Closing arguments for the Department of Justice’s antitrust case aiming to block Penguin Random House’s purchase of Simon & Schuster were offered on Friday in Washington D.C. First up was the Department of Justice’s John Read who reiterated many of the same points that have been made over the previous three weeks.
Read summarized his agenda up top: “This merger will end that competition which benefits authors, and authors will earn less money for what they write.” He added, “We brought this case because the best protection for authors is robust competition. This is not about the passion of publishers for books and authors, this is about the largest publisher, Penguin Random House, cementing its position at the top of the market.”
