Stephen King took the stand on Tuesday in the Penguin Random House-Simon & Schuster antitrust trial, telling the judge that he volunteered as a witness for the Justice Department because “consolidation is bad for the competition.”
King, in gray suit and gray tie and wearing sneakers, had the courtroom in laughter at moments as he recounted key moments in his career.
He is the Justice Department’s highest profile witness in its effort to block Penguin Random House’s proposed $2.2 billion acquisition of Simon & Schuster. The DOJ claims that the deal would adversely impact author advances of $250,000 and above for the most anticipated best sellers. The publishers plan to challenge the government’s rationale and methodology for claiming that the transaction would lessen such compensation for writers.
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