On February 9, the Authors Guild sent a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris, along with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) as the chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees (respectively), advising the new administration of the urgent need for it to support authors and the literary arts, especially during the current pandemic. The letter sets out some of the Guild’s legislative and policy priorities and recommends bold steps such as the creation of a cabinet level position for the arts and the creation of a new Federal Writers Project, which would give writers much-needed employment in the economic downturn. The arts—and specifically the literary arts—are a vital part of our collective culture as well as our national economy and should be recognized and treated as such. We hope to develop a working relationship with this new administration and Congress to ensure that they continue to recognize and address authors’ concerns.

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