Stephen King to testify against own publishers in merger trial

As the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) works to convince a federal judge that the merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster will damage the careers of some of the world’s most popular writers, it rests in part on the testimony of a writer who has thrived like several others—Stephen King.

Key points:

• DOJ sues to block merger between Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster in major test of Biden administration’s antitrust policies
• Their star witness, bestselling author Stephen King, is expected to testify at trial
• King’s works are currently published by Simon & Schuster, but he has a voice against the merger

Author of Carrie, The Shining and many other favorites, King willingly — even passionately — put himself in opposition to Simon & Schuster, his old publisher.

He was not chosen by the government just because of his fame, but because of his public criticism of the US$2.2 billion (over US$2.8 billion) deal, announced in late 2021, to join the two largest publishers in the world who are rival CEOs. Michael Pietsch of the Hachette Book Group was described as a “very prominent” entity.

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

One of the few widely known writers, King is expected to take the witness stand on Tuesday, the second day of a federal antitrust trial that is expected to last two to three weeks.

Simon & Schuster is Stephen King’s longtime publisher.(AP: Jenny Kane)

He may not have the business knowledge of Mr Pietsch, the DOJ’s first witness, but he has been a published novelist for nearly 50 years and knows very well how much the industry has changed: Several of his former publishers were acquired by major corporations.

Carrie, for example, is published by Doubleday, which in 2009 joined the Knopf Publishing Group, and is now part of Penguin Random House.

Another of King’s former publishers, Viking Press, is an imprint of Penguin who joined Penguin Random House when Penguin and Random House merged in 2013.

King’s affinity for small publishers is personal. Even while continuing to publish with Scribner the Simon & Schuster imprint, he has written thrillers for independent Hard Case Crime.

Years ago, publishers asked him to contribute a description, but King instead offered to write them a novel, The Colorado Kid, which was released in 2005.

“Inside I was turning the somersault wheel,” Hard Case co-founder Charles Ardai remembers thinking when King called him.

King would likely benefit from the Penguin Random House-Simon & Schuster deal, but he has a history of favoring other priorities beyond his material well-being.

He has long been a critic of tax cuts for the rich, and has publicly called for the government to raise its taxes.

“In America, we all have to pay our fair share,” he wrote for The Daily Beast in 2012.

On Monday, attorneys for both sides offered contrasting views of the book industry.

Government attorney John Read points to what he says is a dangerously narrow market, tightly ruled by the “Big Five” — Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins Publishing, Macmillan and Hachette — with little chance for small publishers or startups to break through. .

Lawyer Daniel Petrocelli argued for the defense that the industry was actually diverse, profitable and open to new entrants.

Publishing means not only the Big Five, but also mid-sized companies like WW Norton & Co and Grove Atlantic.

The merger, he argues, will in no way end the ambition that so many people have for literary success.

“Every book starts out as a awaited bestseller in the eye of an author or editor,” he says.

AP

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