Stephen King testifies against Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster merger

Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Author Stephen King on Tuesday testified in opposition to a proposed deal for Penguin Random House to acquire Simon & Schuster.

King testified as a witness for the Justice Department, which sued to block the merger between two of the nation's largest book publishers, telling the court he agreed to testify because "consolidation is bad for competition."

The Justice Department in November sued to block Penguin Random House from acquiring Simon & Schuster for a proposed $2.18 billion, saying it would put the former in control of close to half of the publishing market for top-selling books.

It added that the deal would allow Penguin Random House to "exert outsized influence over which books are published in the United States and how much authors are paid for their work."

King on Tuesday testified that the industry has already consolidated so much that five major publishers are often deferential to other bidders.

"After you. No, after you," King said, imagining a conversation between bidding publishers.

Penguin Random House said it has pledged to allow Simon & Schuster to bid against its editors following the acquisition.

King dismissed the notion, predicting it would not ultimately result in real competition.

"You might as well say you are going to have a husband and wife bidding against each other for a house. It's a little bit ridiculous," he said.

Penguin Random House also argued that the acquisition would benefit authors and readers by allowing Simon & Schuster's authors access to its supply chain and distribution networks and use the savings to pay authors more.

The Justice Department and King, however, argued that further depleting the field of publishers competing for business would result in lower advances for authors.

"It becomes tougher and tougher for writers to find enough money to live on," King said.

He noted that even when more publishers were active when he was a fledgling author he received a combined $10,000 in advances for his first books, including Carrie and The Shining.

King said that many authors are forced to make a living based on their advances from independent publishers, which he likened to "the minor leagues for writers" as they compete for shelf space with works from major publishers.

He added he has had smaller and independent firms publish some of his works because he "could afford to do it."

"There comes a point where, if you are fortunate, you can stop following your bank account and start following your heart," he said.

King drew laughter from the crowd several times throughout the 45-minute testimony, including when he introduced himself as a "freelance writer."

"We all know who he is," Judge Florence Pan said.

He also asked, "Am I done?" when the testimony concluded after lawyers for Penguin Random House declined to cross-examine him.

When asked how he thought his testimony went, King replied, "It went."