12 Celebrating Black Voices 27 Remembering RBG 33 Revising

Fall–Winter 2020

12 Celebrating Black Voices 27 Remembering RBG 33 Revising Section 512 Articles The Authors Guild President Bulletin Douglas Preston 9 Vice President Two Lawsuits Chief Executive Officer Monique Truong 12 The Case for Revising Section 512 Mary Rasenberger Treasurer General Counsel Peter Petre 15 In Memoriam: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Cheryl L. Davis Secretary 1933–2020 Editor Rachel Vail Martha Fay Members of the Council 17 Celebrating Black Voices Copy Editor Rich Benjamin Heather Rodino Amy Bloom 20 Q&A: Judy Allen Dodson and Kelly Starling Design Mary Bly Studio Elana Schlenker Alexander Chee Lyons Pat Cummings Cover Art + Illustration Sylvia Day 28 Busier Than Ever: In the Time of Covid-19 Lindsey Bailey W. Ralph Eubanks lindseyswop.com Peter Gethers 44 Authors Guild Foundation Benefit, 2020 All non-staff contributors Lauren Groff to the Bulletin retain Tayari Jones 52 Regional Chapters Update copyright to the articles Min Jin Lee that appear in these pages. Nicholas Lemann Guild members seeking Steven Levy information on contributors’ John R. MacArthur other publications are D. T. Max Departments invited to contact the Daniel Okrent Guild office. Published by Michelle Richmond 2 The Authors Guild, Inc. Julia Sanches Short Takes James Shapiro Hampton Sides The Authors Guild, 4 From the President T.J. Stiles the oldest and largest Jonathan Taplin association of published 6 From the Home Office Danielle Trussoni authors in the United Nicholas Weinstock 32 Legal Watch States, works to protect and promote the Ex-Officio & 35 Advocacy News professional interests Honorary Members of its members. The Guild’s of the Council 38 Books by Members forerunner, The Authors Roger Angell League of America, was Roy Blount Jr. 41 Members Make News founded in 1912. The Bulletin Barbara Taylor Bradford was first published Robert A. Caro 41 In Memoriam in 1912 as The Authors Susan Cheever League Newsletter. Anne Edwards James Gleick The Authors Guild Erica Jong 31 East 32nd Street, Suite 901 Stephen Manes New York, NY 10016 Victor S. Navasky t: (212) 563-5904 Sidney Offit f: (212) 564-5363 Mary Pope Osborne e: [email protected] Letty Cottin Pogrebin authorsguild.org Roxana Robinson Jean Strouse Nick Taylor Scott Turow Advisory Council Sherman Alexie Judy Blume Jennifer Egan Louise Erdrich Annette Gordon-Reed CJ Lyons Frederic Martini Cathleen Schine Meg Wolitzer “ OverhearD ”

“Our motto is changing minds one book at a time. That’s what we want to do. That’s what we are here to do. And that’s what needs to happen.”

Clarissa Cropper, co-owner of Frugal Bookstore, Roxbury, Massachusetts, NBC/10 BOSTON, June 8, 2020 HOT MARKETS and in 2019, with YA fiction out front, a Amazon cause got a boost from the trend that held through the end of American Book Sellers Association’s EMPTY SHOPS October. And it was plenty good for “Boxed Out” campaign, in which “If you want to sell books during a Amazon, once it returned to ship- bookstores around the country pandemic, it turns out that one of ping books. boarded up their window displays best places to do it is within easy The book business cohort that and stacked faux-Amazon boxes reach of eggs, milk and diapers,” has not benefited from the boom out front, with signs reading “Don’t wrote New York Times reporter are the indie and traditional book- Accept Amazon’s Brave New World.” Elizabeth A. Harris in late July. stores that rely primarily on walk-in As hundreds of indie and chain customers. Mandated or simply pru- dent shutdowns across the country, BOOM IN BLACK bookstores across the country were AUTHOR TITLES forced to close their doors, tempo- with painful furloughing of staffers rarily or for good, and Amazon cut and dramatic revenue losses, were AND BOOKSTORES back on book shipping in favor of followed by cautious and costly overnight deliveries of toilet paper, re-openings, as store owners re- One good-news outcome after a shoes, and thermometers, big-box invented their businesses, spend- harrowing summer of Black deaths stores, officially designated “essen- ing huge sums to reconfigure their has been the boom in sales at tial,” doubled down on book orders. spaces for social distancing and Black-owned bookstores around The dominant players were Costco, stocking up on PPE and plexiglass the country, boosted by a flood of Walmart and Target, which have shields, hand sanitizers, and mailing lists of books by Black authors and long had book sections. A signifi- envelopes. Black-owned bookstores posted on cant number of pharmacy and su- Some of the biggest names in traditional and social media. permarket chains increased their the indie world, including Powell’s Oprah’s list of 44 titles included book orders as well, stocking up on in Portland, Vroman’s in Southern Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s We pandemic-driven educational titles, California, and McNally Jackson in Should All Be Feminists, Marlon adult and children’s fiction, puzzles, New York, are just hanging on, and James’s Black Leopard, Red Wolf, and board games. ABA reports that at least 35 of its and Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an The chief executive of member stores have closed dur- Antiracist. Essence’s list included ReaderLink, a book distributor that ing the pandemic, with 20 percent James McBride’s Deacon King Kong, caters to non-bookstore chains, told of the remaining indies at risk of Brandy Colbert’s The Only Black the Times that in the first week of failing. Girls in Town, and Kent Garrett’s April his company saw a 34 per- Trying to stave off ruin, nearly nonfiction title, The Last Negroes at cent spike in sales over last year’s a thousand small indies have signed Harvard. The Washington Post’s list earnings. Eight months later, the on as affiliates with Bookshop. ran to 13 titles, and two weeks after mid-western giant Meijer — a brick- org, an online portal for book sales George Floyd’s death, the New York and-mortar “everything” store to launched back in January by Andy Times’s bestseller list was domi- rival Amazon — is proceeding with Hunter, the founder of Literary Hub nated by classic titles and new re- its pre-pandemic plan for enlarging and Electric Lit, in hopes of divert- leases on race issues. “We’ve seen its book presence at a quarter of its ing some of Amazon’s massive numbers we’ve never seen before,“ stores. share of the book business to indies. Boston bookstore owner Clarissa It was also a good year for Bookshop currently sells books at a Cropper told a local TV reporter in print books, with Publishers Weekly 10 percent discount, with 10 percent early June. “We are fulfilling orders reporting a roll-back-the-clock of the sale price going to a com- all day and all night. We are order- surge of print book sales for the munal pool for official indie affiliates ing books all day and all night.” second week of August, a 14.3 per- or to an indie of the buyer’s choice. The surge began within days cent increase over the same week In mid-October, the save-us-from- of George Floyd’s murder and

2 Authors Guild Bulletin shows no signs of slowing in the editor at the Siftings Herald in as the title made it to the top of the U.S. and elsewhere. In the U.K., two Arkadelphia, Arkansas, when the Times bestseller list, helped along landmarks were registered in June paper was shut down in 2018, after by a $94,000 bulk purchase by the when Reni Eddo-Lodge, the au- 127 years. “The chroniclers of high Republican National Committee. thor of Why I’m No Longer Talking school sports teams are missing. To Other recent releases include to White People About Race, be- say that this is a sad thing for these John Bolton’s The Room Where It came the first Black British female counties is to understate the case.” Happened, which broke the one author to appear at the top of the It also eases the path to cor- million sales mark in late August, nonfiction paperback lists, while ruption. In a report on the April and Disloyal, by Trump’s former Bernadine Evaristo (Girl, Woman) 2019 staff culling of the once-great lawyer Michael Cohen, which re- did the same in the fiction list. Cleveland Plain Dealer, Governing. leased September 8 at the top of Eddo-Lodge, 32, posted a poignant com reported that one in five the New York Times bestseller list. acknowledgement of the moment Americans have no access to local Rage, Bob Woodward’s second on Twitter: “Can’t help but be dis- reporting, leading to “more parti- book on President Trump in two mayed by . . . the tragic circum- san polarization, fewer candidates years, came out in early September, stances in which this achievement running for office, higher munici- and though the author’s biggest came about. . . . I really don’t like pal borrowing costs, and increased revelation — that Trump had told the idea of personally profiting ev- pollution. him in February that he knew that ery time a video of a black person’s “ ‘Inarguably, no matter what COVID-19 was not a seasonal nui- death goes viral” — and urged her side of the political fence you sit, sance but a deadly airborne vi- readers to make a contribution to [in the absence of] a decent robust rus — had already broken, the book the Minnesota Freedom Fund equal newspaper, politicians are going to sold 750,000 copies the first day, to what they paid for her book. do bad things,’ said Brian Tucker, a busting a 94-year sales record for former newspaper executive and Simon & Schuster. WHERE HAVE ALL current director of corporate af- And the new releases just keep fairs for Dollar Bank in Cleveland. . . . coming: Authoritarian Nightmare by THE NEWSPAPERS ‘Nobody is going to be watching. No John W. Dean and Bob Altemeyer, GONE? one is holding your feet to the fire.’ ” True Crimes and Misdemeanors by Jeffrey Toobin, Where Law Ends by Print news’s march to extinc- Andrew Weissmann, Compromised tion goes by many different Salesman of the by Peter Strzok . . . names — news desert, harvest- Decade As we went to press, rumors of ing strategy, shedding, shutter- $100 million book deals being of- ing. In Ghosting the News: Local Whatever ranking history may as- fered to the about-to-be-former Journalism and the Crisis of sign Donald Trump as president of President were widely circulating American Democracy, Margaret the United States, it seems a safe and widely disputed, but it’s a given Sullivan calls it strip-mining and bet that for a generation or two that the Trump market is still hot. charts the vulnerabilities so many he will be way out in front in the locals share: loss of advertising rev- Best in Boosting Book Sales While enue, capricious staff cuts or merg- Still in Office category. At the end ers by owners, corporate takeovers, of August, The New York Times death. cited an analysis by NPD BookScan According to the University of that “1,200 unique titles about Mr. North Carolina’s Hussman School Trump” have been published in the of Journalism and Media, close to last four years, more than twice the a quarter of the nearly 9,000 local number of books published about newspapers that were still operat- Obama’s first term. ing in the U.S. in 2004 had been Wikipedia sports a curated list shut down by the end of 2019, with that includes Ivana Trump’s Raising many of the survivors reduced to Trump and Mary L. Trump’s tell- “’ghosts’ of their former selves,” and all, Too Much and Never Enough, the most economically vulnerable which was originally scheduled for and isolated towns and cities hit the an August release but was pushed hardest. up after advance orders reached “The watchdogs of school 950,000 by mid-July. For some rea- boards, city councils and quorum son, Donald Trump Jr.’s Triggered courts are gone,” wrote a former did not make Wikipedia’s cut, even

Fall – Winter 2020 3 From the President

authors have seen a collapse in Library piracy operation, which ex- their average income over the past tended well beyond books to cover ten years, along with many other a dizzying array of media, from creators, such as musicians, song- music and movies to cartoons, an- writers, composers, photographers, ime characters, graphic novels, and playwrights, graphic designers, and much more. Dozens of websites with small businesses and nonprofits many millions of customers were that own copyrights. Since big tech shut down without notice. Those companies fiercely protect their in- customers, most of whom thought tellectual property, the “information they were dealing with legitimate wants to be free” philosophy in their websites, were left confused and hands is actually “information wants shocked. If we win the lawsuit, even to be free (except mine).” by default, the author-plaintiffs The first lawsuit, in which I am might receive damages from the The Authors Guild is participating a plaintiff, along with the Authors frozen assets. (I will donate my in two lawsuits of vital interest to Guild, Amazon and Penguin share of any award to the Authors authors. Both lawsuits, in different Random House, is against one of Guild Response Fund to support ways, fight back against a philoso- the world’s largest and most noto- authors during the pandemic.) phy that arose alongside the inter- rious piracy networks, Kiss Library, Most importantly, the lawsuit net, the idea that “information wants apparently based in Ukraine. For so far has been remarkably effec- to be free.” years, my books, and those of thou- tive. It stopped dead the theft of On its surface, this philosophy sands of other American authors, millions of dollars of creative work, sounds appealing. If information have been stolen, stripped of DRM and it put other piracy websites on is free and available to everyone, (digital rights management), and notice. Our great concern is that the argument goes, it will provide a sold on a network of piracy web- if piracy is allowed to flourish un- huge benefit to society. The elitist sites. We filed the lawsuit on July checked, as it has been, the publish- gatekeepers who profit from selling 7, in Washington State, asking that ing industry may suffer the same information are pushed aside, and Kiss Library and its operators be fate as the music industry, in which everyone — especially the disadvan- enjoined from copying and illegally rampant piracy led to severe de- taged and those from underserved selling our books. On July 18, the flation in the compensation musi- and marginalized communi- judge ordered the domain registrars cians received for their work. Since ties — will have free access to the to disable the domains controlled authors derive a major portion of same information as the wealthy by Kiss Library and turn over all their income from e-books, the de- and privileged. the documents related to the sites struction of that market would be But in reality, this idea simply within five days. The court also or- a devastating turn for American offers a new route for the moneti- dered all the payment processors to literary culture. The Authors Guild zation of information, by taking in- freeze Kiss Library’s financial assets. is determined to prevent that from come from authors and diverting it The defendants failed to attend the happening. to internet companies in the form hearing or file anything in response The main enabler and sup- of advertising dollars derived from to the lawsuit, and so on August 28, porter of piracy is Google. The Kiss providing free information to us- the judge extended the preliminary network of piracy websites that are ers. “Free” content attracts users to injunction and continued the freeze run out of a server in Ukraine would the platforms, driving up the value on assets during the pendency of have no chance of reaching a U.S. of their advertising space. Piracy the lawsuit. audience if it weren’t for Google. is the natural outcome of this phi- The lawsuit exposed the You might say that while Google is

losophy. It is a major reason why breathtaking reach of the Kiss not actually stealing books, it’s driv- Feingold © Deborah Photo

