Industry & Advocacy News
December 7, 2016
NEW YORK, NY, December 7, 2016 — Yesterday writer and journalist Douglas Preston, founder of Authors United—the grassroots group formed to protest Amazon’s treatment of authors in its 2014 dispute with the publisher Hachette—contacted his group’s supporters to announce that Authors United will be joining forces with the Authors Guild Foundation to strengthen the Guild’s advocacy for a competitive and diverse publishing ecosystem.
“Authors United was an ad hoc group formed to give voice to the many writers harmed by Amazon’s retaliation against authors during the Hachette dispute,” said Preston. “It was never my intention to run the organization forever. Although the dispute was resolved a while ago, it was part of a much graver situation that is not going away. There are many threats to authors’ livelihoods in the new publishing economy: an unfair marketplace, rampant Internet piracy, the “information wants to be free” lobby and their dot com corporate partners, and threats to the free flow of ideas. I’ve asked the authors of Authors United to throw their support behind the Authors Guild, either by joining or making a contribution. With its 100-year history of advocacy, the Guild is the only organization out there with the resources, experience and energy to fight for authors’ rights—and to defend the literary culture of our country.”
“The Authors Guild’s 9,000 members are incredibly grateful for Doug’s efforts to band together authors and to stand up for their rights,” said Authors Guild president Roxana Robinson. “We welcome the writers who made up Authors United. We share their goals, and we’ll continue our fight until we see the changes needed to ensure that authors can continue to produce the books that contribute so richly to our culture and our democracy.”
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