On Monday, an op-ed article in the New York Times sported this ominous title. Written by a self-acclaimed “best-selling author” Scott Turow, the article made a case that now, more than ever, authors are under attack… from everywhere. Search engines, libraries, and even scholars are on the list of threats to the American author, but none more vicious than publishing houses themselves. Their weapon of choice? E-books. The six major publishing houses insist on limiting e-book royalties to 25% of net receipts. While more renowned authors actually have some leeway with this, new and “midlist” writers have no bargaining power. Authors are finding it harder and harder to sell their books, much less publish them. The worst threat e-books (possibly) pose is stagnating the writers’ profession. Without new authors, a generation of writers will be gone.