4 Authors Guild Bulletin ing the getaway car. Until Kiss and this year, we again wrote Mr. Kahle, ing. We no longer live in a world of its dozens of piracy sites were taken pleading with him to sit down and patronage. Authors and other cre- down, you could easily find the sites talk to us. He refused. Several pub- ators have to put food on the table, by typing kissly, kiss library or re- lishers, organized by the AAP, then pay the mortgage and send their lated terms into the Google search filed a lawsuit, supported by the kids to college. Who is hurt most by box. Google never delists piracy Authors Guild, to stop Open Library the piracy of Kiss Library and Open sites, even the most notorious. And from copying copyrighted books Library? Certainly not best-selling it won’t demote a piracy site in its without permission or payment. The authors like me. The people most search engine until it has received importance of the lawsuit to authors affected by piracy are struggling au- many thousands or tens of thou- cannot be overstated. If the publish- thors, authors of color, writers from sands of legal takedown notices. ers win, as they should, the victory marginalized and disenfranchised The second lawsuit, launched will help establish the crucial prin- communities, authors with contro- by the American Association of ciple in the digital world that “copy- versial ideas, and young writers try- Publishers (AAP) on behalf of right” means exactly what it says, ing to establish themselves and find publishers and authors, which the the “right to copy.” an audience. They are hurt not just Authors Guild helped initiate and The lawsuit, as you might directly, by having their work stolen, supports, is against an outfit called imagine, caused a hullabaloo among but also by secondary effects: pub- Open Library. The Open Library the “information wants to be free” lishers under financial pressure are project, part of Internet Archive, is lobby. On many tech websites and retrenching, pulling back and tak- masterminded by the wealthy tech blogs, we authors were told that ing fewer risks with authors. If only entrepreneur Brewster Kahle, who we’re selfish, we’re Luddites, we’re best-selling and celebrity authors also runs a family foundation with elitists. These critics are not just can get published, which is where over $100 million in assets. The random trolls. One, for example, we’re headed, that would be devas- Internet Archive declares: “Our mis- is a law professor at NYU named tating to the free flow of information sion is to provide Universal Access Christopher Sprigman, who oc- in our democracy. The “informa- to All Knowledge.” As part of this, cupies a position of influence and tion wants to be free” philosophy is Open Library proudly notes on its power; he was appointed by the nothing more than a form of eco- website, “We began a program to American Law Institute to super- nomic censorship, plain and simple. digitize books in 2005 and today vise a restatement of copyright law. we scan 1,000 books per day in 28 While this is supposed to be a neu- — Douglas Preston locations around the world.” For tral effort to review and summarize The Authors Guild over a decade, Open Library has current law, Sprigman is anything been loaning out digital copies of but neutral. On Twitter he ranted these scanned books to any takers, against our Open Library lawsuit without the permission of authors as “brain-dead and tiresome” and or publishers and without paying a “baloney on stilts,” and he called dime. authors “mean-spirited.” It’s worth The Authors Guild absolutely pointing out to Mr. Sprigman and supports the idea of information be- others that at Internet Archive, soft- ing universally accessible. I might ware engineers and executives are just point out that we have a won- paid hundreds of thousands of dol- derful system for that in place al- lars a year, and IA makes millions ready: the hundred thousand public from contracts with libraries for libraries in the United States that scanning their collections. Mr. Kahle loan e-books and physical books for himself is a fabulously wealthy tech free. Even during the pandemic, li- entrepreneur. The average author braries that were closed continued today makes just $20,300 a year to loan e-books. Legitimate librar- from writing. (I would guess Mr. ies have to pay licensing fees for e- Sprigman makes a little bit more books, some of which go to support than that.) In the affluent tech world the author. that Mr. Kahle and Mr. Sprigman in- For years the Authors Guild habit, it seems only authors are be- tried, without success, to initiate ing asked to give up their work for a dialogue with Brewster Kahle to free. create a collective licensing solu- It seems so obvious I’m embar- tion that would compensate authors rassed to repeat it: authors cannot for this use of their work. Earlier write books unless they earn a liv-

Fall – Winter 2020 5 From the Home Office

War I, the Spanish flu raged on for The absence of the 1918 influ- two years. I searched through the enza pandemic from the Bulletins dog-eared Bulletins from those of the time was likely due to the early years in hopes of getting some pandemic’s synchrony with the war, perspective on the impact of the flu which led to its unique disruptions on the League. Surprisingly, I found becoming part of a climate of “gen- scant reference to the flu itself. eral unrest,” as well as the compara- There is much discussion of topics tive lack of up-to-date information that are familiar to readers of to- about the extent of the tragedy and day’s Bulletin — publishing contracts, how it was spread. But there is no censorship, piracy, taxes, collec- doubt that we are facing a series of tive bargaining, requests to contact crises that are similar in scale and Congressional representatives, and severity: a pandemic that in eight other regular affairs. The impact of months has claimed over 200,000 Dear Members, the war is seen in articles on topics lives in the U.S. alone, economic I hope you are all staying safe such as the rise in paper and pub- uncertainty, the Black Lives Matter and healthy, and finding relief in lishing costs and the concomitant movement facing violent opposition, your writing. My deepest condo- decrease in publisher and author Western states ablaze, the lives and lences to those of you who have earnings; a massive campaign led by homes of hundreds of thousands lost loved ones to COVID or other the ALA to send books to soldiers; of people at risk, and a deeply di- causes during these past months, lists of members serving overseas; vided nation in need of healing. and my heart goes out to everyone a campaign against Congress’s in- Good writing — writing that reports who has suffered financially or oth- crease of postage costs for second real facts and the truth, that helps erwise, or has been forced to stay class mail (which lead to the closure us make sense of our time and each shut in due to health risks. I also of several smaller publications); the other, that pulls us out of our echo want to express my enormous grati- sudden drop in dues payments (due chambers and reminds us not to tude for the support so many of to members being more occupied normalize the present — is more im- you provided the Guild during these with “war work”); the need for “thrift” portant than ever. Like the League difficult months. You have kept and so forth. But the only specific a century ago, the Guild, despite your membership dues current, mention of the flu was a death no- myriad new challenges, has kept a donated generously, given valu- tice of one member citing the “in- strict focus on its core mission to able feedback through our surveys, fluenza epidemic” that “swept the provide authors with services and shared your experiences, organized country” as the cause. No events the support they need to continue and attended online events, and were reported as having been can- their work, as the business of writ- even helped us in our lobbying ef- celled; rather, even amidst reports ing goes on. forts — all while managing the many of “general unrest” as another cause At the home office, I’m happy disruptions to daily life. Some of you of the dues decline, League offi- to report that all of our staff mem- even found time to write us thank cers spoke of the need for more in- bers are healthy. On March 12th, we you notes! It means so much to ev- person social events, and a major shut down our physical office and eryone at the Guild to know that dinner was held on April 8, 1919 at started working remotely. Although our work is appreciated. Sherri’s for $6 a person with 125 dis- we started planning early, once the The last time a major pan- tinguished artists from other fields virus hit New York City hard in the demic hit the U.S. was in 1918, when as guests. On the heels of the war, second week of March, the situa- our Guild — then called the Authors with many American writers still in tion deteriorated rapidly. Our annual League — was only five years old. service in some capacity, the busi- meeting on March 10th was mostly Striking toward the close of World ness of writing went on. virtual. We cancelled a planned

6 Authors Guild Bulletin agents’ panel and reception, as well we have kept up-to-date. Behind portance of change in publishing, as a fundraising event scheduled the scenes we communicated with where Black and minority voices for later that week. The staff transi- members of Congress and govern- remain grossly under-represented, tioned to working from home pretty ment officials, calling their attention the Authors Guild Council and the much overnight. I am incredibly to the trials authors faced and lob- Authors Guild Foundation board ad- proud of every single one of them. bying for relief based on the infor- opted a resolution at a joint-board They have done a tremendous job mation you shared with us through meeting on June 25th to commit to working from makeshift spaces, member surveys. Among the things “the creation and implementation of many of them in tiny New York City we learned early on was that many Guild programs and policies . . . that apartments, at dining tables and in authors and freelance writers are will promote diversity, equity, and bedrooms, keeping the Guild going not eligible for unemployment ben- inclusion, both internally and in the without a hitch, and making sure efits because they work mostly on a organization’s respective program- that our advocacy, programming, 1099 basis, and that they were not matic work. . .”. fundraising, and member services receiving the CARES Act Pandemic The resolution also cre- continue as before. Unemployment Assistance (PUA) ated a joint Diversity, Equity, and We miss our in-person events, because they could technically write Inclusion committee of Board and but it is likely that all our programs from home, even though freelance Council members. Staff members will remain virtual for the next year. work had dried up and advances worked through the summer to de- The programming staff put to- were being postponed. Our D.C. lob- velop programs and policies to put gether a wonderful lineup of educa- byists, the American Continental these goals into practice, includ- tional and literary programs for the Group, went into action to get the ing workshops led by a DEI con- Fall (see p. 37 for the full list) and message to members of Congress sultant starting in October. Black will be posting our Winter programs and the Department of Labor, which Voices, a powerful three-part series on the website shortly. eventually issued a rule making it of panel discussions organized by Even as we were managing the clear that freelance workers who our North Carolina Chapter chairs, logistics of operating remotely, we had lost work because no one was Kelly Sterling Lyons and Judy Allen never lost sight of the challenges hiring them due to the pandemic Dodson, addressed the obstacles our members would be facing in were also covered by PUA. Black children’s book authors con- the coming weeks and months. We As the pandemic continued, tinue to face in the publishing world immediately focused on how we one of the biggest challenges we head on (see p. 17). The DEI com- could assist authors during the pan- faced was raising enough funds to mittee suggested several other ini- demic. Through discussions with stay operational. We had to cancel tiatives that the staff is working on major publishers we learned that our main fundraising event of the implementing. We welcome sugges- none intended to postpone more year, our May Gala, which was ex- tions for additional programming than a handful of major titles, so we pected to bring in a quarter of our and speakers on this very important knew that the books coming out total budget. Our wonderful de- subject. during the pandemic would need velopment team at Advance NYC The fight against a differ- all the support they could get right helped us refocus fundraising on ent type of pandemic continues: away. With the help of several pub- the Authors Guild Response Fund, book piracy. On June 2nd, Authors lishers, we launched a social media co-chaired by our beloved, indomi- Guild President Doug Preston tes- campaign to have well-known au- table awardees, Judy Blume and tified before the Senate Judiciary thors recommend new books by Margaret Atwood, who starred in a Committee’s Intellectual Property less established authors and were blockbuster online event that drew Subcommittee on the deleterious truly heartened by the enthusiastic over 1500 viewers. Thanks to them, effects of piracy on authors’ liveli- participation. We also hosted sev- the attendees, and our extremely hoods. As part of Doug’s testimony, eral webinars and Zoom chats on generous individual donors (see we submitted written comments how to market books during the p. 50), we were able to not only and draft legislation for updating pandemic. meet but exceed our fundraising Section 512 of the Copyright Act, When Congress passed the goals. the legal provisions that regulate CARES Act in March, we con- Diversity and social justice copyright liability on the internet sulted with experts, analyzed how have always been a part of the (see p. 12). Soon thereafter, the its provisions affected authors, Guild’s core values, but this year House Judiciary Committee’s IP and shared what we learned with has brought painful reminders of Subcommittee commenced a series you through our new COVID19 re- how much work needs to be done of listening sessions, in which I par- sources section on our website, in every area of American life to ticipated, on how to fix Section 512. (www.authorsguild.org/covid- eradicate deep-seated racial and Right now is an exciting and 19-resources-for-authors/) which cultural biases. Recognizing the im- busy time in the copyright world,

Fall – Winter 2020 7 with both chambers of Congress recognizing the serious inequi- The Authors Guild and ties between internet platforms and content creators, and working Authors Guild Foundation towards drafting amendments to Joint Resolution Section 512. In addition to lobby- ing, we have been actively battling The Authors Guild, Inc., and Authors Guild Foundation Joint pirates in court. In July, we brought Resolution for Adoption by the Authors Guild’s Council and the a lawsuit against Kiss Library with Authors Guild Foundation’s Board at a Meeting Duly Called and twelve Guild members and leaders, Held on June 25, 2020 joined by Amazon Publishing and Penguin Random House, who also WHEREAS, the Council and Board recognize the great harm provided generous financial support that has been done to Black people and other people of color as a for the lawsuit (see p. 9). result of this country’s racist history, and that part of that harm is September 30 marked the end reflected in the way in which Black people have been portrayed in of our fiscal year, with a budget our nation’s literature as well as the suppression of Black authors’ surplus for the first time in over a voices, which are not adequately reflected in the nation’s literary decade. I want to especially thank canon; and Doug Preston for so gracefully WHEREAS, the Council and Board recognize that it is part of the leading us through this tumultu- Guild’s and the Foundation’s respective missions to advocate for all ous period and being willing to take authors published in the U.S. and foster diverse voices in American on the hardest task of all — asking literature to ensure that a rich, diverse body of literature can for money! We have also increased flourish; and membership by almost 1,000 mem- bers from this date last year, due to WHEREAS, the Council and Board recognize that the Guild and the an 85 percent on-time renewal rate. Foundation, respectively, can and should play a role in addressing Thank you all for renewing on time! concerns of diversity, equity, and inclusion both internally and in As the Authors League did 100 their programmatic work; years ago during the last pandemic, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT we are downsizing our offices to save money, moving to Suite 901 on RESOLVED, that the Council hereby authorizes the creation the 9th floor of our current building. and implementation of Guild programs and policies, and the It will reduce our rent by two-thirds! Board hereby authorizes the creation and implementation of As always, we will continue to be Foundation programs and policies, that will promote diversity, conservative in our expenditures to equity, and inclusion, both internally and in the organizations’ ensure that the Guild continues to respective programmatic work; this will include the creation of serve you all, through normal times a DEI committee, and may include comprehensive DEI policies and unprecedented ones. and procedures, retention of a consultant, drafting of anti-racism Please email me with ideas for and other public and internal statements, and creating programs how you think the Guild can best promoting Black authors and other authors of color, as well as such serve authors today. other actions as may be deemed appropriate. Onward . . .

— Mary Rasenberger Chief Executive Officer

8 Authors Guild Bulletin Two Publishers v. Internet Archive On June 1, 2020, four leading American publish- ers — Hachette, Penguin Random House, Harper- Lawsuits Collins and John Wiley — filed a lawsuit alleging “willful mass copyright infringement” against In- Taking ternet Archive and asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to enjoin the fight Internet Archive from mass scanning, publicly displaying and distributing copyrighted literary to protect works to the public through its “Open Library” and “National Emergency Library.”1 As the complaint alleges, the Internet Archive has scanned more copyright than 1.3 million physical books through its “pur- poseful collection of truckloads of in-copyright to court books to scan, reproduce, and then distribute.” It posts those scans on its websites for anyone to read without the permission of, or payment to, the author or the publisher.

IA engages in this massive, industrialized scanning of print ebooks to create digital files in large part to evade the Publishers’ commercial terms for ebooks and because [digital rights management protec- tion software] precludes the duplication of Plaintiffs’ ebooks. In other words, IA employs this end-run as a means to avoid both the Publishers’ ebook use restrictions and the dictates of the DMCA by creating its own bootleg electronic versions of the books through scanning.

