First-time novelist Edan Lepucki is getting a huge Colbert bump — thanks to Stephen Colbert‘s campaign against Amazon.
The online bookseller is fighting with Colbert’s publisher, Hachette, and delaying shipments of many Hachette books, including those by Colbert. It is also making some Hachette books unavailable for pre-order.
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“Because of Amazon’s scorched earth tactics, more people are getting screwed than in ’50 Shades of Grey.’”
To strike a blow against Amazon, Colbert asked his readers to go to independent bookseller Powells and pre-order one of the books Amazon isn’t making available in advance — Lepucki’s “California.” The novel, which has received very strong reviews, is about a couple living in a post-apocalyptic world who discover they’re going to have a baby.
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Colbert said his fans did as he pre-ordered, and that “California” has sold 6,400 copies through Powells — enough to make it the Portland, Oregon bookstore’s top seller.
On Thursday’s “Colbert Report,” he asked readers to keep buying, and gave a list of other online retailers. There’s one other option, he said: “Go to your local bookstore, walk up to the counter, and just click on the clerk.”
Watch the video: