Best-selling author Stephen King testifies in Justice Department-filed lawsuit blocking Penguin Random House’s acquisition of Simon & Schuster He said that it would make it difficult to
Mr. King testified as a government witness in a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia aimed at blocking the $2.18 billion acquisition.
These companies are among the largest of the so-called Big Five publishers, part of an industry already reshaped by consolidation. Penguin Random House, owned by German firm Bertelsmann, is itself the result of his 2013 merger.
As to why he agreed to testify, King said that “consolidation hurts competition.”
Penguin Random House claims the acquisition will benefit authors and readers. Under the deal, Simon & Schuster’s author will have access to her Penguin Random House’s supply chain and distribution network, and the savings from combining the two companies will benefit the author’s. They say it will lead to higher rewards.
Government attorneys used King’s testimony to explain their allegations that publishing industry consolidation is harming authors and the industry.
Famous author testimonies such as “It” and “Pet Sematary” wore gray suits and gray slip-on walking shoes and occasionally drew laughter from the courtroom gallery audience. Attorneys for Penguin Random House declined to cross-examine Mr. King after he spent about 30 minutes testifying.
King said that when he started his publishing business in the mid-1970s, he had hundreds of imprints in the business and shopped for jobs without an agent. Since then, the number of publishers has dwindled as competing businesses have taken over or collapsed, he said.
He continued that progress is slowly dwindling, especially for writers with no sales track record, as there are fewer publishers competing for business.
The amounts paid to writers in advance, not in advance, but based on expected revenue from royalties, were particularly generous for obscure writers. King said he received $10,000 in advances for his first book, which includes “Carrie” and “The Shining.”
“It’s getting harder and harder for writers to find enough money to live on,” he said.
Over the decades that followed, Mr. King wrote numerous bestsellers and made a fortune with his books. According to King, that financial stability has made it possible for him to publish books from small, independent publishers.
He said he accepted the small advances offered by independent publishers.
“If you’re very, very, very lucky, you can stop chasing bank accounts and follow your heart,” he said.