The plaintiff publishers stress that they do not take issue with valid public libraries, but they argue that Internet Archive is not a legitimate library but “in fact a highly commercial enterprise with millions of dollars of annual revenues, includ- ing financial schemes that provide funding for IA’s infringing activities.” In addition, Internet Archive has continued in its pattern of infringement despite having received notice of the infringement,

1 Hachette Book Group, Inc., et al. v. Internet Archive

Fall – Winter 2020 9 and despite having been offered an opportunity to Lee Child, Sylvia Day, John Grisham, C. J. Lyons, accomplish their goals in a legitimate legal fash- Jim Rasenberger, T. J. Stiles, R. L. Stine, Monique ion. As the Guild’s CEO Mary Rasenberger said, Truong, Scott Turow, Nicholas Weinstock, and “We offered to work with Internet Archive in 2017 Stuart Woods. The complaint asks that Kiss Li- to create a licensing system that would make Open brary and its operators be enjoined from illegally Library compliant with the copyright law, and that copying, distributing and selling works written or offer was rejected. Internet Archive’s unwilling- published by the plaintiffs. ness to work with authors and publishers to make Kiss Library, which does business under their program legal unfortunately made a lawsuit Kissly.net, Libly.net, Cheap-Library.com and other the only recourse.” domain names, is a pirate online bookstore based After learning of the lawsuit, Internet Archive in Ukraine that illegally sells pirated e-books at ceased operation of its National Emergency discounted prices to unsuspecting U.S. readers. Library on June 16, two weeks before the termina- The defendants’ websites are presented like legiti- tion date it had originally announced (presumably mate sites that offer discount books, intention- due to the lawsuit). However, Open Library is still ally deceiving consumers who are unaware that up and running, largely in reliance on a faulty legal authors, publishers and legitimate booksellers are theory called “controlled digital lending,” which being denied their legal share of the sales price. has been rejected through the Second Circuit’s “In the last decade, and especially the last decision in Capitol Records LLC v. ReDigi Inc.2 couple of years,” said plaintiff and Guild President On July 28, Internet Archive served its answer Doug Preston, “the number of piracy complaints to the complaint, insisting that it “does what librar- handled by the Authors Guild has skyrocketed, ies have always done” and repeated its argument which is why we no longer could sit by and allow that its actions are permissible under its (legally book piracy entities like Kiss Library to continue debunked) theory of “controlled digital lending.” to rob authors and publishers of their ability to The Authors Guild supports the publishers’ earn a living.” He went on to say, “We are filing lawsuit and sees it as an important step toward this suit not only on behalf of ourselves but for the putting an end to the rogue practice of making thousands of authors who labor years to write a works available online without permission and book, putting their hearts and souls into every sen- eventually creating a licensing system for out- tence, only to see their income lost to book piracy.” of-print books. We will continue to monitor and A 2017 study by Nielsen and Digimarc indi- report on the litigation. cated that illegal e-book downloads in the United States amounted to approximately $315 million in Amazon and Authors vs. Kiss lost e-book sales per year, which negatively affect- Library ed legitimate book sales by as much as 14 percent. Since the 2017 study, the number of pirate e-book On July 7, 2020, members of the Authors Guild, to- sellers has grown at an alarming rate, as have the gether with Amazon Publishing and Penguin Ran- piracy complaints the Guild has received from its dom House LLC, filed a suit against book piracy members. U.S.-based search engines make these entity Kiss Library in the U.S. District Court for websites easily accessible to American consumers, the Western District of Washington.3 The plain- leaving American authors and publishing compa- tiffs from the Authors Guild include its president, nies no recourse against these rogue foreign sites, Doug Preston, and members and board members other than through expensive federal litigation. “We are very grateful to Amazon Publishing and Penguin Random House for joining us in 2 See Winter 2018–Spring 2019 Bulletin, page 38. this lawsuit, as few authors possess the finan- 3 Amazon Content Services LLC et al. v. KISS LIBRARY d/b/a KISSLY.NET et al. cial resources to file suit in federal court,

10 Authors Guild Bulletin particularly against a foreign adversary as cagey as Kiss Library,” said Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild. “Over the last several years, we have worked through various channels to curtail Every purchase from the proliferation of e-book piracy sites, but Kiss an illegal piracy site Library has been a challenge since it is a particu- larly egregious criminal enterprise. It sells highly represents a theft of commercial books and passes itself off as a legiti- earned income from the mate site. Unlike authorized sites that pay for the author and publisher, books they sell, Kiss Library keeps all the proceeds that it illegally obtains from American readers. Not causing massive losses a single penny goes to the authors or publishers to the industry that, that produce the books.” Ms. Rasenberger added, “This lawsuit joins over time, will diminish best-selling and emerging authors with industry the industry’s ability to leaders in a united fight against piracy. Every pur- publish a wide diversity chase from an illegal piracy site represents a theft of earned income from the author and publisher, caus- of voices. ing massive losses to the industry that, over time, —Mary Rasenberger will diminish the industry’s ability to publish a wide diversity of voices. This outright theft must stop.” On July 8, 2020, Judge Marsha J. Pechman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a temporary restraining order requiring domain registrars to disable the domains have not filed anything with the court in response controlled by Kiss Library and turn over all docu- to the allegations against them, Judge Pechman’s ments connected to the sites and their operators injunction is substantially based on the proposed within five days. The order further directed pay- order submitted by the plaintiffs, signaling that ment processors to identify and freeze all of Kiss the court found the plaintiffs’ allegations and evi- Library’s financial assets. All the known domain dence against the pirates credible and deserving of names associated with the pirate operation have strong injunctive relief. been taken down, and lawyers for the plaintiffs are All the known domain names associated working with domain registrars to obtain informa- with the pirate operation have been taken down, tion about the individuals who registered them. and lawyers for the authors and publishers are Then, following a scheduled hearing on August working with services subject to the injunction 28, Judge Pechman granted the request of authors to obtain and investigate records relating to the and publishers for a preliminary injunction. This individuals involved in operating the sites. This injunction extended the court’s July 8 temporary investigation so far has uncovered the names of restraining order and directs third parties, includ- previously unknown individuals connected to the ing search engines, ad services, domain registrars, piracy scheme, as well as additional sites that were payment processors and privacy proxies, to sus- part of the larger Kiss piracy scheme. These sites pend services, locate and freeze the pirates’ assets, had been distributing pirated comics and cartoons, and turn over documents and records related to catering to millions of users until they were also the piracy scheme. This injunction will remain in disabled as a result of the injunction. We are hope- effect during the pendency of the lawsuit. Since ful that the court will hand down a final judgment the defendants failed to attend the hearing and before year’s end.

Fall – Winter 2020 11 On June 2, 2020, Authors Guild President Doug THE CASE Preston testified before the Senate Judiciary Com- mittee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) FOR REVISING notice-and-takedown system (enacted as section 512 of the Copyright Act). Here are Mr. Preston’s in- SECTION 512 troductory and concluding remarks. The full writ- ten statement is at www.judiciary.senate.gov/ The Digital imo/media/doc/Preston%20Testimony.pdf. I welcome the opportunity to submit these com- Millennium ments on behalf of the Authors Guild in con- nection with my testimony before the Senate Copyright Act Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellec- tual Property. was supposed to The Authors Guild is a national nonprofit association of almost 10,000 professional writ- protect authors ers, many of whom struggle daily to combat the unauthorized online distribution of their works. from piracy. It’s Founded in 1912, the Guild counts historians, biog- raphers, academicians, journalists, and other writ- not working and ers of nonfiction and fiction as members. The Guild works to promote the rights and professional inter- it hasn’t for years. ests of authors in various areas, including copy- right, freedom of expression, and taxation. The work of my fellow Authors Guild members covers important issues in history, biography, science, pol- itics, medicine, business, and other areas; they are frequent contributors to the most influential and well-respected publications in every field. As an organization whose members earn their livelihoods through their writing, the Guild has a fundamental interest in ensuring that works of authorship and the rights of authors are protected online, and that the hard work and talents of our nation’s authors are rewarded so that they can keep writing, as intended by the framers of the Constitution. Is the DMCA’s Notice-and- Takedown System Working in the 21st Century?

I appreciate the directness of the question in the title, and I will answer it in that same spirit. The

12 Authors Guild Bulletin notice-and-takedown system is not working — at least not for authors, other individual creators and small creative businesses. This is because of the extremely narrow way in which the courts The whack-a-mole sys- have construed the disqualifications for section tem that the courts left 512’s safe harbors, effectively eliminating several prerequisites. The courts did so in part because us with is absurd and of section 512(m)’s express statement that safe unworkable, particu- harbor protection is not conditioned on a duty to larly from the individual monitor. This is one of the provisions most in need of amendment because it causes internal inconsis- creators’ perspective. tencies within the statute. A rights­holder should Nor is the statute working as Congress intended. The drafters of the Digital Millennium not have to send a take- Copyright Act not only recognized the economic down notice every single promise of the digital revolution, but they also rec- time an infringing copy ognized its perils to rightsholders — particularly to individual creators such as authors, who lack the appears at a new URL. resources to combat digital theft on an industrial scale. In enacting the DMCA in 1998, Congress intended for section 512 to strike a balance between the needs of rightsholders and the needs of internet service providers (ISPs), by incentivizing ISPs to cooperate with rightsholders in combating internet some inconsistencies within the statute as applied piracy, while at the same time promoting the devel- to today’s ISPs. As the United States Copyright opment of a robust internet economy. At the heart Office concluded in its recent report, “Section 512 of section 512 is a bargain struck between copy- of Title 17”, courts have interpreted ISPs’ “obliga- right owners and service providers: in exchange for tions and limitations . . . quite narrowly, resulting protection from financial liability for the infringe- in broader application of the safe harbors than ment of their users, the ISPs were to cooperate with Congress likely anticipated.” As such, we believe copyright owners in protecting against copyright that legislative action is required to clarify some infringement on their services. of the provisions and thereby reset the intended The second aspect of the bargain hasn’t balance of section 512. worked so well. Courts have barely held ISPs But first, to give you a sense of what it is like accountable. With the exception of recent cases to operate under section 512 today, I will describe that enforced section 512(i)’s requirement to adopt the Authors Guild’s and its members’ experiences and reasonably implement a repeat-infringer pol- in trying to combat digital piracy through notice- icy, most decisions interpreting section 512 — par- and-takedown, as well as our efforts to work with ticularly those in the Second and Ninth Circuits, some of the major platforms on behalf of authors. where the largest number of copyright cases are This should help elucidate what’s working in sec- brought — have done so in favor of the ISP and to tion 512 and what’s not. I will then address section the detriment of the rightsholder. This, we believe, 512’s interpretation by the courts, discuss how is due not only to the courts’ understandable fear the statute’s internal inconsistencies may have of interfering with the progress of nascent inter- led courts to frustrate congressional intent, and net technologies but also a misunderstanding of describe the Authors Guild’s proposed changes to the bargain Congress intended to enact because of the statute to encourage real cooperation between

Fall – Winter 2020 13 certain circumstances it needs more information to identify recurring infringement, the rightshold- er should provide it. Technology and prac- The fixes we have recommended in this state- tices have changed dra- ment would revert section 512 to what Congress intended: to encourage ISPs and rightsholders to matically since the DMCA take down and keep infringing content off their was adopted in 1998. We services. This is not a new idea. The statute that love our technology, Congress enacted in 1998 was a staydown statute, not a whack-a-mole one. If clarified in the ways and the internet sector suggested in this statement, section 512 will oper- has brought enormous ate as originally intended — as a “takedown and staydown” statute. value to the book indus- An alternative approach would be an express try, and indeed to our takedown and staydown regime. Rather than (or nation. But ISPs should in addition to) the clarifications described in this statement, Congress could enact a new provision not be allowed to profit that provides that a takedown notice applies to from infringing content every full-length, identical copy of the particular work. In other words, one notice does not result in without any penalties one takedown but in the removal of all current and or disincentives. infringing copies of that work. Technology and practices have changed dra- matically since the DMCA was adopted in 1998. We love our technology, and the internet sector has brought enormous value to the book industry, and indeed to our nation. But ISPs should not be allowed all ISPs and rightsholders, particularly individual to profit from infringing content without any pen- authors and other creators. alties or disincentives. The largest ISPs have got- ten extraordinarily rich in recent years because Mr. Preston then explained how pirate sites oper- they provide access to vast quantities of copyright- ate to defraud authors, providing a detailed and full ed content for free. The access they provide has account of how the statute has been interpreted transformed our world: information about almost by courts to authors’ disadvantage, concluding as anything is at our fingertips. It is nothing short of follows: extraordinary. But the way that many courts have The courts’ overbroad application of the safe interpreted section 512 has allowed those for-profit harbors (and their narrow application of the dis- companies to grow and prosper to an obscene mea- qualifiers) has caused real, palpable damage to our sure and to drain wealth out of the creative com- creative sectors. The whack-a-mole system that munity, leaving individual creators poorer than the courts left us with is absurd and unworkable, ever. We are a nation built on the inspiration and particularly from the individual creators’ per- creative work of individual creators. That’s why we spective. A rightsholder should not have to send need legislative reform to section 512. a takedown notice every single time an infringing On behalf of the almost 10,000 members of copy appears at a new URL. After the first time, the Authors Guild, I thank you for your attention the ISP has been put on notice. It knows what to to this matter. The Authors Guild is available for look for and it knows who the rightsholder is. If in further consultation.

14 Authors Guild Bulletin The Authors Guild mourns the loss of Associate in memoriam Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, who died September 18, from pancreatic cancer. A towering advocate for equal rights, particularly in Ruth Bader relation to sex discrimination, Ginsburg or “RBG” as she was affectionately called, was almost as fa- Ginsburg, mous for her dissenting opinions as she was for her five wins before the U.S. Supreme Court dur- 1933 –2020 ing her years as Director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project, when she successfully embarked on an audacious legal strategy that transformed the constitutional understanding of gender. A lifelong devotee of literature and the arts, especially opera, Ginsburg also was known for her gift for writing and as an author of numerous books, articles, and speeches. While an undergrad- uate at Cornell University, she studied European literature under legendary author Vladimir Nabokov, whom Ginsburg credited for changing how she wrote. “Nabokov taught me how words could paint pictures and that choosing the right words in the right order could make an enormous difference in conveying an image or an idea,” Ginsburg stated in the preface to My Own Words, a compilation of her speeches, essays, and articles published in 2015 by Simon & Schuster. “My eye is on the reader . . . I try to be as clear and concise as I can be,” Ginsburg once said about her writing process. “I go through innumerable drafts.” According to Irin Corman, coauthor of Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ginsburg so valued the act of writing and the insights it could bring that she once demanded that her teenage son spend his summer writing an essay a day. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Joan Ruth Bader began using her middle name in kindergarten because there were just too many Joans in her class. No stranger to the tragedy of loss, Ruth lost her sister to meningitis when she was just six years old and her mother to cervical cancer the day before Ruth graduated high school. She won a scholarship to Cornell University where she met

Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States Court of the United Collection of the Supreme and fell in love with Martin Ginsburg, to whom

