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News
Authors United runs protest in New York Times
A
uthors United, a loosely knit group of authors who
joined forces to formally ask Amazon to end its
sales-terms dispute with Hachette Books, ran a
letter of protest as a full-page ad in Sundays New
York Times . The letter, signed by over 900 marquee, midlist,
and debut authors, asks the e-tailer to, among other things,
stop its program of selective retaliation against the au-
thors.
The ad, which is being paid for by a select group of the
letters signatories, was previously announced by Douglas
Preston, the bestselling novelist and founder of the group,
who has long been published by Hachette. Among the many
authors who signed are John Grisham, Anna Quindlen,
George Pelecanos, Stephen King, and Jay McInerney.
The letter, as many in the publishing industry well know,
is the result of a showdown, brought to light in May, between
the publisher and the most powerful retailer in the business.
While the authors who signed the letter claim not to be sid-
ing with Hachette on the issue, they feel that they have made
Amazon is involved in a commercial dispute with the book publisher Hachette, which owns
Little, Brown, Grand Central Publishing, and other familiar imprints. These sorts of disputes
happen all the time between companies. Usually they are resolved in a corporate backroom.
But in this case, Amazon has done something unusual: it has directly targeted Hachettes
authors in an ef ort to force their publisher to agree to Amazons terms.
For the past several months, Amazon has been:
Boycotting Hachette authors by refusing to accept pre-orders on Hachette authors books
and e-books, claiming they are unavailable.
Refusing to discount the prices of many Hachette authors books.
Slowing the delivery of thousands of Hachette authors books to Amazon customers,
indicating that delivery will take as long as several weeks on most titles.
Suggesting on some Hachette authors pages that readers might prefer a book from a non-
Hachette author instead.
As writersmost of us not published by Hachettewe feel strongly that no bookseller
should block the sale of books or otherwise prevent or discourage customers from ordering
or receiving the books they want. It is not right for Amazon to single out a group of authors,
who are not involved in the dispute, for retaliation. Moreover, by inconveniencing and mis-
leading its own customers with unfair pricing and delayed delivery, Amazon is contradicting
its own written promise to be Earths most customer-centric company.
Many of us have supported Amazon since it was a struggling start-up. Our books launched
Amazon on the road to selling everything and becoming one of the worlds largest corpora-
tions. We have made many millions of dollars for Amazon and, over the years, have con-
tributed so much, free of charge, to the company by way of cooperation, joint promotions,
reviews, and blogs. This is no way to treat a business partner. Nor is it the right way to treat
your friends.
Without taking sides in the contractual dispute between Hachette and Amazon, we encour-
age Amazon in the strongest possible terms to stop harming the livelihood of the authors on
whom it has built its business. None of us, neither readers nor authors, benef ts when books
are taken hostage. (Were not alone in our plea: the opinion pages of both the New York
Times and the Wall Street Journal, which rarely agree on anything, have roundly condemned
Amazons corporate behavior.)
We call on Amazon to resolve its dispute with Hachette without further hurting authors and
without blocking or otherwise delaying the sale of books to its customers.
We respectfully ask you, our loyal readers, to email Jef Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon,
at jef @amazon.com, and tell him what you think. He says he genuinely welcomes hearing
from his customers and claims to read all emails at that account. We hope that, as writers and
readers together, we will be able to change his mind.
Sincerely,
Authors United
P.O. Box 4790
Santa Fe, NM 87502
For information, email Douglas Preston
at doug@authorsunited.net
A Letter to Our Readers:
Over 900 Authors Sign
Open Letter to Amazon
Amazon many millions of dollars and want to be treated fairly
by their business partner.
For the full text of the letter and the list of signatures, go to
publishersweekly.com/authorsunited.
The acquisition of the Perseus Books Group by
Hachette and Ingram, which was announced in
June, has been called off. A letter sent to
Perseus employees August 7, from CEO David
Steinberger, said that, despite much effort
from all three parties, we could not reach an
agreement on everything necessary to close
the transaction. Representatives from
Hachette and Ingram confirmed that the deal
is off, but would not offer further comment.
