By Clint Rainey, Fast Company
The Justice Department’s ambitious bid to stop Penguin Random House from buying rival publisher Simon & Schuster has started taking on more of the trappings of a legal thriller.
It was already one of the biggest, most unexpected antitrust cases of President Biden’s tenure—in which the DOJ is arguing that Penguin, the largest publisher, merging with Simon & Schuster, the fourth largest, will hurt industry competition, cut authors’ advances, and reduce the variety of books available to consumers. But as Penguin reinforced in its pretrial brief submitted on Friday, a copy of which was shared with Fast Company, the publishing giant believes the complete opposite: that this deal will result in higher advances for authors and more choices for consumers.
Both sides are gearing up for a showdown. Penguin’s lawyers called the DOJ’s claims “fantastical” last week, and argued prosecutors don’t even grasp “the most basic elements” of modern-day publishing. Prosecutors responded by noting that they’ll see Penguin in court with their star witness Stephen King. He’s supposed to testify about tactics publishers use to negotiate the rights to anticipated best sellers, and how a mega-acquisition like Penguin’s could impact the authors of these books. Penguin’s lawyers have said they plan to call a who’s who of Big Five CEOs, editors, and famous literary agents to testify.
