Authors sign letters in protest and support of Amazon
A number of high-profile authors have contributed to an open letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos calling for Amazon to ‘resolve its dispute with Hachette without hurting authors and without blocking or otherwise delaying the sale of books to its customers’, reports Publishers Weekly. The letter, which refers to Amazon’s decision to delay delivery of Hachette titles following its recent dispute with the publisher, was written by author Douglas Preston and signed by over 300 authors, including David Baldacci, James Patterson, Nora Roberts and Stephen King. ‘I think everyone feels this is not the way you treat your friends. Amazon can not treat authors and books the way they treat the manufacturers of toasters and televisions and computer cables,’ said Preston. Meanwhile, a number of ‘indie authors’, including Hugh Howey, have signed a second letter in support of Amazon, which urges authors not to boycott the company. ‘A call to boycott Amazon is unavoidably a call to boycott authors who can’t get their books into other stores. Boycotting Amazon is unavoidably a call for higher ebook prices. Boycotting Amazon is preventing us from reaching you. It is an end to our independence.’
Category: International news