Steinberger, who had planned to leave Perseus
after the acquisition, told PW that he now
intends to grow the company and is excited to
move forward. Jim Milliot
PERSEUS SALE
FALLS APART
Megan Abbott
Robert H. Abel
Rachael Acks
William M. Adler
Elisa Albert
William Alexander
Sherman Alexie
Mike Allen
Jonathan Ames
Laurie Halse Anderson
Roger Angle
Carol Anshaw
Anne Applebaum
Debby Applegate
Kelley Armstrong
Rilla Askew
Rick Atkinson
James David Audlin
Paul Auster
Ellis Avery
Avi
Barbe Awalt
Gillian Bagwell
Blake Bailey
Deirdre Bair
Jo Baker
Kevin Baker
Mishell Baker
David Baldacci
Melissa Bank
Linwood Barclay
Evelyn Barish
Juliana Barnet
Rebecca Barnhouse
Nevada Barr
Quentin Bates
Elif Batuman
Douglas Bauer
Erica Bauermeister
Cris Beam
Greg Bear
James Beauregard
Antony Beevor
Adam Begley
Louis Begley
Hilari Bell
Madison Smartt Bell
Martine Bellen
Sam Bellotto Jr.
Aimee Bender
Karen E. Bender
Lou J. Berger
Daniel Bergner
Bob Berman
Anne Bernays
Suzanne Berne
Steve Berry
Lauren Beukes
Clara Bingham
Lisa Birnbach
Michael Bishop
Lauren Bjorkman
Holly Black
Shayla Black
Grant Blackwood
Linda M. Bland
Meredith Bland
David W. Blight
Carole Bloom
Cas Blomberg
Deborah Blum
Judy Blundell
Charles Bock
Amy Boesky
Paul Bogard
Johnny D. Boggs
Chris Bohjalian
Robert M. Bolstad
Marianne Boruch
Joanna Bourke
Betsy Connor Bowen
Walt Boyes
Ben Bradlee Jr.
Mike Bradley
Jess Brallier
Taylor Branch
H.W. Brands
Kylie Brant
Gary Braver
Catherine Brennan
Marie Brennan
Alan Brennert
Morgan S. Brilliant
Douglas Brinkley
Pope Brock
Laura Brodie
Lora Brody
Geraldine Brooks
Harriet Brown
Jennifer Brown
Lisa Brown
Sandra Brown
Bliss Broyard
Cathy Marie Buchanan
Marina Budhos
Christopher Buehlman
Kate Buford
Jan Burke
Cherie Burns
Benjamin Busch
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
Pat Cadigan
Susannah Cahalan
Chelsea Cain
Kenneth Cain
Susan Cain
Wayne Caldwell
Philip Caputo
Jacqueline Carey
Peter Ames Carlin
Ron Carlson
Robert A. Caro
David Carothers
Cynthia Carr
H.G. Carrillo
Betsy Carter
Mary E. Carter
Carol Cassella
Brian Castner
Michael Chabon
Rebecca Chance
Angie Chau
Thomas Chavez
Susan Cheever
Ron Chernow
Harriet Scott Chessman
Jaima Chevalier
Tracy Chevalier
Jennifer Chiaverini
Lee Child
Lincoln Child
Mark Childress
Kate Christensen
Jill Ciment
Sandra Cisneros
Breena Clarke
Antoinette Nora Claypoole
Meg Waite Clayton
Andrew Clements
Katherine Clements
Rachel Cline
Mick Cochrane
David B. Coe
William D. Cohan
Leah Hager Cohen
James Collins
Suzanne Collins
Tom Connor
Christopher D. Cook
Stephanie Cooke
Martha Cooley
Ellen Cooney
Karen Coody Cooper
Artemis Cooper
Constance Cooper
Jen Corace
Zizou Corder
Douglas Corleone
Kelly Corrigan
Bruce Coville
Robert Crais
Sara Creasy
Sharon Creech
Elizabeth Crook
Dave Cullen
Robert Dallek
William Dalrymple
Mark Z. Danielewski
Leslie Daniels
Jack Dann
Ellen Datlow
Saul David
Lauren B. Davis
Lindsey Davis
Angela Davis-Gardner
Jefery Deaver
Barbara Dee
Jonathan Dee
Dale DeGrof
Barbara Delinsky
Nelson DeMille
David Denby
Jerry Dennis
Hannah Dennison
William Deresiewicz
Mary Alice Deveny
Julia DeVillers
Junot Daz
Mary Lou Dickinson
David Dobbs
