Indies Speak Up About DOJ Action (Hint: They Hate It)
Though the Department of Justice’s price-fixing suit is directed against publishing behemoths like Macmillan and Penguin, its outcome will dramatically affect independent publishers as well. In case you’re not sure how, publisher Peter Osnos has spelled it out for us in The Atlantic.
Nine highly respected and influential indies such as Abrams, Chronicle, Grove/Atlantic, Norton and Perseus have signed and filed an objection with the court expressing concern that a ruling against the defendants will “adversely impact competition — harming independent publishers, authors, booksellers and consumers — and should be rejected.” They stated that the proposed settlement is “contrary to the public interest” and will inhibit competition. For which, says Osnos, “they deserve our thanks.”
Details in In E-Book War, the Independent Publishers Strike Back
Richard Curtis
Wait, I thought you always came down against indicted people? Sounds like your headline should be “Indicted Colluding Publishers Thumb Their Noses at Consumers and Their Cult Eats It Up”