Fall – Winter 2020 15 she was married for 52 years, until Martin’s death were previously in the public domain. Ginsburg’s in 2010. The couple raised two children, Jane, other major copyright opinions include Fourth the Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Estate Public Benefit Corporation v. Wall-Street. Artistic Property Law at the Columbia Law School Com, which resolved a longstanding split between (and who has advised the Authors Guild on vari- the federal circuit courts of appeals as to whether ous projects over the years), and James, American the Copyright Act required plaintiffs in copyright music producer and founder and president of infringement claims to have secured registration Cedille Records, a classical label. before commencing litigation. Ginsburg attended Harvard and Columbia Even in her dissents, Ginsburg resolutely University Law Schools and taught law at Rutgers supported the rights of authors and creators. In and Columbia, where she became its first female the 2013 case Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, tenured law professor. In 1980, President Jimmy Inc. — which allowed the application of the “first Carter appointed Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of sale doctrine” to imported copies of books, open- Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. President Bill Clinton ing the door for the unauthorized importation and then nominated her to the U.S. Supreme Court in sale of cheaper editions specifically made for for- 1993, where she sailed through the Senate confir- eign markets alongside new and used copies in the mation hearing and was confirmed with a vote of domestic market — Ginsburg chastened the major- 97 – 3. ity for trying to justify a holding that “shrinks to In 2009, Forbes named Ginsburg among the insignificance copyright protection against the 100 Most Powerful Women. Glamour named her unauthorized importation of foreign-made copies” one of their 1993 Women of the Year and present- with “imaginary” concerns. ed her with their Lifetime Achievement Award For Ginsburg, dissents were as important in 2012. In 2015, Time listed her as an Icon in the and powerful as the voice of a unanimous Court. Time 100, and in 2016, Fortune named her one of “Dissents speak to a future age. It’s not simply to the World’s Greatest Leaders. In 2020, she was the say, ‘My colleagues are wrong and I would do it this subject of the Q&A series “I Know This to Be True,” way,’” Ginsburg said in an NPR interview. “But the reflecting on her many years of service to the law, greatest dissents do become court opinions and on her family life, her struggles with cancer, gen- gradually over time their views become the domi- der equality, personal fitness, and literature. nant view. So that’s the dissenter’s hope: that they Although most widely known for her civil are writing not for today, but for tomorrow.” rights cases, Ginsburg also authored a number of Writing not for today, but for tomorrow. . . . important opinions and dissenting opinions on In this, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was truly a kindred copyright law. Most prominently, she wrote the spirit of authors everywhere. Court’s 2003 opinion in Eldred v. Ashcroft, uphold- We send our deepest condolences to her fam- ing the constitutionality of the 1998 Sonny Bono ily and many friends. Copyright Term Extension Act. Ginsburg’s opin- ion championed the importance of authors’ rights to earn an income from their creations against the assertion that copyright must serve public ends by reminding us that “The two ends are not mutu- ally exclusive; copyright law serves public ends by providing individuals with an incentive to pursue private ones.” In Golan v. Holder, Ginsburg led a 6-2 major- ity of the Court in holding that Congress had the power to extend copyright protection to works that

16 Authors Guild Bulletin Closing the Diversity Gap Celebrating in Children’s Black Voices Publishing

We spend a lot of time proving to publishers, proving to reviewing organizations, proving that we exist . . . that’s so much of the conversation: “There is a large black readership out there” or “We are reading these books; if you publish them, we will buy them . . .”

Fall – Winter 2020 17 Illustration by Lindsey Bailey Lindsey by Illustration

18 Authors Guild Bulletin What would happen if we refused to answer publishing professionals across the board, from those moments, those questions? If we would say, agents to editors to marketing and sales to review- “I’m no longer going to prove to you that I exist; I’m ers — they’re all less than 5 percent — what does it no longer going to prove to you that there is a vast mean to have that low a level of representation in readership that is clamoring for this work. I want to all those areas? talk about the next step. I want to talk about what “When we’re talking about agenting and edit- are the kinds of books that would serve that vast ing, when we have a Black creator who is sending readership that we already know exists.” in work, and maybe the person looking at it does not connect with the story because it is outside — Christopher Myers, award-winning that person’s cultural experience, that story may children’s book author and illustrator not be given an opportunity to be heard. “When we’re thinking about marketing and In June 2018, Dr. Pauletta Bracy and children’s sales — you have somebody who gets a deal, and book authors and Raleigh-Durham Regional Chap- they’re overjoyed and excited, and hopeful of mak- ter ambassadors Judy Allen Dodson and Kelly ing a tie with their audience in a powerful way — Starling Lyons hosted the first live event in the but if you have people in marketing and sales who Authors Guild’s nationwide chapter program: “The don’t know how to market our books, or don’t know Business of Being a Writer.” In October 2018, they how to show our stories as universal, that can be organized a symposium and festival at North Caro- another stumbling block. lina Central University featuring Black children’s “When we’re talking about getting books into book authors and illustrators, bringing artists to- the hands of librarians, and educators, and book- gether with librarians, educators and parents to store owners, the role of the reviewer is essen- discuss the diversity gap in children’s literature. tial — so if we don’t have our books being sent in This summer, Dodson and Lyons took this the same numbers, if we don’t have reviewers on long overdue conversation to a broader audience staff who are able to understand the nuance and of Guild members across the country, streaming the authenticity of our work, that’s another stum- three powerful panel discussions in which Black bling block. authors, illustrators, publishing professionals, and “Sometimes we have a book that’s centering a academics addressed the barriers to equal access, Black child and people think, ‘That’s only for Black compensation, and promotion that persist in the children,’ instead of it being for everyone. But publishing community and feed that inequality. when we have a book like Where the Wild Things At the start of the first panel, Pushing for Are, suddenly that’s a mainstream title. And we Change in Children’s Publishing, Kelly Starling want to push back against the notion that our Lyons spoke at some length about the challenges books are not universal.” that Black authors and illustrators faced, framing It is impossible to overstate the cultural and the issues that they and their 13 panelists would educational power of children’s books, books that tackle over three panels. reflect your world, your experience, your family, as “Children’s book creators, people who work in well as books that expose children to other worlds, the children’s book field, are people who are lov- traditions and faces. The Black Voices series ing and are in this to give back,” she said. “But it’s addresses the challenges of bringing about institu- really important to know that having a good heart tional change head-on, laying out the obstacles and is not enough when we’re talking about operating the fixes that need to be made, while celebrating a and maintaining even an unintentionally flawed community, a readership, and resources that are and racist system . . . The challenges and barriers long overdue to be discovered by a broader audi- are institutional. ence. “When you look at the number of Black

Fall – Winter 2020 19 The Authors Guild’s Black Voices series was in- Q&A: spired and made possible by the work of North Carolina Chapter Ambassadors Judy Allen Dod- son and Kelly Starling Lyons, who have long ad- Judy Allen vocated for greater recognition of works by Black authors and who had the knowledge, connections, Dodson and energy to bring together a remarkable lineup of panelists for three consecutive discussions. (See and Kelly pp. 25 and 26.) There remains much to be said, and we were lucky enough to arrange a remote Q&A with Judy Starling and Kelly.

Lyons AG: You’ve both been active in trying to promote works by Black authors and illustrators — Kelly as one of the founding members of The Brown A discussion with BookShelf, Judy as a librarian, and both of you as authors. the organizers of What were your experiences of reading as children? Did you have reactions similar to Judy’s our Black Voices son, asking “why don’t any of the characters look like me?” Do you remember the first books you series read that starred Black characters, The Snowy Day aside? JAD: I can’t remember a time in my life that I didn’t have a book in my hand. My mother would always read to me and I remember wanting to know what happened next and never wanting the adventures to end. One of my favorite memories from my childhood is when my mother would take me and my sister to our public library in Shaker Heights, Ohio, not too far from our house. I was still in elementary school and extremely excited when my mother allowed me to take my sister upstairs to the children’s department and read for hours. I remember reading and sometimes pretending to read and pointing to the pictures for my sister to follow along. When she got restless, I would take her downstairs to my mother and go back upstairs and relish in checking out all the books, with my own library card, that I could carry home that day. Growing up there weren’t many books with Black characters that I could identify with, because the characters didn’t look like me or anyone in my family. However, there was one book that I’ll always remember, that captured the

20 Authors Guild Bulletin true essence of what I was looking for in a story, and that was, The People Could Fly, by Virginia Hamilton. From the moment I opened that book and saw the beautiful Black people flying I knew that to possess magic they must have come from a special place and they did: Africa. She let me know that I was valued because everyone looked like me. This was my evergreen book because I read it over and over again. I want every Black child to feel seen and know that they matter, like Virginia Hamilton did for me. And for this reason alone, the Black creators must be given the opportunity to tell their stories from an authentic voice. KSL: As a child, books greeted me from nearly every room of our house. They were friends and I didn’t see my face in motivators, comforters and teachers. You could children’s literature often find me lost in a book with my feet warmed by the radiator behind my bedroom door, taking a until I spotted Roll of journey with each page I turned. Thunder, Hear My Cry in a Reading was like eating. My family made it book club catalog. clear that it was an essential part of being healthy and strong. I remember Saturday afternoons going — Kelly starling lyons to Carnegie Library with my mom and brother and coming home clutching a favorite find. Mom would also take us to see fairytale favorites brought to life on the stage of Pittsburgh Playhouse, Jr. Storytelling was all around. But I didn’t see my face in children’s literature book creators is a commitment I’m honored to until I spotted Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry in a make. book club catalog. I was in third grade and was see- AG: You hosted the first AG Chapter event ever, ing a Black girl on the cover of a children’s book for “The Business of Being a Writer,” in June 2018, the first time. Immediately, I felt a connection. I and followed up with a panel for children’s book didn’t have the words to articulate what it meant authors and illustrators of color in October 2018. back then. But it planted a seed in me that bloomed Were you already planning to revisit the issue into my creating stories as an adult writer that again, or did the moment inspire this more vigor- center Black children and celebrate all kids. ous head-on examination of the structural and sta- Black kids deserve to be the stars of stories just tistical barriers of publishing? like kids do from all backgrounds. Helping to fill JAD: The systematic racism and the anti-Black- that need is to me like creating music that lets you ness in the Kidlit industry is definitely nothing feel the full range of who we are. I celebrated my new. George Floyd’s death was horrific to witness 15th anniversary as a children’s book author last on TV and we were still in lockdown mode due to year. It has been an amazing journey made more COVID-19, but Kelly and I knew we couldn’t sit by special by my family, friends like Judy, my Brown and go on with life as usual and move forward with Bookshelf buddies, creators who have inspired me our regularly scheduled programs. One of my fa- and everyone who has looked out along the way. vorite quotes is by Arthur Ashe, “Start where you

Photo © Lundie’s Photography © Lundie’s Photo Helping to raise the visibility of Black children’s are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

Fall – Winter 2020 21 We knew we had the platform as Authors Guild ambassadors so we started there. We expressed to Black the Guild’s Andrea Bronson, vice president of pro- Representation grams, and Melissa Ragsly, manager of regional in the chapters, how we felt about the current state of Publishing the lack of representation by Black children’s Industry book creators, and without hesitation or a second thought they were on board with the idea of a pro- gram centering voices from Black children’s book creators. This was the catalyst that initiated the larger conversation about the disparities for Black 15% creators. Authors* KSL: The times required the Black Voices series. Judy and I talk often about disparities in the field and ways to make a difference. In the Raleigh area, where we live, we’ve helped create programs and 4% events to center Black creators including the Cel- Literary Agents ebrating Our Voices festival and a series hosted by Wake County Public Library and the NC Museum of History that shined a light on the contributions of two pioneering Black authors. We’re also Lit- 1% erature & Spoken Word co-chairs for the African Editorial American Cultural Celebration at the NC Museum of History. As authors and advocates, we know the importance of lifting the voices of Black creators. Having Guild programming switch to a vir- 4% tual platform provided a unique opportunity to host a national panel. In our roles as regional co- Marketing & Publicity ambassadors for the Guild, we typically focus on a broad range of topics of interest to NC writers from the business of being a writer and successful 3% self-publishing to a children’s book workshop and meet-and-greet with NC-based publishers. But Sales the need for another reckoning in children’s book publishing was building. The explosion of protests nationwide decrying police brutality and systemic 4% racism gave long-standing efforts to fight publish- ing inequities with more force and urgency. Reviewers AG: I was struck by Christopher Myers’s under- *Percentage of Black children’s standable exasperation about having this discus- book contributors in 2018, as reported by the Cooperative sion, again, and making the pitch to publishers, Children’s Book Center, School again, that yes, Black people do read books and buy of Education, University of books, and many other of your panelists have made Wisconsin-Madison. All other the same point. data pulled from the Diversity Baseline Survey 2.0, released 2019 In a weird way, the stats showing that books by Lee & Low Books. about Africans and/or African Americans were

22 Authors Guild Bulletin more than twice the number of books written or illustrated by Black creators confirmed that pub- lishers actually do know there’s an audience for Black stories for all age groups, just never valued authenticity enough to seek out Black writers to write them. But the appetite for big change on so many issues seems to be at an all-time high — Do you feel that the moment is different and that change is more likely? JAD: Yes, the pendulum is swinging more on the side of inclusion toward Black creators now but there’s lots more work to be done to sustain this momentum. We are so thankful to see our agent and editor allies out there working toward being inclusive by asking to see our work and being more accessible at various stages in the creative process. But we know that an extremely high percentage of the industry professional gatekeepers and deci- sion makers are non-Black, so there’s a need for more inclusivity at the literary agencies and pub- backgrounds, and that all those books are authen- lishing houses. tically written by those from that culture. Also, there have been initiatives supporting KSL: We hope this moment will be different. Black creators at various stages in their careers, for There’s so much powerful work being done, from example, the Guild’s Office Hours, where emerg- the illumination brought by author LL McKinney’s ing and mid-career Black creators get to speak #PublishingPaidMe to the activism of Tracy Sher- with agents and editors and ask questions to get a rod’s #BlackoutBestsellerList to ongoing work better understanding of how the industry works. done by The Brown Bookshelf, Kweli: The Color There are other initiatives that offer craft sessions, of Children’s Literature Conference, the African critique groups, and mentoring, like the grass- American Children’s Book Project, We Need Di- roots support group, #BlackCreatorsInKidLit. We verse Books, Highlights and more. want to keep this positive energy moving forward Publishers know change is needed. They because it’s imperative that Black creators are have for decades. There have been times when given this opportunity to be nurtured, taught the they made efforts to acquire more books by Black craft as well as the business sides of the industry. creators only to return to the broken system that We’re very happy to see that many industry profes- exists today. It’s shameful and heartbreaking that sionals have volunteered their time and resources year after year there are more books published by to support Black creators. white children’s book creators about Black people I understand that this is a business but we have than by us. We can tell our own stories and have to remember that the foundation of this industry for generations. The talent is there. From midlist is to authentically teach children and young adults Black writers who are overlooked for opportuni- about other cultures, races, religions, and disabili- ties to new voices, publishers have a rich pool of ties, so they become more inclusive and accepting Black talent. There’s no excuse. of those who are different from them but also to We need enduring change, not an initia- know that we are more alike than we are different. tive that will be forgotten in a few years. That’s My hope is that all kids should see themselves what we’re hoping will happen. At The Brown

Illustration by Lindsey Bailey Lindsey by Illustration in books, learn about other children from varied Bookshelf, we issued a Call to Action to stand up