Anthony Doerr
Linda Donn
Beverly Donofrio
James Donovan
David R. Dow
Brendan DuBois
Andre Dubus III
Sarah Dunant
Andy Duncan
Tom Dunkel
Susan Edmiston
Jennifer Egan
Martha Egan
Robert Eggleton
Benita Eisler
Amal El-Mohtar
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The following is a list of authors who signed the Authors United letter
to Amazon:
Kimberly Elkins
Elissa Elliott
Kate Elliott
Abby Ellin
Carson Ellis
Joseph J. Ellis
P.N. Elrod
Ken Emerson
Alexandra Enders
Terry England
Hallie Ephron
Catherine Epstein
Mark Epstein
Pamela Erens
Mark Essig
Sir Harold Evans
Anne Fadiman
Susan Faludi
Ellen Feldman
Joshua Ferris
Lucy Ferriss
Amanda Filipacchi
Joseph Finder
William Finnegan
Suzanne Finstad
Eric Fischl
Janet Fitch
Stona Fitch
Paul Fleischman
Ronald Florence
Nick Flynn
Tom Folsom
Alison Ashley Formento
Richard Thompson Ford
Amanda Foreman
J.L. Forrest
Connie May Fowler
Karen Joy Fowler
Ruth E. Francis
Diana Pharaoh Francis
Judith Frank
Thaisa Frank
Laurie Frankel
Caroline Fraser
Laura Fraser
Ian Frazier
John Freeman
Pamela Freeman
Ru Freeman
Richard E. Friesen
Gregory Frost
Laura Furman
Neal Gabler
Peter Gadol
Mary Gaitskill
Nicole Galland
Jack Gantos
Nasario Garcia
Barbara Garson
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Jaym Gates
Alison Gaylin
Elizabeth George
Giuseppe Gerbino
Denise Giardina
Elizabeth Gilbert
Susan Jane Gilman
Jennifer Gilmore
Malcolm Gladwell
Krystyna Poray Goddu
Peter Godwin
Glen David Gold
Stephen Goldin
Beverly Gologorsky
Laurence Gonzales
Arqumedes Gonzlez
Brad Gooch
Alison Gopnik
Jim Gorant
Mary Gordon
Meryl Gordon
Angeline Goreau
Steven Gould
Philip Gourevitch
Marie Grace
Cheryl Grace
D.G. Grace
Heather Graham
Linda Grant
Elizabeth Graver
George Dawes Green
Jef Greenwald
Dr. David H. Grinspoon
John Grisham
Andrew Gross
Michael Gruber
Lisa Grunwald
Talia Gryphon
Kevin Guilfoile
Melissa Guion
Allan Gurganus
Beth Gutcheon
Dan Gutman
Mark Haddon
Steven Hahn
Loretta Hall
Karen Hall
Emma Walton Hamilton
Jane Hamilton
Masha Hamilton
Mary Stewart Hammond
Patricia Hampl
Elizabeth Hand
Daniel Handler
aka Lemony Snicket
Sharon Hanna
Sophie Hannah
Thor Hanson
Alyssa Harad
Elizabeth Harlan
Ann Harleman
Stephan J. Harper
Stephen Harrigan
Ellen Harris
Sam Harris
C.C. Harrison
Carolyn Hart
Aaron Hartzler
Adrianne Harun
Yona Harvey
Todd Hasak-Lowy
Molly Haskell
Susan Carol Hauser
Katherine B. Hauth
John Twelve Hawks
Roy Hayes
Terrance Hayes
Toby Fesler Heathcotte
Jef Hecht
Travis Heermann
Sarah Hegger
Ursula Hegi
Charles Ota Heller
Marla Heller
Kaui Hart Hemmings
Amy Hempel
Lauren Henderson
Joshua Henkin
Greg Herren
Peggy Herrington
Rachel Herz
Carol DeChellis Hill
Joe Hill
Anne Hillerman
Brenda Hillman
Hilary Hinzmann
Tom Hirschfeld
Jack Hitt
Sylvia Anna Hivn
Valerie Hobbs
Mary Ann Hoberman
Sheri Holman
Rachel Holmes
Woody Holton
Ed Hoornaert
Ellen Hopkins
Deborah Hopkinson
Nalo Hopkinson
James D. Hornfscher
Shel Horowitz
Tony Horwitz
Silas House
Hugh Howard
James Howe
Del Howison
Mary Hudson
Laird Hunt
Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Gregg Hurwitz
Nancy Huston
Siri Hustvedt
Elisabeth Hyde
Amy Ignatow
Gerald Imber, M.D.
