UPDATED 12:10 EDT / OCTOBER 21 2014

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos NEWS

Amazon deal means cheaper e-books, but not everyone is happy

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

Readers craving cheaper e-books have a reason to celebrate today, as Amazon.com Inc. has finally signed a deal ending a months-long battle with CBS-owned Big Five publisher Simon & Shuster.

Amazon had been in negotiations with the publishing giant since as early as July of this year, and the new deal marks a milestone in Amazon’s ambition to lower e-book prices. Some of the authors published by Simon & Shuster include Stephen King, Hunter S. Thompson, and Ernest Hemmingway.

Amazon has faced an uphill battle with traditional publishers who have been slow to embrace new business models when it comes to digital media. Earlier this year, Amazon launched a subscription-based e-book platform called Kindle Unlimited, but none of the Big Five publishers were part of the service. It is unclear if that will change in light of the new agreement with Simon & Shuster.

But while this might be a victory for Amazon, the fight isn’t over yet, as Amazon is still involved in a bitter dispute with French publisher Hachette. Amazon’s hardball tactics at lowering prices have targeted books published by Hachette. They started keeping a smaller stock of Hachette books and even stopped taking preorders for some. Amazon called the move “unfortunate” and said that they were not optimistic that the issue would be resolved any time soon.

Amazon claims these moves will ultimately benefit customers with lower prices, but many authors aren’t too thrilled about the situation.

Several authors signed a letter sent to Amazon’s board of directors criticizing the effects the company’s tactics have had on writers. The letter said:

Several thousand Hachette authors have watched their readership decline, or, in the case of new authors, have seen their books sink out of sight without finding an adequate readership. These men and women are deeply concerned about what this means for their future careers.

NPR’s Lynn Neary said many authors felt like “pawns in this game between Amazon and the publishers.”

There’s no indication yet whether Amazon’s dispute with Hachette will end any time soon.


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