On the eve of the authors’ deadline to opt-out of the Google Books settlement, the Authors Guild attacked Amazon (AMZN) in a blistering statement.
As we noted last week, Amazon, Microsoft (MFST), and Yahoo (YHOO) have banded together with the Open Book Alliance in opposing the Google Books settlement–an agreement reached through an Authors Guild lawsuit in federal court. The Authors Guild responded with an assault on Amazon’s values, criticizing the low e-book prices that the online bookseller has set for the Kindle.
Here’s more from the statement: “Amazon’s hypocrisy is breathtaking. It dominates online bookselling and the fledgling e-book industry. At this moment it’s trying to cement its control of the e-book industry by routinely selling e-books at a loss. It won’t do that forever, of course. Eventually, when enough readers are locked in to its Kindle, everyone in the industry expects Amazon to squeeze publishers and authors.” (Via Publishers Weekly)