Susan Isaacs
Steve Jackson
Diane Jacobs
Linda Jaivin
Michael Jecks
Suzanne Jenkins
Sarah Jensen
Erika Johansen
Gilbert John
Fenton Johnson
Brian Jay Jones
Steve Jones
Michaele Jordan
Sam Jordison
Mike Jung
Sebastian Junger
A.P. Von KOry
Judi Kadden
Bonita Kale
Stephanie Kallos
Robert Kanigel
Andrew Kaplan
James Kaplan
Jim Kaplan
Paul Karasik
Mary Karr
John Katzenbach
Joe Kelly
Judith Kelman
Joshua Kendall
Katrina Kenison
Brad Kessler
Frances Kiernan
Martin Kihn
Sarah S. Kilborne
Daniel M. Kimmel
A.S. King
Dave King
Lily King
Stephen King
Tabitha King
Barbara Kingsolver
Maxine Hong Kingston
Dave Kinney
Floris M. Kleijne
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Christina Baker Kline
Alethea Kontis
Lily Koppel
Anne Korkeakivi
Michael Koryta
Sally Koslow
Alex Kotlowitz
Stephen Kotowych
Jon Krakauer
Mark Kramer
Matthew Kressel
Katherine Kurs
Sandra Gail Lambert
Anne Landsman
Eve Laplante
Erik Larson
Lee Adair Lawrence
Roland Lazenby
Linda Lear
Nicole J. LeBoeuf
Cherie Lee
Vicki T. Lee
Joan Leegant
Dennis Lehane
Jim Lehrer
Kate Lehrer
Stina Leicht
Bobbie Leigh
Thomas P. Leiker
Brad Leithauser
Dinah Lenney
Anne Leonard
Peter Lerangis
Edward M. Lerner
John Lescroart
Diane Leslie
Jonathan Lethem
Tom Levenson
Phillis Levin
David D. Levine
Judith Levine
Jim Lewis
Michael Lewis
Norma Libman
Katia Lief
Terr Light
Alan Lightman
Jane Lindskold
Elinor Lipman
Laura Lippman
Jonathan Littell
Aimee Liu
Malinda Lo
Michaele Lockhart
Lois Lowry
David Lubar
Jason Erik Lundberg
Steve Luxenberg
William Lychack
Barry Lyga
Anne Lyle
Larissa MacFarquhar
Karen Mack
Kenneth Mack
Elizabeth Macklin
Kathy Macmillan
Greg Mandel
Tim Manley
Annam Manthiram
Jo-Ann Mapson
Meredith Maran
David Maraniss
Andrew Marble
Paul Mariani
Regina Marler
Melissa Marr
William Martin
Valerie Martin
Michael J. Martinez
Judith Matlof
Mark Matousek
Suzanne Matson
John Matteson
Alice Mattison
Claudia Mauro
Laurie McBride
Erin Lindsay McCabe
Donald McCaig
T.C. McCarthy
Lyn McConchie
Jack McDevitt
Richard P. McDonough
Heather McDougal
Michael McGarrity
Celia McGee
Erin McGraw
Jay McInerney
Will McIntosh
Maryn McKenna
Chris McKitterick
Terry McMillan
Maggie Meade
Marion Meade
Jodi Meadows
Jillian Medof
Mameve Medwed
Brian Meehl
Edie Meidav
Brad Meltzer
Daniel Menaker
Daniel Mendelsohn
Susan Scarf Merrell
T.M. Merremont
Karla Linn Merrifeld
Christopher Merrill
Ashley Merryman
Claire Messud
David Michaelis
Lisa Michaels
Deborah Michel
Margaret Dubay Mikus
James Andrew Miller
Sue Miller
Lyn Miller-Lachmann
R.J. Mirabal
Rana Mitter
Laura J. Mixon
Seth Mnookin