Fall – Winter 2020 23 needed conversations that we’ll continue to follow up on next year. KSL: We’ll continue the Black Voices conversa- tion next summer by doing a temperature check to gauge if there has been movement to right historic wrongs and create meaningful change in children’s book publishing. The feedback we received on the series has been so heartening and uplifting. Cre- ators, publishers, agents and more have reached out to thank us for the panels and offered sup- port for follow up initiatives like our Office Hours program, giving small groups of Black creators a chance to have a Q&A with agents and editors. AG: What’s next for you as authors? My hope is that all kids JAD: My goal is to have three writing projects a should see themselves year, to include a picture book, a chapter book, and a graphic novel. I’m currently working on a story in books, learn about where my characters fly, just like in Virginia Ham- other children from ilton’s story, The People Could Fly. varied backgrounds, and KSL: My Ty’s Travels easy reader series debuted September 1 with two titles, All Aboard and Zip, that all those books are Zoom. The I Can Read series, illustrated by NYT- authentically written. bestseller Nina Mata, celebrates joy and the power of imagination. In each book, Ty turns an every- — Judy Allen Dodson day experience into a special adventure. I’m hon- ored to have the chance to create a series for the youngest readers with a Black boy as the star. Next year, you’ll see a new Ty book titled Beach Day; a new book in my Jada Jones chapter book series and an essay I wrote for a powerful for Black creators and to urge publishers to join us forthcoming anthology, Recognize, edited by Wade in committing to building an industry that values Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson. Black contributions, that is equitable and strong. You can read it here — thebrownbookshelf. Kelly Starling Lyons is the author of 17 books for com/2020/08/24/call-to-action/. children, a co-founder of the Brown Bookshelf and AG: What’s next for you as organizers? Have you has been a member of the Guild since 2005. Learn had any feedback from agents, publishers, Guild more about Kelly at www.kellystarlinglyons.com; members? Judy Allen Dobson is the author of two books for JAD: Since we’re still dealing with the COVID-19 children, and a librarian for 10 years. She joined the pandemic our plans are to continue with virtual Guild in 2016. programming. The feedback that we’ve received has been positive and encouraging from the entire kidlit community. I want to thank the Guild, our panelists, indus- try professionals, and everyone who tuned in to support the three-part series. These were much

24 Authors Guild Bulletin Black Voices Wade Hudson is an award- Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati is winning children’s book author and the CEO of the African American Series Panelists, Vice-President Children’s Book Summer, 2020 of Just Us Project, a non- Books, which profit she The 13 panelists who participated he and his founded in in the series represent the richness, wife started 1992, with the variety and the importance of after their the goal of the work of Black children’s book AFRO-BETS promoting authors and illustrators, and articu- ABC Book, was and preserv- late the absurdity of that work not turned down by ing “children’s lit- being “mainstream.” Hear what they a string of publishers, one of whom erature written by or about African have to say online, check out their told them, “There’s no market for Americans.” She is also CEO of the websites, order their books and the Black children’s books.” He is the marketing firm Literary Media and books they recommend. The holi- author of more than 20 books for Publishing Consultants, and founder days are just ahead. children. His most recent release of the African American Children’s is a poetry collection, Journey. The Book Fair in Philadelphia, which Hudsons’ latest collaboration is The held its 28th event in February Black Voices Talk: Conversations about Race, 2020. Part I: Pushing Love &Truth. For Change Christopher Myers is a chil- Black Voices In Children’s dren’s book author and illustrator, the recipient of Part II: Centering Publishing a Caldecott Black Creators Jalissa Marcelle Corrie is an Honor award (Harlem: Floyd Cooper is an award- author (A Phoenix First Must Burn: winning children’s book illustra- Sixteen Stories of A Poem) and three tor and author. Black Girl Magic, He began Resistance,­ Coretta Scott King Honor his career and Hope), as an illus- a marketing Awards (Jazz, Black Cat, and H-O-R-S-E: A Game trator with and publish- Hallmark, ing profes- of Basketball and Imagination). He has illustrated several works by his and de- sional, and a signed his planning com- late father, Walter Dean Meyers (Jazz, Blues Journey, Looking Like first children’s mittee member of book, Eloise Greenfield’s Grandpa’s People of Color in Publishing. Me); as well as Misty Copeland’s, memoir, Firebird, reissues of Zora Face in 1988. His many titles — now Cheryl Willis Hudson is a chil- nearing 100 — include Sisters & dren’s book author and co-founder Neale Hurston’s Lies and Other Tales and e.e.cummings’ Selected Champions, about Venus and of Just Us Books, Serena Williams; Jump!, the story of the indepen- Poems. He is the founder of Random House Children’s division Michael Jordan; and Coming Home, dent press about Langston Hughes. publishing Make Me a Word imprint. Quressa Robinson is with Zetta Elliott is an award- house that winning children’s author, educa- she and Nelson Literary Agency’s New York office, specializ- tor, essayist, and her hus- playwright, band, Wade ing in Middle Grade, Young who writes Hudson, for several launched in 1988. Adults and Adult SF/F. age groups She is the author of more than 20 across mul- children’s books, a recipient of the She has an MFA in cre- tiple formats, Stephen Crane Award, a member publishing of the Children’s Book Committee ative writing from Columbia with traditional of PEN America, and an inductee publishers and independently. As of the International Literary Hall of and spent several years editing at St. Martin’s Press. a children’s author, she says on her Fame for Writers of African Descent. website, she writes “about the tex- Photos: Corrie © Andrea Afua Kwamya; Lloyd-Sgambati © Martin Regusters; Elliott © Bianca Cordova; Rhuday-Perkovich © Kikelomo Amusa-Shonubi © Kikelomo Rhuday-Perkovich © Bianca Elliott Cordova; © Martin Regusters; Lloyd-Sgambati Kwamya; Afua Corrie © Andrea Photos:

Fall – Winter 2020 25 ture of children’s lives — the gritty the founder of set in Red Hook, realities of poverty, racism, and ad- Versify, an the neigh- diction, the glittering light of snow, HMH imprint borhood he stars, and sunshine, and the gentle launched in (and James comfort that only a grandparent can 2019 with McBride) provide. . . . I write the books I wish I the mission grew up in had had as a child.” of expand- and where he Olugbemisola Rhuday- ing and enrich- still teaches. Perkovich began her career as a ing the voices His most recent children’s author children get to hear, inviting never- novel is Stay in Your Lane. with 8th Grade published writers to submit manu- Dr. Kimberly N. Parker is a Superzero, scripts, and offering what must former teacher, now training teach- (Scholastic, surely be the most candid and help- ers, with special 2011) which ful advice to would be submitters focus on lit- PW called in the history of the book. versify- eracy and a “master- books.tumblr.com/contact access to ful debut.” She Troy Johnson is an electric literature of has added five engineer and website designer, a significance additional titles since, in both fiction graduate of Wall to young and nonfiction. She edited the We Street, an edu- Black readers. Need Diverse Books middle grade cator and She is a colum- anthology, The Hero Next Door, the founder, nist for the Journal of Adolescent & and has been a contributor to the in 1998, of Adult Literacy, a frequent speaker anthologies We Rise, We Resist, We the African at conferences and her “African Raise Our Voices: The Journey is American Lit­ American Literature for Black Boys, Everything; Imagine It Better; and erature Book Pre-K – 12” list is a popular resource. Break These Rules. Club, which has grown into an invaluable portal for Black authors and their readers, Series Moderator Black Voices reviewing and selling their books, Cheryl Davis, the Authors Part III: Building giving advice to aspiring authors, Guild General Counsel and modera- Community connecting readers to Black-owned tor for the three bookstores, local bookclubs, and Black Voices Kwame Alexander is a best- more. He has played a significant panels, is a selling and award-winning author role in the promotion and support of graduate of of 28 children’s books to date, in- African American authors ever since. Princeton cluding Crossover, which was re- Torey Maldonado is a teacher University jected by 22 publishers before and an award-winning children’s and earned being bought by Houghton Mifflin author who writes for middle her M.S.J. and Harcourt and went on to win the grade and young adults. He won a J.D. degrees at Newbery medal in 2015. He is also Christopher award in 2019 for Tight, Columbia University. She has over 20 years of experience in intellec- tual property law that includes a long history of pro bono work. She is also a playwright, with more than 15 plays to her name, including The Color of Justice, the Audelco Award-winning Maids Door, and Barnstormer, a musical about Bessie Coleman, the first woman of African For More About Our Series American and Native American de- scent to earn a pilot’s license. Cheryl Black Voices Pushing for Change Program: Kidlit Industry Temperature has written for Law & Order: SVU Check is scheduled for July 2021 as a follow-up to our 2020 series to and is the winner of a Writers Guild discuss any changes or improvements since summer 2020. All three 2020 Award and an Emmy nomination for panels are accessible on our website. her work on As the World Turns. Photos: Alexander © Portia Wiggins; Johnson © Marcia WIlson Wiggins; Johnson © Marcia © Portia Alexander Photos:

26 Authors Guild Bulletin Resource List* Black children’s books in the Other Resources country Just Us Books YouTube series Annual African American * Publishing companies and * Liberation Library Children’s Book Fair in * imprints owned or operated by EduColor Baltimore at the Reginald F. * BIPOC Social Justice Books Lewis Museum * Teaching for Change Just Us Books Kweli: The Color of * * * The Walter Grant (from Lee & Low Books Children’s Literature * * WNDB) Versify Conference * The Horn Book Denene Millner Books National Conference of * * * The Coretta Scott King Book Make Me a World African American Librarians * * Awards Kokila (NCAAL) * Lee & Low New Voices Award * Heartdrum Beautiful Blackbird Festival * * * Lee & Low New Visions * Hush Harbour * Black Book Festival (London) Arte Público Press Award * DisruptTexts * Amistad Articles/Books/Talks * * Reflection Press * “Mirrors, Windows and Recommended Books for * Blood Orange Press Sliding Glass Doors” by Children * Akashic Books Rudine Sims Bishop, author of * Layla’s Happiness by Organizations & Blogs Free Within Ourselves Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie, * “Who Can Tell My Story” by illustrated by Ashleigh Corrin The Brown Bookshelf, which Jacqueline Woodson * The First Part Last by Angela features 28 Days Later, an * * “Where Are the People of Johnson annual Black History Month ” Color in Children’s Books? The Best Time of Day by celebration of Black children’s * by Walter Dean Myers Valerie Flournoy, illustrated by book creators, and Generations * “The Apartheid of Children’s George Ford Book Club Literature” by Christopher Bright Eyes, Brown Skin African American Children’s * * Myers by Cheryl Willis Hudson and Book Project * “Black Creators for Children” Bernette G. Ford, illustrated by African American Literature * by Dianne Johnson-Feelings George Ford Book Club (ALLBC) * “Kwame Alexander on Stevie by John Steptoe We Need Diverse Books * * Children’s Books and the Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher (WNDB) * Color of Characters” Paul Curtis The Conscious Kid * * “Using Media to Talk African song lyrics by Peter Helping Kids Rise * * with Children About Tosh, illustrated by Rachel Moss Here Wee Read * Race” by Olugbemisola Furqan’s First Flat Top: El Black Children’s Books and * * Rhuday-Perkovich Primer Corte de Mesita de Authors * “Why ‘The Talk’ about Furqan by Robert Liu-Trujillo Cynsations * Race Isn’t Limited to Black Crown: An Ode to the Fresh CrazyQuiltEdi * * Families” by Patrice Gaines Cut by Derrick Barnes, * Society of Children’s Book * “Our Modern Minstrelsy” illustrated by Gordon C. James Writers and Illustrators by Kekla Magoon * Bedtime Bonnet by Nancy (SCBWI) * “Minstrelsy is the New Redd, illustrated by Nneka * The Authors Guild Black” by Zetta Elliott Myers * #BlackCreatorsinKidLit * The Dark Fantastic by Ebony * Cooperative Children’s Book Elizabeth Thomas *This list includes resources Center (CCBC) * Jerry Craft’s 2020 Coretta mentioned during our Black Voices * Read By 4th Scott King Book Award series. It is not exhaustive. Author Acceptance Speech Book Fairs and Conferences at ALA’s Virtual Book Award * African American Children’s Celebration Book Fair in Philadelphia, * The Talk: Conversations founded by Vanesse Lloyd- About Race, Love & Truth Sgambati, one of the oldest and edited by Wade Hudson and largest single-day events for Cheryl Willis Hudson

Fall – Winter 2020 27 On March 12, in the middle of a raging Southern Busier California rainstorm, a writer friend and I drove two hours, from Orange County down the coast to San Diego, to attend Left Coast Crime, an an- Than Ever: nual conference for crime writers and readers. In addition to appearing on a panel about noir, we In the Time planned to launch Crossing Borders, an anthol- ogy sponsored by the San Diego chapter of Sisters of COVID-19 in Crime and published by Down & Out Books, in which my driving companion and I both have stories. We checked into the Marriott, hurried to Scribble, catch the first two panels, then walked to a nearby restaurant for an early dinner. The book launch Scribble, Zoom, was scheduled for that night. We returned at six only to discover that Zoom the conference had been shut down, following Governor Gavin Newsom’s order, announced that afternoon, restricting events of more than 250 peo- by Barbara de Marco ple. Our group numbered 400. Force majeure meant Barrett the Marriott would refund the conference organiz- ers as well as those of us who had already checked in. That was welcome news, but for us and so many others who had been looking forward to the confer- ence and the launch, it felt ominous, and like a giant letdown, especially after months of planning. We drove home that night, apprehensive and anxious as to what the future would bring. The consequences of COVID-19 seemed remote to those of us living in Orange County, but not for long. That weekend we went on lockdown. And so my virtual life, and that of so many other writers, commenced, and while I expected my work to slow down, it only grew busier. My three face-to-face classes moved to Zoom. (My Gotham Writers Workshop class was already online.) My speaker series, usually based in a local indie bookstore, moved to Zoom, as did my class’s annual reading at said bookstore. A poetry reading I was involved with, also on Zoom. I started a free- writing group — yes, on Zoom — and writer friends and I started a critique group. Guess where? Zoom, of course. Interviews for my radio show were now conducted via Zoom audio and uploaded to be broadcast.

