This is a special newsletter to call your attention to recent developments in the publishing industry. Recently Amazon.com has notified small, independent publishers that unless they printed their titles through Amazon's recently acquired printing facility Amazon would drop their titles. Amazon also is requiring a larger discount/profit from the small publishers. Should you wish to check this out the story was published in today's Wall Street Journal.

Obviously small publishers by their very nature make small, if any profit. However they produce some of the finest literature today. By forcing publishing companies to produce their books from Amazon's printing facility they have probably violated anti - trust statutes - - but in the meantime they have dropped many titles, including two of mine, from being purchased. Amazon also controls the online inventory for Borders and Waldenbooks.

I would ask you to no longer buy from Amazon but instead patrionize Barnes & Noble or any of the other online retailers or go directly to the publishers for the titles you desire. This is an unprecedented attack on free enterprise and the very life of publishing.

Thank you,

Gary R. Varner