David Moles
Anna Monardo
Elizabeth Moon
Christopher Moore
Honor Moore
Caroline Moorehead
Harry Morales
Phyllis S. Morgan
Courtney Morgan
David Morrell
James McGrath Morris
Eleanor Morse
Jennifer Anne Moses
Anka Muhlstein
Marcia Muller
Meg Mullins
Manuel Munoz
Carol Muske-Dukes
Donna Jackson Nakazawa
David Nasaw
Sena Jeter Naslund
Antonya Nelson
Kris Neri
Jay Neugeboren
Cal Newport
Travis Nichols
Katharine Noel
G.E. Nordell
Leonard Nourse
Elizabeth Nunez
Sigrid Nunez
Carol OConnell
Brigid OFarrell
Rick OKeefe
Joseph ONeill
Meghan ORourke
Regina OMelveny
James OShea
Patricia OToole
Achy Obejas
Nancy Ohlin
Daniel Okrent
Karl Olsberg
Mark Olshaker
Peggy Orenstein
Peter Orner
Mary Pope Osborne
A.J. Osorio
Whitney Otto
Elizabeth Oberbeck
Ruth Ozeki
Ann Packer
ZZ Packer
Nell Painter
Ann Pancake
Sara Paretsky
T. Jeferson Parker
Thomas Trebitsch Parker
Jonathan Parshall
Ann Patchett
Dorothy Patent
Greg Patent
Susan Patron
James Patterson
Richard North Patterson
Paula Paul
Jackson Pearce
Iain Pears
Shelley Pearsall
Ridley Pearson
Kira Peikof
George Pelecanos
Sharon Kay Penman
Sara Pennypacker
Benjamin Percy
Tom Perrotta
Joan K. Peters
Andrew X. Pham
Rodman Philbrick
Arthur Phillips
Leslie Pietrzyk
Steven Pinker
Jorge Pinto
Valerie Plame
Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Lesley Poling-Kempes
Michael Pollan
Neil Port
Maximillian Potter
Ron Powers
William Powers
Douglas Preston
Bill Pronzini
Alex Prudhomme
Philip Pullman
Tom Purdom
Joyce Purnick
Anna Quindlen
Julia Quinn
Karen Quinn
Elizabeth Raby
Linda F. Radke
Hope Ramsay
Jay Rayner
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Victoria Redel
Christopher Reich
Paul Reid
Andrea Reusing
Adam Rex
Paul Rhetts
Janet R. Rhodes
Dr. Sonya Rhodes
Jerome Richard
Michelle Richmond
Cynthia Riggs
Margaret Roach
David Roberts
Nora Roberts
Madeleine Robins
Kim Stanley Robinson
Roxana Robinson
Michaela Roessner
Barbara Rogan
Morgan Callan Rogers
Katie Roiphe
Carl Rollyson
Robin Romm
Ronald Rosbottom
Joel Rose
David S. Rose
William Rosen
Lucinda Rosenfeld
Benjamin Rosenbaum
Elizabeth Rosner
Inez Ross
Deborah J. Ross
David Rothenberg
Pat Rothfuss
Chuck Rothman
Elizabeth Royte
Charlie Rubin
Michael Ruhlman
Richard Russo
Shawna Yang Ryan
Cynthia Saltzman
Martin A. Samuels
Lynda A. Snchez
James Sanders
Luc Sante
Esmeralda Santiago
Mark Sarvas
George Saunders
Sam Savage
Joan Schenkar
Ron Schick
Stacy Schif
Cathleen Schine
Susan Schneider
Daniel Schulman
Deborah Schupack
Christine Schutt
Lynne Sharon Schwartz
Edward Schwarzschild
John Sedgwick
Maria Semple