28 Authors Guild Bulletin I hope I remember how to engineer my show at the university station when — and if — we’re ever allowed back on campus. I have a virtual and growing stack of emails from publicists promoting “[I’m] learning to make books. I wish I could feature all their authors on and send video record- the show. And then there was my own writing — a novel- ings when I’d never so in-progress and a short-story collection, readying much as taken a selfie.” for agents. —Jane Hirshfield When asked how things were going and wheth- er I was writing, I heard myself regularly repeating, I’m busier than ever. Which prompted my curiosity as to how other writers were faring in the pandem- ic. I asked around. Busier than ever, they repeated. And those with new books coming out, who were pandemic. Her efforts to promote the book often scheduled for tours, found that alternative tour felt overwhelming. Learning to deal with various venues — there’s Zoom again — were key. software systems, preparing for virtual events, and Poet Jane Hirshfield’s new volume, Ledger, responding to interview questions via email was a was released just as lockdown began. Her sched- lot to contend with. uled in-person book tour segued to virtual tours “Who knew speaking about one’s book to an and workshops, and she began spending hours on audience in quarantine would be so difficult,” says Zoom and adjusting to life online. “[I’m] learning to Homa. “Where’s the line between confidence and make and send video recordings,” says Hirshfield, humility? Isn’t Facebook Live some weird public “when I’d never so much as taken a selfie.” monologue? Why did I feel like crying after some Author Rachel Vail, who’s married to a neu- Zoom events?” rologist and epidemiologist, said when it became But good reviews gave her a boost and encour- clear to her things were about to get bad with agement to get to work on her next novel. It’s been COVID-19, she cancelled her end-of-March book hard, though. She fights despair. On the upside, she tour before everything shut down. has grown less afraid of Zooming. “It was a weird time to have a book coming Many writers are dealing with despair. When out,” she says, “and this one especially, which I her book club appearances were cancelled, Debbie wanted to handle carefully and lovingly. As luck Burke took it hard. After an initial depression last- would have it, this spring was going to be my busi- ing two weeks in March, she became busier than est publishing season, maybe ever.” She loves her ever, launching a new thriller and making videos early-chapter book series, and while she hates with iMovie. “Movie making is not something I self-promotion, she says she would have done any- would have attempted if not for AG mentioning it thing, and talked to anyone, to promote them. “But as an option. AG has been an exceptional source of now bookstores are shuttered, schools are remote ideas and education for me, and I receive far more learning only. If there’s a good way to promote my value than my annual dues of $135.” five newly pubbed books, I sure don’t know what When the lockdown orders arrived, Los it is, so busier than ever? I don’t know. Only time Angeles poet Terry Wolverton looked forward to will tell, I suppose. I do now know how to play five Zoom yoga, online meditation and other classes, chords on the ukulele, at least.” and activities like gardening or organizing her Debut author Ava Homa’s novel, Daughters of closet, but the wish was short-lived. The face-to- Smoke and Fire, came out in May, when the media face workshops she teaches went on Zoom, and and most of the country were focused on the her students in Antioch University Los Angeles’s

Fall – Winter 2020 29 Connecticut. Her writing office behind the house has an air conditioner, so that’s where she spends most of her time, putting together a collection of “Who knew speaking short stories, posting writing prompts on Twitter, about one’s book to an and making the most of it. Scott Alexander Hess set up a formidable audience in quarantine schedule and says it has given him increased focus. would be so difficult? “This is indeed different from pre-COVID, when I Where’s the line between had to travel to different locations for work. While I could focus to write, the moving around created confidence and humil- gaps and disrupted the flow.” ity? Isn’t Facebook Live Before the pandemic hit, MediaPost journal- ist Laurie Sullivan, based in Wyoming, wrote two some weird public mono- articles and one blog post a day. Now she writes an logue? Why did I feel like additional article five days a week, each one run- crying after some Zoom ning between 400 and 500 words. She writes the extra daily piece because there’s so much more events?” news. “I want to ensure that readers have the infor- —Ava Homa mation they need to make better advertising and marketing decisions,” she says. There are authors, such as Patricia Highsmith biographer Joan Schenkar, who refuse to do vir- tual events or participate in social media. “A lynch mob IMO too much of the time,” Schenkar writes, low-residency MFA program needed more men- yet she remains involved with her readers. “I’m toring. Consulting clients continued to need her still a prolific e-mailer and continue to answer too. questions from readers of my books and plays and “I’m wildly grateful to be able to continue writers who are doing research on subjects related to earn a living on my laptop,” she said, “and I to mine. And the emails have doubled and then wouldn’t trade that situation, but I’ve found that tripled in this time of confinement for everyone.” I’ve had to forego the Zoom yoga and Master class- In January, mystery writer Christine Goff, who es, and my office is more disorganized than ever.” inaugurated online webinars for Sisters in Crime Though Jon Reiner became sick with COVID- (SinC) a little over a year ago, took over as program 19, he said he had to work through it to keep up coordinator for the Colorado Book Awards (CBA). with his commitments: personal essays for an With the arrival of COVID-19, the organization online site, Pendemic; health-related corporate moved all its events online, to Zoom and Facebook writing; teaching for Gotham Writers Workshop; Live. “Insanely busy,” she says, though now, with and his own creative work. Fortunately, his health the CBA over, she will concentrate on SinC again continues to improve. and the re-release of her novel. Novelist Katharine Weber also came down In May, Viking released Jennifer Steil’s novel with COVID-19 in London in February, before Exile Music, so she started writing essays, doing there was a name for it. She became well enough radio and print interviews, and promoting her to return to the United States, but then lockdown book on social media. She also spends time pro- happened with her family still in Great Britain. moting other authors. “Literary community is She doesn’t know when she’ll see them again, so important to me, and I know how many writers she is on a writer’s retreat at her home in “steamy” are in my situation.” She’s also working on another

30 Authors Guild Bulletin novel, made even more difficult since she and her worked like a charm,” she says. “Manuscripts have daughter were evacuated from Uzbekistan, where been pouring in.” her husband serves as the U.K. ambassador. She The pandemic and lack of socializing gave doesn’t know when they’ll see him again. “I have memoirist and novelist Marie Carter more time not watched a movie since the start of this pan- to work on a book proposal. “A month into my demic or had any free time. I stay up late in London search,” she says, “the book found an agent and doing literary events online with U.S. venues, and now I’m busy with making his suggested changes then have to get up at dawn to launch my daugh- and doing further work on the book.” A Gotham ter’s school, so I am chronically exhausted.” Writers Workshop instructor, she says, “I’m also Jennifer Chow’s first Big Five book came out finding teaching for GWW is busier than ever.” right around shutdown, so she, too, rescheduled in- When the quarantine hit, New York City nov- person events to online marketing. She also sup- elist Lee Matthew Goldberg would leave his apart- ports other authors via Instagram Live launches, ment only to go up to the roof. His home became Facebook parties and Noir at the Bar. “Before the his writer’s residency. Mid-April he started to pandemic,” she says, “I met weekly with my local go outside and resumed his daily trek to Central writing group. Now, I’m almost daily connect- Park, which he calls his refuge. For the last decade, ing with other writers. Inspired by those around there has been a certain tree in the park he sits me, I’ve also been investing more into the craft of under to write. “The tree perfectly contours to writing, such as by frequently attending Sisters in my back and has a good mix of sun and shade,” Crime webinars.” he says. “Out of the Spanish Flu of 1918 came the Xu Xi had several contracts and appearances Roaring Twenties, and from the Plague came the cancelled due to COVID-19 — all involved domestic Renaissance, so I hope other creatives have been and international travel — but has “wound up with as inspired as I was during these weird times more work than expected, in terms of being com- and that we’re moving toward a new era of art. missioned to write or to run workshops remotely Regardless, I’ll be finishing the last edits of my or give online talks or editorial/mentorship con- book at my tree.” tracts or requests for contributions of new and previously published work to anthologies.” Staying Barbara DeMarco-Barrett is a writer in Southern home has a bright side: she’s finishing a new novel California. She is the host of Writers on Writing and sent off a textbook manuscript in July. on KUCI-FM and teaches at Gotham Writer’s The fact that parents around the country are Workshop. Her work appears in USA Noir: Best of homeschooling their kids has worked to children’s the Akashic Noir Series and her book, Pen on Fire: author Anne O’Brien Carelli’s advantage. She hears A Busy Woman’s Guide to Igniting the Writer from readers on her website and has been invited Within is in its 11th printing. to participate in online book-related events. By not traveling, she’s reached a wider audience. She’s discovered kids love to meet authors, and teachers appreciate “someone else carrying out the instruc- tion. Parents either attend or hover in the back- ground during a Zoom session because they are readers too. I’m enjoying every second of it, and it inspires me to take time to block out the world and keep writing.” Michele Herman’s freelance developmental editing business was slow, so she offered a pan- demic discount for the month of May, “which

Fall – Winter 2020 31 nEW York State Both lawsuits failed and the books issue of public interest” and “any were not only published, but both other lawful conduct in furtherance Passes New Anti- reached bestseller status. of the exercise of the constitutional SLAPP Bill Anti-SLAPP laws are de- right of petition.” This expansion will signed to provide defendants with a give journalists and other authors New York State recently passed a mechanism to resolve SLAPP suits heightened protection, which they bill that provides authors with ex- without incurring the kind of dev- sorely need in these litigious times. panded protection from frivolous astating legal fees that the plaintiffs The new bill states that “costs and “SLAPP” lawsuits. Strategic Lawsuits attorneys’ fees shall be recovered Against Public Participation — or in these baseless lawsuits can oth- “SLAPP” suits — are baseless le- erwise force defendants to incur. In where there has been a finding that gal actions intended to keep indi- its memo supporting the new bill, the action was ‘ without a substan- viduals from exercising their First the New York State Bar Association tial basis in fact and law.’ ” The previ- Amendment rights to speak about Committee on Media Law said: ous bill said only that they “may be and act on public issues. In recent “funds that would have gone to recovered.” years, there has been a dramatic in- reporters, editors, and producers On July 14, the Authors Guild, crease in litigation designed to chill are instead spent in a defense of a along with many publishers and constitutionally protected speech. lawsuit.” other media organizations, signed a Within the space of a month, two New York’s prior anti-SLAPP letter to Governor Cuomo and the separate lawsuits were brought to law was less protective of free New York State Legislature urg- quash books critical of President speech than the laws of 30 other ing them to pass a bill designed to Trump: U.S. v. John R. Bolton (about states and in dire need of amend- update and strengthen New York Bolton’s book, The Room Where It ment to protect the state’s thou- State’s current anti-SLAPP statute. Happened), and Robert S. Trump v. sands of journalists and authors. As the letter stated, “SLAPP law- Mary Trump, a lawsuit brought by The newly-passed bill will expand suits are an intolerable form of pri- the President’s brother against his the current statute to expressly vate censorship. It is more critical (and the President’s) niece for her cover cases about public commu- than ever that New York, the media book, Too Much and Never Enough. nications “in connection with an capital of the world, provide robust

Legal Services Scorecard From 1/1/2020 – 198 44 18 7/31/2020, the Authors Guild Legal Book contract Agency contract Reversion of Services Department reviews reviews rights inquiries handled 752 legal inquiries. Included were:

32 Authors Guild Bulletin protection against meritless claims It also tried to pressure Hachette, that “[m]ore than 200,000 cop- designed to chill speech.” the publisher of A Warning, to pro- ies of the Book have already been The bill passed the New York vide identifying information about shipped domestically.” As the court State Assembly on July 22 with re- Its then anonymous author (re- noted: “By the looks of it, the horse sounding support (116 – 26) and cently identified as Miles Taylor, is not just out of the barn — it is out passed the Senate on July 23. It a former Homeland Security of- of the country,” and that “[f]or rea- was signed by Governor Cuomo on ficial) prior to the books’s publica- sons that hardly need to be stated, November 10 and took effect im- tion. The situation involving former the Court will not order a nation- mediately. As the Governor stated: National Security Advisor John wide seizure and destruction of a “For too long, powerful and wealthy Bolton’s book, The Room Where It political memoir.” interests have used frivolous law- Happened, is one such effort that Judge Lamberth strongly criti- suits to harass and intimidate critics has been pursued in several differ- cized Bolton’s actions in his deci- by burdening them with exorbitant ent forms (and fora). sion, saying that Bolton had “likely legal fees and time-consuming le- In the Bolton lawsuit, the claims jeopardized national security by gal processes. That ends now. I am are not being asserted on the presi- disclosing classified information in proud to sign this legislation, which dent’s personal behalf, but by the violation of his nondisclosure agree- protects New Yorkers’ fundamen- United States of America, on the ment obligations” and that he had tal right to free speech without fear grounds that publication would “exposed his country to harm and of harassment or bullying by those “compromise[e] national security.” himself to civil (and potentially who happen to have more money On June 16, the United States sued criminal) liability.” than they do.” in the DC District Court (The United On June 23, the book was States of America v. John R. Bolton) released as scheduled and be- to stay publication of the Bolton came a bestseller. That, however, fEderal Quash book until the prepublication review was not the end of the saga. On Attempt Quashed process was completed. In a state- September 15, the Trump admin- ment issued the next day, Bolton’s istration opened a criminal inquiry For several months we have been publisher, Simon & Schuster, called into whether Bolton had unlawfully monitoring the Trump adminis- the government’s motion “a frivo- disclosed classified information, tration’s attempts to quash books lous, politically motivated exercise as Judge Lamberth had seemed critical of the president and his ad- in futility.” to suggest in his decision. The ministration. It has tried to quash On June 20, the court de- Department of Justice convened a publication of Michael Wolff’s Fire nied the government’s motion grand jury, which issued a subpoena and Fury and Omarosa Manigault for a temporary restraining order for communications records from Newman’s Unhinged: An Insider’s and preliminary injunction. Judge Simon & Schuster. Account of the Trump White House, Lamberth recognized that the book The criminal investigation through vague libel threats and had already been widely dissemi- prompted Ellen Knight, the former cease and desist letters sent by nated, citing Simon & Schuster CEO senior director for records access the president’s personal attorneys. Jonathan Karp’s affidavit, which said and information security man- 72 13 12 395 Inquiries on copy­ Inquiries regard­ First Other inquires, including electronic right law, including ing securing Amendment rights, literary estates, contract disputes, infringement, permissions and queries contract questions, periodical and registration, privacy releases multimedia contracts, movie and television duration, and options, internet piracy, liability insurance, fair use finding an agent, and attorney referrals

Fall – Winter 2020 33 agement at the National Security staff and the career prepublication Council, who conducted the initial review staff.” Despite Knight’s years Request Legal prepublication review, to submit of experience in prepublication re- an 18-page letter to the DOJ and view and her opinion that the final Help Bolton’s counsel explaining the pre- version of the Bolton manuscript publication process. She expressed did not contain classified informa- The Authors Guild legal concern: tion, the NSC assigned then-Dep- department can help you [A]bout the politicization — or uty Legal Advisor Michael Ellis to navigate the legal and business perform his own review (which he aspects of writing. even the perceived politiciza- tion — of the prepublication did before receiving the necessary To initiate a query, go to review process. Once authors training). It was based on this re- https://go.authorsguild.org/ start perceiving that manu- view that Bolton was told on June account/legal_help scripts are being reviewed for 8 that his manuscript “still contains political considerations, they classified material.” The Knight let- Be sure to include all relevant ter states how Ellis’s re-review was information related to your will lose confidence in the in- “fundamentally flawed,” in that it query (for example, copies of tegrity of the process and find was a classification review, rather your contract, correspondence, ways to publish or release their than a prepublication review, and website screenshots, etc.). works without submitting them therefore the wrong type of review This will help expedite your for review. This could result in for Bolton’s manuscript. request. Our staff attorneys will unchecked disclosures of sen- According to Knight’s letter, on communicate with you directly, sitive information and the po- June 13, she met with several attor- and may request further tential for serious damage to neys, including the deputy counsel information as needed. our national security. for the president, and was ques- Knight explained that there are tioned about the passages she had differences between a “classifica- cleared but that were marked by tion review” and the “prepublica- Ellis’s subsequent review as classi- tion review process.” A classification fied. “It was clear to Ms. Knight,” her review is aimed at identifying and counsel wrote, “that they were try- protecting “sensitive information in ing to get her to admit that she and documents written by government her team had missed something employees and contractors work- or made a mistake, which mistake ing for the government.” A prepub- could then be used to support their lication review, on the other hand, argument to block publication. To involves reviewing the writings of a their consternation, Ms. Knight was private citizen: able to explain the clear and objec- Its purpose is two-fold — to tive reasoning behind her team’s ensure the protection of gov- decision-making as to each of the ernment information whose dis- challenged passages.” closure would damage national Over a five-day period and 18 security while at the same time hours of meetings, a “rotating cast supporting that citizen’s right to of Justice Department and White publish all First Amendment– House attorneys” tried to persuade protected information. It is Knight to sign a declaration that therefore designed not to limit they wanted to file in connection the transmission of information, with the lawsuit against Bolton. but rather to facilitate the pri- When Knight speculated that this lit- vate citizen’s ability to transmit igation had been brought “because his thoughts in a way that does the most powerful man in the world not disclose government se- said that it needed to happen,” sev- crets. [Emphasis added.] eral of the attorneys in attendance agreed with her assessment. Knight’s letter states that the The civil litigation is still ongo- Bolton prepublication review pro- ing, and the Guild will continue to cess “entailed an unprecedented monitor both suits, as well as any amount of interaction between the other developments in this increas- political appointees in the NSC legal ingly tortuous situation.

