse, profitable and open to newcomers. According to him, the publication does not only refer to the Big Five, but also to medium-sized companies, such as WW Norton & Co. and Grove Atlantic. He argued that mergers would not ruin writers’ ambitions for literary success.
“Each book starts out as an anticipated bestseller through the eyes of the author or publisher,” he said.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
