Authors Guild facts for kids
 |
|
| Formation | 1912 |
|---|---|
| Legal status | 501(c)(6) organization |
| Purpose | Advocacy |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S. |
|
Membership
|
9,000 |
|
Council President
|
Maya Shanbhag Lang |
|
Foundation President
|
Laura Pedersen |
|
Key people
|
Mary Rasenberger, CEO |
| Affiliations | IFJ |
|
Formerly called
|
Authors League of America |
The Authors Guild is the oldest and largest group in America for professional writers. It works to protect writers' rights and supports free speech and copyright (the legal right to control how your original work is used).
It started in 1912 as the Authors League of America. Many famous writers have been part of its board. These include winners of major awards like the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award.
Today, the Authors Guild has over 9,000 members. Members get free legal advice and help with contracts from publishers. They also get insurance services and help with getting paid for their work, like when their books are used in movies or translated.
The group talks to lawmakers at national and state levels. They work on issues like censorship (stopping certain ideas from being shared) and taxes for writers. They have also started or supported several big lawsuits to protect authors' copyrights. For example, they sued Google. They said Google illegally scanned millions of copyrighted books without asking. The Authors Guild lost this case when it was appealed in court.
The Authors Guild has also fought against big publishing companies merging. They believe this can hurt writers. They have also pushed publishers to pay writers more for e-books.
Contents
History of the Authors Guild
The Authors League of America began in New York City in 1912. Its goal was to "protect the rights of all authors." This included writers of books, plays, art, and music. They also aimed to help and advise these authors.
In 1921, a separate group was formed. This was the Dramatists Guild of America. It was created to represent writers for the stage and, later, for radio shows.
Many well-known writers have led the Authors Guild. These include novelists like Pearl S. Buck and Madeleine L'Engle. Biographers like Robert Caro and journalists like Herbert Mitgang have also served. Mary Pope Osborne, who writes children's books, was also a president. In 2023, Maya Shanbhag Lang was elected as the new president.
Protecting Freelance Writers
In June 2014, the Authors Guild announced a big agreement. It was for an $18 million payment in a lawsuit they started in 2000. Other groups, like the American Society of Journalists and Authors, joined them. The lawsuit was on behalf of many freelance writers. Freelance writers are people who write for different companies without being a full-time employee.
The lawsuit said that big online databases like Lexis-Nexis had used writers' work without permission. This work had first appeared in newspapers and magazines, like The New York Times. Then, it was sold to these databases.
Publishers argued that putting the articles in databases was a "fair revision" of the original work. But in 2001, the United States Supreme Court disagreed. They ruled that writers must be paid for their digital rights. More talks and legal steps led to the $18 million agreement. Freelancers could get up to $1,500 per article. The exact amount depended on if and when their article was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Authors Guild and Google's Book Project
On September 20, 2005, the Authors Guild sued Google. This was because of Google's Book Search project. The Authors Guild said Google was breaking copyright laws. They were making digital copies of books that were still protected by copyright. Google argued that their use was "fair use" under US copyright law. Fair use means you can use copyrighted material in certain ways without permission, like for teaching or news reporting.
On October 28, 2008, the Authors Guild, other publishers, and Google announced they had reached an agreement. Google agreed to pay $125 million. $45 million of this was for writers whose books were scanned without permission. The agreement would have allowed Google to legally continue its scanning project. It also would have created a new group called the Book Rights Registry. This group would have paid writers from Google's fees.
However, a judge rejected this agreement in 2011. The judge felt the agreement was not good enough for the authors.
In October 2015, another court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, sided with Google. The court said Google's actions were fair use. They also said that showing small parts of books online did not harm the authors.
In late 2015, the Authors Guild asked the Supreme Court to review the case. But in April 2016, the Supreme Court decided not to hear it. This meant the lower court's decision, which favored Google, remained in place.
See also
- Books in the United States