34 Authors Guild Bulletin advocacy news

LOBBYING can access regardless of member- be an important year” for changes ship status. to section 512, the provision of the ACTIVITIES Copyright Act that allows internet services providers (ISPs) to evade COVID-19 Relief CASE Act for a Small Claims Copyright Court secondary liability for infringement Not long after the pandemic We remain engaged in lobbying by their users if the ISPs comply started, the Authors Guild joined for the CASE Act, which was over- with notice and takedown. Indeed it forces with other creator groups whelmingly passed by the House in has been an important year — and a to lobby for economic relief for au- a 410 – 6 vote in October 2019, and busy one at that. Despite many un- thors and freelance workers who enjoys strong bipartisan support foreseen issues and disruptions, the don’t qualify for traditional unem- in the Senate, with 20 co-sponsors. congressional committees respon- ployment benefits due to their in- As many of you know by now, the sible for copyright and internet law dependent contractor status. After CASE Act is one of the most im- issues maintained a steady focus on the CARES Act was passed in late portant pieces of legislation con- section 512 reform, holding hearings March, we wrote letters to Congress ceived for protecting the rights of and listening sessions. The Authors and the Department of Labor ask- authors and other independent Guild took part in every event to ing for clarity around the eligibility creators. It creates a small-claims amplify authors’ concerns about of independent contractors un- tribunal within the Copyright Office rampant internet piracy and the der the newly created Pandemic to handle copyright infringement threats it poses to their livelihoods, Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and other claims in a low-cost and and to emphasize that section 512 program. As Congress debated a streamlined process. Currently, is not working for copyright owners second COVID-19 relief package, authors whose works have been as it was intended to and should. our coalition of creator groups was pirated and/or infringed have no re- In June, Guild president Doug active in lobbying congressional course other than expensive federal Preston testified before the Senate leaders and legislators to compre- litigation, which costs, on average, Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee hensively cover freelance workers $400,000 per case. This impor- on Intellectual Property at a hear- in any new legislation. One specific tant legislation has been stalled in ing titled “Is the Notice and issue that we have been focused on the Senate because of a hold by Takedown System Working in the is clarifying the eligibility of mixed- Oregon senator Ron Wyden, who, 21st Century?” (see p. 12). In con- income earners — those who re- despite our numerous attempts at nection with the hearing, we sub- ported income from both traditional negotiations, continues to ignore mitted a written statement and (W-2) and independent (1099) the plight of thousands of creators draft legislation that further clarifies sources — for full PUA benefits, and the reasoning of his Senate col- our issues and recommendations. which these workers have been de- leagues. Proponents are exploring In September, we filed a written nied in many states. other ways to bring the CASE Act statement for the record during the We have also been active in to the Senate floor before the end House Judiciary Committee’s hear- lobbying for relief funds for libraries of the year, including by making it ing on the efficacy of section 512 and literary organizations. We con- a part of another must-pass bill. If and also took part in discussion tinue to survey members to collect it fails to get voted on before the sessions hosted by the Copyright ground information about condi- end of the year, we will have to start Office on “standard technical mea- tions affecting authors to use in our over in the House with a new bill. sures,” which, though important in advocacy efforts, to analyze legisla- combating internet piracy, remain tive developments, and to provide DMCA Safe Harbors woefully underutilized because in- authors with up-to-date informa- (Section 512) ternet platforms are reluctant to tion through a dedicated COVID-19 In the Winter–Spring 2020 Bulletin adopt any measure that might even page on our website that anyone we said that we “expect 2020 to marginally hinder their quest to

Fall – Winter 2020 35 capture internet traffic and the ad laboration. Soon after the elections, converted the restraining order into revenues it generates for them. we will begin to seek congressional a preliminary injunction on August Despite efforts by the inter- sponsors. Our goal with this draft 28, 2020, allowing our lawyers to net-platform lobby to convince bill is both to enable professional continue to obtain and investigate Congress that section 512 is work- organizations to recommend ba- records relating to the individuals ing and needs no change, we feel sic contract terms, pay rates, and to involved in operating the site from heartened by the lawmakers’ posi- pave the way for collective bargain- their ISPs. This investigation so far tive responses to our concerns and ing in certain areas. has uncovered the names of addi- those of small, individual creators, tional individuals connected to the whose livelihoods depend on the Regulating Amazon’s piracy scheme, as well as sites that commercial viability of their works. Monopoly and Monopsony were distributing pirated comics The Senate Judiciary’s IP subcom- Powers and cartoons as part of the larger mittee is expected to issue its rec- For years, we have been speaking to Kiss Library operation. The injunc- ommendations for fixing section 512 government officials about the dan- tion will remain in force through the later this year. But the process is far gers to the retail book industry and end of the lawsuit. We are hopeful from over. This will be a multiyear to free speech caused by Amazon’s that the court will hand down a final effort, and we have established our- monopoly and monopsony pow- judgment before year’s end. selves on the front lines of reform ers. In August, as a follow-up to the We are closely watching and efforts. House Antitrust Committee’s inves- supporting a lawsuit by major pub- tigation and hearings on the four lishers against Internet Library for Exemptions to Antitrust mega-internet platforms, the Guild, unauthorized scanning and dis- Law to Allow Collective joined by the American Booksellers tribution of copyrighted works Bargaining by Authors Association and the Association through its Open Library and We will soon begin lobbying for ex- of American Publishers, sent a let- National Emergency Library web- emptions from antitrust laws for au- ter to chairman David Cicilline (D- sites. The Guild has long criticized thors and other creators to improve RI) of the subcommittee detailing the unfounded and problematic their bargaining position vis-à-vis how Amazon’s influence affects theory of “controlled digital lend- publishers, internet platforms and competition in the publishing in- ing,” relied on by Internet Archive to others in the industry. Currently, au- dustry and drives down authors’ make books available without per- thors and many other creators are incomes. We asked the subcommit- mission or compensation to their prevented from working together to tee to consider regulatory measures authors and publishers. We view negotiate minimum pay rates un- to rein in Amazon’s monopoly and the publisher’s lawsuit as an impor- less they belong to a staff union or monopsony powers. We followed tant step toward reining in Internet a labor union and have relinquished up with a call with the subcommit- Archive’s flagrant and incessant as- their copyright in order to benefit tee staff counsel responsible for saults on copyright. (See p. 9.) from collective bargaining agree- drafting the report, which was re- ments and other standard terms. leased on October 6. In the com- Amicus Briefs Similarly, professional organizations ing months, we will lobby Congress The Authors Guild and June Besek, like the Authors Guild cannot rec- and the Federal Trade Commission executive director of the Kernochan ommend minimum rates and other to take up the anticipated recom- Center for Law, Media, and the terms because this sort of coordi- mendations in that report or other Arts at Columbia Law School, nated activity is prohibited under measures. filed a neutral friend-of-the-court antitrust rules on price-fixing and brief with the Court of Appeals horizontal agreements. Authors for the Eleventh Circuit in Vient v. and other creators negotiating indi- LITIGATION Highlands News-Sun, a copyright vidually with powerful corporations infringement lawsuit involving the have very little bargaining power, Strategic Litigation copying and sales of newspaper which makes exemption from an- In July, we brought a lawsuit against articles by commercial databases titrust laws that foster greater in- notorious pirate site Kiss Library, calling themselves “archives.” We formation-sharing and collective with 12 members and board/ submitted the brief not to take mobilization among authors crucial council members joining Amazon sides with respect to the final mer- in the current publishing environ- Publishing and Penguin Random its of the case but to point out that ment. We have drafted a bill, tenta- House as named plaintiffs. A tem- the district court had applied an in- tively titled “Freelance Author and porary restraining order was correct and exceedingly overbroad Artist Freedom Act,” which we have granted on July 8, 2020, and soon reading of the exceptions for librar- shared with other creator organiza- thereafter the Kiss Library sites ies and archives provided for in sec- tions for additional input and col- went offline (see p. 10). The court tion 108 of the Copyright Act. The

36 Authors Guild Bulletin brief clarifies the requirements that cordation to the date the office re- institutions must meet in order to ceives a copy of the notice instead avail themselves of the exceptions, of the date it receives the notice, Fall and makes clear that while an entity fee, and other elements. Our com- may call itself an archive, the claim ments supported the changes. Nine Programming does not make it one under copy- other organizations representing right law. visual artists, graphics designers, If you missed any of our Fall The Authors Guild also joined songwriters, photographers, and webinars, in which experts offered with other author and literary other creators joined the Guild’s authors advice on a variety of groups on an amicus brief in Porco comments. important topics, you can view v. Lifetime Entertainment. In that them on the website at case, the plaintiff sued Lifetime for Support for Copyright authorsguild.org/whats-new/ violating his right to privacy by air- We have communicated the con- seminars-member-events. ing a docudrama about him entitled tributions of authors and the cre- * The Death of the Artist: Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story. ative industry to both presidential William Deresiewicz in The court found that a “materially campaigns, urging them to support Conversation with Min Jin and substantially fictitious biogra- robust copyright rules that foster Lee and Roxana Robinson phy” may violate the statutory right creativity and innovation. November 17, 7pm of privacy in New York. The amicus brief supports Lifetime’s motion for * From Manuscript to leave to appeal that decision and fREE SPEECH/ Marketplace: Aimee Liu, addresses the impact that this rul- FREEDOM OF THE Glorious Boy ing will have on the ability of au- PRESS November 18, 2pm thors, film makers and other artists * Audiobooks: Tips & to create authorized and unauthor- We continue to be involved in mat- Resources to Access a ized biographies, along with many ters of free speech and freedom of Fast-Growing Market other types of works. the press. As part of the National November 19, 7pm Coalition Against Censorship, we voiced our opposition to bans * School Visits: Booking, OTHER COPYRIGHT- of LGBT books and decisions by Planning, and Navigating a RELATED school districts to remove “contro- Timely Revenue Stream INITIATIVES versial” books from reading lists, December 1, 4pm and we reiterated the rights of pro- * Legal Vetting Pre- Comments on Recordation test and assembly. We also joined Publication Review of of Section 203 Notices of a coalition led by the Comic Book Manuscripts Termination Legal Defense Fund to protest December 7, 12pm We submitted comments in re- the removal of a cartoon satirizing sponse to the Copyright Office’s President Donald Trump by Pulitzer * From Manuscript to proposed changes to its require- Prize – winning editorial cartoonist Marketplace: Jasmine ments for serving and filing notices Nick Anderson from the online mar- Guillory, Party of Two of termination under sections 203 ketplace Redbubble, and we sent a December 9, 2pm and 304 of the Copyright Act. As letter to the Missouri Department of * From Manuscript to readers of the Bulletin are aware, Corrections inquiring about claims Marketplace: Silvia sections 203 and 304 give authors made by an inmate about prison of- Moreno-Garcia, Mexican the right to terminate any grant ficials threatening him against pub- Gothic of rights or contract after 35 – 40 lishing a book. December 15, 6pm years (or 56 – 61 years in the case of copyrights secured before 1978) Plans are underway for our Spring by sending the grantee a notice of 2021 series and will be posted on termination and recording it with the website soon. Sign up early as the Copyright Office. The recent these sessions often fill up quickly. proposed changes would make All webinars last approximately the process of recording the no- an hour and include a live Q&A tices easier by, among other things, session. All are free to AG members. giving the Copyright Office dis- Please contact us at staff@ cretion to record notices that are authorsguild.org with any untimely and setting the date of re- questions

Fall – Winter 2020 37 member news

Books by The Housewife Assassin’s White Guzman: Miles Freely in Love; House Keeping Seal of Approval; Ken Delmar: No Fall Zone: Fall members Angelika Buettner: I AM: Prevention and How to Fall If You Irshad Abdal-Haqq: Dash!: Young Celebrating the Perfect Imperfect; Do; Pandora Solution: The Race to Black Refugee & Migration Stories; Dori Hillestad Butler (and Kevan Create an Antidote to a Terrorist Victor Acquista: Serpent Rising; Atteberry, Illus.): Dear Beast; WMD Virus; Shafted: Cautionary Eric Alterman: Lying in State: Why Stephanie Calmenson and Tales in Business; Heather Presidents Lie and Why Trump Is Joanna Cole: The Adventures of Demetrios: Little Universes; Carl Worse; Lisa Alther: Swan Song: Allie and Amy: Rockin’ Rockets; J. R. Deuker: Golden Arm; Stacia An Odyssey; Rae André: Lead Camelback: Taking the Queen: A Deutsch: Spirit Riding Free: Riding for the Planet: Five Practices for Caper; Megan Campisi: Sin Eater; Academy Race; Joanne DiMaggio: I Confronting Climate Change; Charlene Caprio: Ikaria Island: Did It to Myself . . . Again! New Life- Michael J. Armstrong: Best Day Explore and Experience, A Travel Between-Lives Case Studies Show Ever; Finola Austin: Brontë’s and Walking Guide with Maps; How Your Soul’s Contract Is Guiding Mistress; Jerry Aylward: Francis Elizabeth Carey: Girls Running: Your Life; Eric Jay Dolin: A Furious “Two Gun” Crowley’s Killings in New All You Need to Strive, Thrive, and Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History York City and Long Island; Run Your Best; Angelica Shirley of America’s Hurricanes; Allison Susan Barba: Geode; Carpenter: The Voice of Liberty; Drew: Searching for My Missing William Barnwell: The Jubilee Bryan Cassiday: Murder LLC; Father: An American Noir; Katlyn Account; Yvonne Battle-Felton: Chrysta Castaneda: The Last Duncan: Barefoot on the Beach; Remembered; Tania Bayard: In the Trial of T. Boone Pickens; Avanti Wrapped Up for Christmas; Company of Fools; Louis Begley: Centrae: Solstice Shadows; Janet Tina Egnoski: Burn Down This The New Life of Hugo Gardner; Skeslien Charles: The Paris World; Jeff Elzinga: The Distance Beverly Bell: The Murder of Marion Library; Margaret Cheasebro: If Between Stars; Michael Eskin: Miley; David A. Bell: Men on I Were a Tree, What Would I Be?; “Schwerer Werden. Leichter Sein”: Horseback: The Power of Charisma Bryan Christiansen: Handbook Gespräche um Paul Celan. Mit in the Age of Revolution; Kelly of Research on Applied AI for Durs Grünbein, Gerhard Falkner, Bennett: Norman: One Amazing International Business and Aris Fioretos und Ulrike Draesner Goldfish; MaryEllen Beveridge: Marketing Applications; Marcia (“Becoming Heavier. Being Lighter”: After the Hunger: Stories; Maryka Clark: Final Judgment; Mark Conversations About Paul Celan. Biaggio: Eden Waits; Sallie Coggins: The Dead Beat Scroll; With Durs Grünbein, Gerhard Bingham: The Silver Swan: In Kenneth F. Conklin: Norvel; Larry Falkner, Aris Fioretos and Ulrike Search of Doris Duke; Treason: A Covin: Thirteen Turns: A Theology Draesner.); Barrett A. Evans: The Sallie Bingham Reader; Stephanie Resurrected from the Gallows of Jim Contemplative Skeptic: Spirituality Rose Bird: Out of the Blue; Jodee Crow Christianity; Melissa Crandall: for the Non-Religious and the Blanco (and Kent Carroll): I, John Elephant Speak: A Devoted Unorthodox; Kennedy Toole; Betty Bolté: Keeper’s Life Among the Herd; Francesca Faberge: The Becoming Lady Washington; Brett Dakin: American Adrenochrome Witch; Grant Farley: Dorothea Hubble Bonneau: Daredevil: Comics, Communism, Bones of a Saint; John Seibert Once in a Blood Moon; Barbara and the Battles of Lev Gleason; Farnsworth: Nature Beyond Taylor Bradford: In the Lion’s Fiona Davis: The Lions of Fifth Solitude: Notes from the Field; Paul Den; Kimberly Brubaker Bradley: Avenue; Lisa Selin Davis: Tomboy: Fleischman: Alphamaniacs: Builders Fighting Words; James Brown: The Surprising History and Future of 26 Wonders of the Word; Ken H. Apology to the Young Addict: A of Girls Who Dare to Be Different; Fortenberry: Flight 7 Is Missing: Memoir; Jeannette Brown: The Jeannette de Beauvoir: The The Search for My Father’s Killer; Illusion of Leaving; Josie Brown: Matinée Murders; Michael de Janet Fox: The Artifact Hunters;

