Industry & Advocacy News
October 11, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK, NY, October 11, 2016: For the first time in its over 100-year history, the Authors Guild is opening its membership to new and unpublished writers. Since its founding in 1912, the Guild has advocated for writers through many changes in the industry, most recently from the shuttering and consolidation of major publishing houses, to the introduction of eBooks, Amazon, Google Books, and self-publishing. Yet no change has prompted such a significant expansion of its membership structure as the democratizing effect of online publishing.
“The Authors Guild exists to help working writers. But it’s hard to get established; we know that as well as anyone. With the new Emerging Writers membership, we’re now able to give writers support as they enter the professional world, even before they’ve published a first book,” said Roxana Robinson, President of the Authors Guild.
The Authors Guild is the oldest and largest writers’ organization in America, with almost 9,000 members. In addition to lifelong career support, writers who join as members support the Authors Guild’s tireless advocacy for the rights of their fellow authors, helping to preserve a sustainable future for every writer. Now emerging writers can make the same investment in their own futures. The new membership category is open to all devoted writers actively pursuing publication, and does not require applicants to meet the publication and financial thresholds of full membership.
“This is what I needed back when I was an emerging writer: the advice of people who’d been there before me, letting me know where to step, and, more importantly, where not to,” said Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Vice President of the Authors Guild.
The publishing landscape has certainly broadened in recent years, but with new publishing opportunities come new challenges. The Emerging Writer Membership is designed to face these particular challenges by providing resources, information, and community tailored to writers in the early stages of their careers.
“Today, writers build their careers through a combination of freelance work, social media, and personal web publications like Tumblr, Tinyletter, and Medium as often, or more frequently, than they do from book contracts,” said Halimah Marcus, Executive Director of Electric Literature, which has partnered with the Authors Guild to develop and promote the new membership. “Writers today aren’t following a traditional career path, and need different resources accordingly.”
The Emerging Writers Membership gives writers access to almost all of the resources that the Authors Guild provides, including free or discounted services, such as marketing and social media advice, media liability insurance, website hosting, as well as seminars, workshops and networking opportunities exclusively for emerging writers.
To join, and for more information, visit authorsguild.org/emergingwriter.
Roxana Robinson is available for interview upon request.
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Media Contact: Sandy Long
Chief Operating Officer, Authors Guild
Tel: 212-563-5904
