In an extraordinary and unprecedented display of concerted action, authors' organisations have joined together to present a simultaneous major challenge to publishers. Read more
In an extraordinary change of approach, Nicola Solomon, the Secretary of the UK Society of Authors, has attacked publishers, saying that ‘Traditional publishing is 'no longer fair or sustainable'. Read more
After eight years of litigation over Google's scanning of more than 20 million books in libraries, Judge Denny Chin has come down in their favour: Read more
The Authors Guild of America, with four authors, has taken the extraordinary step of filing a class action suit against Google over its unauthorised scanning and copying of books through its Google Library programme. Read more
The used book debate is hotting up. After Jeff Bezos of Amazon sent an email to thousands who had sold second-hand books through the online retailer, over 4,000 of them emailed the Writers Guild of AmericaAssociation of writers in motion picture, broadcast, cable and new media. http://www.wga.org. As expressed by Nick Turner, the President of the Guild, its view was that: Read more
Half a dozen professional writers' organizations have joined with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in forming a joint task to press the Walt Disney Company to ensure it pays all royalties owed to authors. Read more
The Authors Guild is asking its membership and allies in the publishing industry to contact their senators to express support for the PRO Act, which has passed the House and is under discussion by the Senate. The act would enable freelance writers and authors to bargain collectively with businesses that hire them, something currently restricted by antitrust law. Read more
The Authors Guild, along with five other writers' groups and the nonprofit Open Markets Institute, has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking the government to block Penguin Random House's pending acquisition of Simon & Schuster. Read more
A survey by the Authors Guild of its members earlier this month found a majority of authors had already lost significant income due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The Guild received 940 responses to its survey and asked if income from any source declined in recent weeks due to the crisis, 54% responded "yes," compared to 45% who responded "no."
The outcry from publisher and author groups has been swift and furious after the Internet Archive announced last week the launch of it's National Emergency Library, which has removed access restrictions for some 1.4 million scans of mostly 20th century books in the IA's Open Library initiative, making the scans available for unlimited borrowing during the Covid-19 Outbreak.
In a ringing endorsement, the United States' leading author-advocacy trade organization, the Authors Guild, today (April 29) has issued a statement in support of author Nora Roberts' lawsuit against an alleged Brazilian plagiarist. Read more
In an effort to gather as much information as possible about how much authors earned in 2017, the Authors Guild conducted its largest income survey ever last summer, reaching beyond the guild's own members to include 14 other writing and publishing organizations. Read more
Amazon has called the conclusions of a recent report into US author earnings flawed, after the Authors Guild suggested that the retail giant's dominance could be partly responsible for the "a crisis of epic proportions" affecting writers in the US. Read more
In one of those quirky coincidences of news coverage, a familiar number has arisen in the top-line reporting from the United States' Authors Guild about author incomes.
Since 2009, their newly released report says, median incomes for authors from writing have fallen by 42 percent. Read more
An Authors Guild statement frames a week that includes both Simon & Schuster's release of a controversial Trump tell-all and a coordinated exercise of resistance in the news media to Donald Trump's attacks.
After polling 1,674 Guild members, Mary Rasenberger, executive editor at the Authors Guild, created a splash a few weeks ago by claiming that most of its members' annual earnings were below the federal poverty level of $11,670. She spread the blame around: bookstore closures, the rise of Amazon, publisher consolidations, and the low royalties authors receive from publishers. Read more