Big 5 publishers would become 4 if merger gets the nod

A proposed merger between publishing giants Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster would reduce the so-called “Big Five” U.S. publishers to four. The other three are HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group and Macmillan.

The combined company would be the largest book publishing entity by far in the nation’s history.

The U.S. Justice Department has sued to block the merger and contends it would thwart competition and give the new company outsize influence over what books are published in the U.S. and how much authors are paid, while also giving customers fewer books from which to choose.

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