Bestselling author Stephen King will testify in a federal court trial on behalf of the U.S. government against a merger of two “Big Five” publishing companies, including King’s publisher Simon & Schuster, according to court documents.
The trial, which seeks to stop the acquisition of Simon & Schuster by the top U.S. publishing company Penguin Random House, begins Monday and is expected to last between two and three weeks at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. King is expected to testify about publishers purchasing the rights to anticipated bestsellers and what he believes the effects of the acquisition will be on the markets for those books, according to Bloomberg.
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The U.S. government argued that the nearly $2.2 billion deal would negatively affect the competition for book deals, supposedly resulting in smaller advances for authors and fewer books for readers.
“The evidence will show that the proposed merger would likely result in authors of anticipated top-selling books receiving smaller advances, meaning authors who labor for years over their manuscripts will be paid less for their efforts,” the Justice Department said in a brief, according to Reuters.
The publishing companies, which announced the deal in November 2020, argued the sale would benefit readers, booksellers, and authors by creating a more efficient company that would bring lower prices for books. They are also expected to argue the companies are rarely the top two bidders when fighting for potential bestsellers, the outlet said.
The acquisition would bring the top market from five major companies, which consist of Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette, down to four. Walt Disney and Amazon.com are rising publishers.
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The trial is part of President Joe Biden’s crackdown on large mergers that would limit competition in many fields, such as the administration’s moves to block the merger of UnitedHealth Group and Change Healthcare.
