Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Authors Angered Over Amazon's Dispute With Publisher Hachette

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

We've reached a moment that probably shouldn't surprise us when it comes to the modern publishing industry. A lot of people are addicted to buying books online using Amazon. But Amazon is now in a pricing dispute with the publisher Hachette. The online giant is refusing to accept orders for upcoming books from Hachette, which has a heavy-hitting roster of authors. NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Some authors are furious at Amazon.

NINA LADEN: They don't really care. It's all about money.

DEL BARCO: Children's author and illustrator Nina Laden posted her complaint on Facebook.

LADEN: The part that hurts the most is Amazon using authors and illustrators as collateral.

DEL BARCO: If you're a fan of such authors as Michael Connelly or J.K. Rowling, you can no longer pre-order their newest books on amazon.com. The online retailer is also delaying shipment of the Hachette books it is selling. In a statement, Amazon went so far as to suggest customers could buy the books from one of its competitors. Writer David Sedaris says there are alternatives.

DAVID SEDARIS: There are things called stores.

DEL BARCO: Sedaris' books are published by an Hachette imprint. His latest is called "Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls."

SEDARIS: If you don't want to go to a store, or if you don't want to use some other website to buy the book, then don't buy the book. Don't do it. Get something else you can get on Amazon, like a toaster or thermal socks. I think they sell those. Go ahead. Don't get my book. Get a flashlight instead.

DEL BARCO: David Sedaris says he doesn't shop online anyway. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

As an arts correspondent based at NPR West, Mandalit del Barco reports and produces stories about film, television, music, visual arts, dance and other topics. Over the years, she has also covered everything from street gangs to Hollywood, police and prisons, marijuana, immigration, race relations, natural disasters, Latino arts and urban street culture (including hip hop dance, music, and art). Every year, she covers the Oscars and the Grammy awards for NPR, as well as the Sundance Film Festival and other events. Her news reports, feature stories and photos, filed from Los Angeles and abroad, can be heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Alt.latino, and npr.org.