It’s the horror master’s turn to be “concerned”: Stephen King, author of terrifying bestsellers, expressed his fears in a US court on Tuesday about the growing concentration in the entertainment sector.
The father of works like sparkly Y That testified in Washington against the proposed merger between his own publisher Simon & Schuster and giant Penguin Random House, a deal valued at nearly $2.2 billion.
“One by one, they put the key under the door”
The US government opposes the birth of a giant with “inordinate influence over authors and the works that are published, and the sums paid to authors”, and has asked Stephen King to be its star witness during the trial.
Dressed in a gray suit and tie that reflected the seriousness of the issues, this 75-year-old man, with a slim figure and angular features, described for almost an hour the evolution of the sector during his long career.
“I’m here because I think consolidation is bad for competition,” he explained.
“I’ve been in the book business for about 50 years. When I started, there were literally hundreds of publishers. Out the door,” he said.
As a result, “it became increasingly difficult for writers to find enough money to live on”.
$2,500 advance for “Carrie”
In the center of the file: the receipt advances that the editors offer their authors before the writing of the works. Newcomers usually have little or no right to it, but for successful authors, publishers compete and sometimes outdo each other.
Stephen King said his first check in 1974 was for $2,500 per carriewhose sales skyrocketed after its film adaptation.
After a handful of other best sellers, including sparkly, had proposed to his publisher to reserve his next three books for him in exchange for 2 million dollars. He had refused to “burst out laughing.”
Stephen King had gone elsewhere, entered the competition, and had a string of hits in the 1980s with big-name publishers, while continuing to publish some of his more confidential and less profitable books for houses.
“I was lucky to be able to afford it, not to have to follow my bank account, follow my heart,” said Stephen King, who had already distinguished himself in 2012 by advocating for stronger taxation of the wealthiest, even on his own fortune.
Well aware of being privileged, he lamented that his colleagues operate in “a difficult world.” At the end of the hearing, he added that he was “very worried” while signing autographs. The trial is expected to last two more weeks.
Source: BFM TV
