Writers Ask Congressional Authors: Do You Know What Google and the Authors Guild Want to Do with Your Copyright?

/PRNewswire/ -- The National Writers Union, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have written to their author peers in Congress, seeking their support in encouraging the Department of Justice to continue its opposition to the Google Books Settlement.

The Google Books Settlement is being negotiated between Google and several parties that sued it in 2007 for copyright infringement. Among those groups is the Authors Guild, which purports to represent the interests of all authors in the Settlement. In its letter to Congressional authors, the groups assert that their interests are not being fairly represented by the Authors Guild.

Award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin's recent resignation from the Authors Guild highlights the growing tensions between the organization and its constituency. In her letter of resignation, Le Guin commented, "You decided to deal with the devil, as it were, and have presented your arguments for doing so. I wish I could accept them, but I can't. There are principles involved, above all the whole concept of copyright; and these you have seen fit to abandon to a corporation, on their terms, without a struggle."

In their letter, the author groups criticize the Settlement for the lack of notice to authors, the complexity in opting out, a new regulatory board that overrides individual contracts, the exception for publisher plaintiffs to have private side deals, the mockery of existing copyright law, and its attempt to supplant efforts to pass orphan works legislation.

"Opposition to this sweetheart commercial deal from the Department of Justice and nearly 400 other interested parties radically changed the course of this debate. However, the amended version of the settlement still creates a de facto monopoly for Google at the expense of all Americans," reads the letter. "The Constitution says copyright is essential and gives Congress responsibility for it, not Google and a gaggle of lawyers."

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Workshop on Skills for Budding Authors Slated for Atlanta March 7

/24-7/ -- The Southern Review of Books newsletter has announced that eight outstanding authors and book professionals will teach a day-long seminar on writing on Saturday, March 7, at Atlanta's Cobb Galleria Centre.

The workshop, entitled "Authorship 101," will focus on writing, getting published and marketing fiction and nonfiction. It is being staged in conjunction with the Spring Book Show, being held at the same location.

Participating faculty members for Authorship 101, in alphabetical order, along with their topics, are:
• Brad Cohen, inspirational speaker and author of "Front of the Class," about his search for a teaching position that finally landed him in the Cobb County, Ga., school system, speaking on "From Book to Movie: How My Memoir Became a National Hallmark Hall of Fame CBS-TV Telecast."
• Anna DeStefano, novelist and president, Georgia Romance Writers, "How To Write Romances and Get Them Published."
• Hollis Gillespie, Atlanta magazine columnist, author of three books and radio-TV personality, "How To Write Memoirs for Fun and Profit."
• Russ Marshalek, public relations director, Wordsmiths Books, Decatur, Ga., and consultant on book publicity and arranging bookstore signings, "How To Arrange for Publicity and Bookstore Signings for Your Book."
• Man Martin, novelist and Georgia Author of the Year Award winner for his novel "Days of the Endless Corvette," on "Writing Humor."
• Ahmad Meradji, president, Apex Book Manufacturing, "How To Select a Short-Run Printer for Your Self-Published Book."
• Patricia Sprinkle, mystery and nonfiction author of more than 20 titles, "So You Want To Write a Mystery?"
• Darlene Ford Wofford, series novel author, "How I Got Local and National Publicity for My Memoir Series.

Noel Griese of Atlanta-based Anvil Publishers, and editor of the Southern Review of Books newsletter, said that people attending the workshop get free admission to the Spring Book Show.


Registration details for the Authorship 101 workshop on writing for the Christian market are available at the Anvil Publishers Web site at http://anvilpub.net/authorship_201.htm

About the Spring Book Show and Authorship seminars: The Spring Book Show, held annually in Atlanta, is the largest bargain book and remainder show held annually in the United States. It will be held March 6-8, 2009, at the Cobb Galleria Center. Two seminars for writers, Authorship 101 and Authorship 201, organized by the Siuthern Review of Books newsletter, are being held March 6-7 in conjunction with the show. Workshop participants get free admission to the Spring Book Show, which is otherwise closed to the general public.

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