38 Authors Guild Bulletin Elizabeth Foxwell (Ed.): Ian Rankin: Biberdorf): Dragons vs. Unicorns; Liebman: Raider of the Scottish A Companion to the Mystery Damion Hunter: The Wall at the Coast; Suzanne Liff: Smarter Than Fiction; Joan Frank: The Outlook Edge of the World; D. Horridge: You Think: Accessing Your Personal for Earthlings; Robert Freidin: The Amazing Adventures of Two Powers to Triumph in College; Adventures in English Syntax; Boys: Bed Time Stories for Children; Marian E. Lindberg: Scandal Amity Gaige: Sea Wife; Mary Anne Hosansky: COME and GO; on Plum Island: A Commander Gannon (and Kevin Larimer): The Gail Hosking: Retrieval; Joan E. Becomes the Accused; Moira Poets & Writers Complete Guide Howard: We Met in Paris: Grace Linehan: Toward; Aimee Liu: to Being a Writer: Everything Frick and Her Life with Marguerite Glorious Boy; Barry B. Longyear: You Need to Know About Craft, Yourcenar; Sheena C. Howard: Turning The Grain; The War Inspiration, Agents, Editors, Nina’s Whisper; Whisperer Series; William Loving: Publishing, and the Business of Debra Jo Immergut: You City of Angles; Cynthia Lynn: Are Building a Sustainable Writing Again; You Empowered?: Virus and Post Career; John Gierach: Dumb Luck Merida Johns: Blackhorse Virus: The Basics (Updated); Kelly and the Kindness of Strangers; Road; Candy Michelle Johnson: Starling Lyons (and Nicole Tadgell, Jacqueline A. Gilbert: How to Blue Ivy; Sean Combs, the Paper Illus.): Tiara’s Hat Parade; Transform Workplace Bullies into Boy; R. L. Maizes: Other People’s Allies; Jamie Gold: Wellness by Michael Kagan: The Battle to Pets; Gabriella Mautner: Victor Design: A Room-by-Room Guide to Stay in America; Ronald O. Kaiser: Nameless: Torn Apart by War, Optimizing Your Home for Health, Herbert’s War; Kathleen Marple Reunited by a Miracle, Two Lovers Fitness and Happiness; Ronald Kalb: A Fatal Finale; Christopher Triumph Against All Odds; David I. Goldfarb: Price of Justice: The S. Kayser: Cybercrime Through Mayerhoff: Light from the Depths; Myths of Lawyer Ethics; Susan Social Engineering: The New Global Joseph Mazur: The Clock Mirage: J. Gordon: Wedding Days: When Crisis; Annmarie Kelly: The Five- Our Myth of Measured Time; and How Great Marriages Began Year Marriage: Shifting the Marriage Gary McAvoy: The Magdalene (2nd Edition); : Paradigm; (and Soyeon Linda Goudsmit Elin Kelsey Deception; Sean McCollum: 1 for The Book of Humanitarian Hoaxes: Kim, Illus.): A Last Goodbye; All; : Hieroglyphics; : The True Jill McCorkle Killing America with “Kindness”; Christine Kendall : A Good : Don’t Ask, Don’t Definition of Neva Beane; Kimberly McCreight Claudine Griggs Nancy B. Marriage; : Tell; : Women Win the Vote! 19 Matthew McElligott Kennedy Do Not Eat the Game!; D. M. Haggard: Jake Walker, for the 19th Amendment; Garrett Margaret : Stumbling Toward Texas Ranger: Ambush; Jake Kincaid: The Pursuit of Purpose: D. McGee Walker, Texas Ranger: Pursuit; Jake Meditations on Life Lessons; God: A Prodigal’s Return (2nd edi- Walker, Texas Ranger: Revolt; M D Stephen King: If It Bleeds; Allen tion); Martha McPhee: An Elegant Hanley: Bit by Bit; Carbon Copy; Klein: The Joy of Simplicity: Insights Woman; Ellen Meeropol: Her C. G. Harris: The Rax — Into the to Unclutter and Uncomplicate Sister’s Tattoo; Phyllis Melhado: Light; John Hart: The Unwilling; Your Life; The Lighten Up Book: The Spa at Lavender Lane; Brad Lenore Hart: The Night Bazaar: Affirmations and Insights to Inspire Meltzer (and Josh Mensch): Venice: Thirteen Tales of Forbidden Health and Happiness; Claire The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Wishes and Dangerous Desires; Krulikowski: Lying in the Arms of Secret Plot to Kill America’s 16th Charles Hartman (and Martha God: Poems of a Sacred Romance; President — And Why It Failed; Collins, Pamela Alexander, and Angela Burke Kunkel: Digging Deborah M. Menenberg: Uniquely Matthew Krajniak, Eds.): Wendy for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez Stella; Margot Mifflin: Looking for Battin: On the Life and Work and the Library He Built; Julie Miss America: Dreamers, Dissidents, of an American Master; Donna Kusma: Stuck That Way and Other Flappers, and Feminists — A Hemans: Tea by the Sea; Amber Quandaries; 14 Pageant’s 100-Year Quest to Define Hendricks (and Kyle Reed, Illus.): Peter Laufer: Up Against Womanhood; Glenn Erick Miller: Superheroes Don’t Babysit; Kristan the Wall: The Case for Opening Red’s First Snow; Louisa Miller: Higgins: Always the Last to Know; the Mexican-American Border; Passing the Trash: Covering Up Chuck Hogan (and Guillermo Del Mary Lawrence: The Lost Boys Educators’ Sex Crimes — and How a Toro): The Hollow Ones; Patricia of London; Joanne Leedom- Superintendent Was Caught After Martin Holt: Empower a Refugee: Ackerman: The Journey of Liu Decades of Lies; Kate Milliken: Peace of Thread & the Backyard Xiaobo: From Dark Horse to Nobel Kept Animals; Judith Moffett: Humanity Movement; Joan Holub Laureate; Peter Lerangis: The Unlikely Friends: James Merrill and (and Daniel Roode, Illus.): This Chaos Loop; Martha M. Libster: Judith Moffett, a Memoir;N ancy Little Dreamer: An Inspirational Gentle Medicine for Balance in Morse: The Kincaids – Denver; Ron Primer; Hillary Homzie (and Kate Body and Peace of Mind; Marc Moyne: Vindicta; Caitlin Myer:

Fall – Winter 2020 39 Wiving: A Memoir of Loving Then Mary Magdalene’s Stations of the (and William Shepard): Online Leaving the Patriarchy; Cross; John B. Roberts II: Reagan’s Dating in a New World: Navigating Fred Nadis: Star Settlers: Cowboys: Inside the 1984 Reelection the Impact of COVID-19; Nathan The Billionaires, Geniuses, and Campaign’s Secret Operation Szajnberg: Breathless: Unspoken Crazed Visionaries Out to Conquer Against Geraldine Ferraro; John C. Words After Death; the Universe; Susan Neville: The Robinson: Aging with Vision, Hope Thomas Tacker: Overcoming: Town of Whispering Dolls; Barbara and Courage in a Time of Crisis; The Inspiring Story of America’s Novack: Dancing on the Rim of Mystical Activism: Transforming Freed Slaves, Our Other Greatest Light; a World in Crisis; Joanne Rocklin: Generation; Dave Tamanini: Tituba: Mary Odden: Mostly Water: Good Guys, Bad Guys; Angie The Intentional Witch of Salem; Reflections Rural and North; Rooker: Enchanted Sacred Garden: Susanne Tedrick: Women of Color Luanne Oleas: Flying Blind: A Dragon; Julija Rudolf: Especially in Tech: A Blueprint for Inspiring Cropduster’s Story; Priscilla to Those Who Suffer: A Memoir of and Mentoring the Next Generation Oliveras: Island Affair;Alexis Truths and Miracles; Charity Rue: of Technology Innovators; Brad O’Neill: The Efficient, Inventive Minding p & q; Cullen Ruff: Looking Thor: Near Dark; Jana Tift: Your (Often Annoying) Melvil Dewey; Within: Understanding Ourselves Body Knows: A Movement Guide for Jacob Riis’s Camera: Bringing Light Through Human Imaging; Tom Actors; Sarah Tomp: The Easy Part to Tenement Children; Keelan Russell: Requiem for an Arsonist; of Impossible; Jessica Treadway: Overton (Ed.): Iran and the Deccan: Albert Russo: Cabinet of Curiosity; The Gretchen Question; Gail Persianate Art, Culture, and Talent Mémoires d’un Fils de Nazis; Speak Tsukiyama: The Color of Air; L. H. in Circulation, 1400 – 1700; to Me, Mother Beloved; Zapinette Tuffy: I Define Cancer!; Christine A. Padesky: The a Pari; Zapinette’s Bible Odyssey: Rachel Vail: Cat Ears on Clinician’s Guide to CBT Using Continues in Mexico, Japan and the Elizabeth; Doodlebug Elizabeth; Mind Over Mood; Donald J. North Pole; Audrey Vernick: After the Worst Palmisano: A Leader’s Guide Robert Sachs: The Path of Thing Happens; Donald Vincent: to Giving a Memorable Speech; Civility: Perfecting the Lessons of a Convenient Amnesia; Rizwan Virk: Sara Paretsky: Dead Land; Louis President by Applying the Wisdom Startup Myths and Models: What Picone: The President Is Dead!: The of a Buddha; Sejal Shah: This Is You Won’t Learn in Business School; Extraordinary Stories of Presidential One Way to Dance: Essays; Ray Val Walker: 400 Friends and Deaths, Final Days, Burials, and Sheehan: Award-Winning BBQ No One to Call; Judith Warner: Beyond; Michelle M. Pillow: A Sauces and How to Use Them; And Then They Stopped Talking Dash of Destiny; The Fourth Power; Laura Shovan (and Saadia Faruqi): To Me: Making Sense of Middle Marked Prince; Second Chance A Place at the Table; Mike Silver: School; Abbi Waxman: I Was Told Magic; Third Time’s a Charm; Victor The Night the Referee Hit Back: It Would Get Easier; Elizabeth A. Pollak: Saving the Light at Memorable Moments from the Wein: The Enigma Game; Brian Chartres: How the Great Cathedral World of Boxing; R. L. Sommer: Weisfeld (and Nicole C. Kear): The and Its Stained-Glass Treasures Recusal; Scott Spencer: An Ocean Startup Squad: Face the Music; Were Rescued During World War Without a Shore; Eileen Spinelli Ethan L. Welch: Quackonomics!: II; Jan Price: The Never Forgotten (and Rogério Coelho, Illus.): One The Cost of Unscientific Health Child: The Story of Our Teacher, Earth; Ruth Spiro: Baby Loves Care in the U.S. and Other Fraud Margaret Anne Savage; Trisha T. Political Science: Democracy!; Brian Found Along the Way; Eliana West: Pritikin: The Hanford Plaintiffs: Daniel Starr: God the Greeks; The Way Forward; Julie Whitesel Voices from the Fight for Atomic Rhenna St. Clair: Getting New Weston (and Gerry Morrison): The Justice; Mexico; Laura Segal Stegman: Magical Universe of the Ancients: Philip Raisor: That Naked Summer of L.U.C.K.; Jennifer A Desert Journal; Sally Whitney: Country; Heather S. Ransom: Steil: Exile Music; Leigh Stein: When Enemies Offend Thee;Wallis Back to Green; Jim Rasenberger: Self Care; Stedman Stevens: A Wilde-Menozzi: Mother Tongue: Revolver: Sam Colt and the Six- Beautiful Life: The Little Things An American Life in Italy; C. K. Shooter That Changed America; That Help Grieving Families; Wiles: Big Game; Hans Wilhelm Rishi Reddi: Passage West; Caroline Stevermer: The Glass (and Erica Salcedo, Illus.): Pigs in Shannon Reed: Why Did I Get a Magician; Stephanie Strickland: a Pickle; Anne Willan: Women B?: And Other Mysteries We’re How the Universe Is Made: Poems in the Kitchen: Twelve Essential Discussing in the Faculty Lounge; New & Selected; Ringing the Cookbook Writers Who Defined the Terri Reed: Explosive Situation; Changes; Christine Sunderland: Way We Eat, from 1661 to Today; D. C. Reep (and E. A. Allen): Angel Mountain; Susan Suntree: Stuart Woods and Parnell Hall: Luke Under Fire: Caught Behind Sacred Sites: The Secret History of Bombshell; Sylvia Hart Wright: Enemy Lines; Ann Regimbal: Southern California; Cynthia Sutton Activist Odyssey: Inside Protest

40 Authors Guild Bulletin Movements, Some of Which from the American Educational The book also won the 2020 Worked; Lawrence Wright: The Research Association. International Book Awards in the End of October; