Hundreds of U.S. authors sign anti-Trump letter

NEW YORK, May 26 (UPI) -- Hundreds of U.S. authors on Tuesday including Stephen King, David Eggers, and Amy Tan signed an open letter and online petition in opposition to the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.

The letter, penned by authors Andrew Altschul and Mark Sloula, and published on Lithub.com, laid out in multiple reasons why the group opposes the presumptive Republican nominee.

"Because American history, despite periods of nativism and bigotry, has from the first been a grand experiment in bringing people of different backgrounds together, not pitting them against one another," the letter reads. "Because the history of dictatorship is the history of manipulation and division, demagoguery and lies."

As it concludes, it derides Trump as a candidate "who deliberately appeals to the basest and most violent elements in society."

Signatures on the petition quickly jumped to more than 1,000 in a few hours as celebrity authors used their social media accounts to spread the word of their participation.