Linda Gray Sexton
Bob Shacochis
Lawrence Shainberg
Kamila Shamsie
Dani Shapiro
Susan Shapiro
Bruce Shapiro
Kathleen Sharp
Judy Sheehan
Gail Sheehy
Aaron Shepard
Mike Shevdon
Jody Shields
Charles J. Shields
Peggy Shinner
Gary Shockley
Jennie Shortridge
Elaine Showalter
Anita Shreve
Susan Shreve
Alix Kates Shulman
Hampton Sides
Larry Siems
Joan Silber
Kenneth Silverman
Dan Simmons
April Sinclair
Leora Skolkin-Smith
Holly Goldberg Sloan
Gillian Slovo
Jane Smiley
Anne Easter Smith
April Smith
Dwayne Alexander Smith
Lane Smith
Mark Haskell Smith
Sally Bedell Smith
Sharon Snyder
Andrew Solomon
Deborah Solomon
Sherri Somerville
Debra Spark
Scott Spencer
Mario Spezi
Dana Spiotta
Hilary Spurling
Walter Stahr
Lynn Stegner
Garth Stein
Thomas Steinbeck
Sabra Brown Steinsiek
Leslie Stella
John Stephens
Sydney Ladensohn Stern
Brooke Stevens
Ian Stewart
T.J. Stiles
Alexander Stille
S.M. Stirling
John E. Stith
James Stoddard
Rebecca Stott
Peter Straub
Cheryl Strayed
Elizabeth Strout
Nancy Rubin Stuart
Elizabeth Stuckey-French
Ned Stuckey-French
Alexandra Styron
Cheryl Sucher
Mark Sullivan
Ellen Sussman
Robert I. Sutton
Terese Svoboda
Kiki Swanson
Michael Swanwick
Alison Sweeney
Will Swift
Rachel Swirsky
Sam Swope
David Tallerman
Marc Talbert
Cecilia Tan
Donna Tartt
Nick Taylor
Catherine Texier
Phyllis Theroux
Evan Thomas
David Thurlo
Lynne Tillman
Amy Timberlake
M.K. Tod
Peter Trachtenberg
James Treadwell
Rose Tremain
Calvin Trillin
Lily Tuck
Kenneth Turan
William A. Turnage
Scott Turow
Frederic Tuten
Cameron Tuttle
Gene Twaronite
Rachel Urquhart
Rachel Vail
Amanda Vaill
Neela Vaswani
John Vernon
Judith Viorst
Milton Viorst
Patricia Volk
Helena Maria Viramontes
Ken Wachsberger
Diana Wagman
Wendy Wagner
Dan Wakefeld
Amy Waldman
Ayelet Waldman
Allison Wallace
Benjamin Wallace
Carol Wallace
Candace Walsh
Jess Walter
Geofrey C. Ward
Melanie Warner
Frank Warren
Rosanna Warren
Elisabeth Waters
Ian Watson
Beck Weathers
Eric Weiner
Katherine Weissman
Rebecca Wells
Carol Weston
Stephen White
Dean Whitlock
Thomas A. Williams
Florence Williams
Cheryl Wilson
Robley Wilson
Simon Winchester
Terri Windling
Brenda Wineapple
Kit Wohl
Mary Wolf
Linda Wolfe
Tobias Wolf
Hilma Wolitzer
Meg Wolitzer
Patricia Smith Wood
Monica Wood
Stuart Woods
Barbara Wright
Lawrence Wright
Dulce Xerach
Linda Yellin
Natasha Yim
Jane Yolen
Louisa Young
Robert Clark Young
Caroline Yourcheck
Barry Yourgrau
Cynthia Zarin
Michael Zeilik
Thomas Zigal
Richard Zimler
Michelle Zink
Markus Zusak
Maritess Zurbano
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