Authors United: Who signed?

1/13

Bestelling novelist Stephen King signed the open letter to Amazon. His books, including the upcoming novel “Revival,” are published by Scribner (an imprint of Simon & Schuster, not Hachette). (Elise Amendola / Associated Press)

2/13

Robert Caro, winner of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for his biographies of Lyndon Johnson, signed the open letter. His books are published by Knopf-Doubleday (not affiliated with Hachette). (Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press)

3/13

Carol Muske-Dukes, former poet laureate of California, signed the open letter. Muske-Dukes’ recent books of poetry have been published by Penguin (not affiliated with Hachette). (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

4/13

Junot Diaz, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” signed the open letter. His books are published by Riverhead (not affiliated with Hachette). (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

5/13

Bestselling author Janet Fitch, whose novels are published by Hachette imprint Little, Brown, signed the open letter. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

6/13

Sandra Cisneros, a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, signed the open letter. Her books are published by Knopf (not affiliated with Hachette). (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

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Donna Tartt, whose bestselling novel “The Goldfinch” won the Pulitzer Prize and Andrew Carnegie Medal, signed the open letter. She is published by Little, Brown, an imprint of Hachette. (Jason DeCrow / Associated Press)

8/13

Pultizer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright signed the open letter. His last book, “Going Clear,” was published by Knopf. (Bret Hartman / For The Times)

9/13

Bestselling author Terry McMillan signed the open letter. Her latest novel, “Who Asked You?” was published by Viking. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

10/13

MacArthur Fellowship winner Jonathan Lethem signed the open letter. He publishes fiction and nonfiction with Knopf. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

11/13

Author Jess Walter, author of the bestselling novel “Beautiful Ruins,” signed the open letter. He publishes with HarperCollins. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

12/13

New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin signed the open letter. He is published by Random House. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

13/13

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jennifer Egan signed the open letter. She is published by Knopf. (Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

By Carolyn Kellogg

Aug. 11, 2014 12:57 PM PT

More than 900 authors signed an open letter to Amazon that appeared in print Sunday and is online at the website Authors United. The letter appealed to Amazon to treat books from Hachette fairly.

“As writers -- most of us not published by Hachette -- we feel strongly that no bookseller should block the sale of books or otherwise prevent or discourage customers from ordering or receiving the books they want,” they wrote on the Authors United website. “It is not right for Amazon to single out a group of authors, who are not involved in the dispute, for selective retaliation.”

Since the spring, as the result of a contract dispute with Hachette, Amazon has made it impossible to pre-order many Hachette books, imposed artificial delivery delays and made it difficult for customers to find Hachette books on its website.

The writers who signed the Authors United letter include bestselling novelists, award-winning biographers, Pulitzer Prize winners and MacArthur “Genius” fellows.

Some authors have said that they would have liked to have signed but hadn’t been asked, or didn’t know how to get involved.

Authors United was organized by Douglas Preston, an author of bestselling thrillers. At first, he said, his idea of writing an open letter to Amazon was not well-received. Amazon currently sells 30% to 40% of all e-books.

“I wrote the letter and circulated it to a couple of friends hoping to get 12 brave friends to sign it. I was met with a huge amount of reluctance to be one of 12,” Preston told Salon. “This went on for about three weeks, as I tried to get four or five people to sign. But then, over the course of two days, it went viral. It was incredible. I got like a thousand emails from across the spectrum: debut authors, mid-list authors, best-sellers, cookbook authors, Pulitzer Prize-winning historians -- they all emailed me, and said please put my name on this letter.”

So who are they? Take a look at a few and what they’re known for above.

Book news and more; I’m @paperhaus on Twitter

Authors United: Who signed?

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