Two weeks ago bestselling author Douglas Preston began quietly circulating a to other writers that encourages readers to write to Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos. The letter, which calls on Amazon to “resolve its dispute with Hachette without hurting authors and without blocking or otherwise delaying the sale of books to its customers,” is something Preston initially hoped a handful of other authors would sign. He wound up collecting hundreds of signatures.
Preston quickly found support from David Baldacci, James Patterson, and Joseph Finder. “I guess I’m kind of a naive person,” Preston told PW. He had hoped to find “12 courageous authors,” because he had heard from several writers, including other bestsellers, who were afraid of retaliation.
Instead, since the letter went viral on Wednesday, Preston has had 300 writers ask to have him put their name on the list, including Stephen King and Nora Roberts. The list of signees even includes David Maraniss, associate editor of the Washington Post, which Bezos owns.
“I’m not against Amazon. It’s a wonderful company that sells books,” said Preston. To explain his stance on the company, he used the analogy that you can be against the Iraq war, but still be patriotic. What Preston objects to is Amazon’s “scorched Earth tactics” to gain leverage. “I don’t think Amazon knows what it’s doing, the kind of human wreckage they’re causing.”
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: Publishers Weekly
Judith Rosen
BCNN1 WP 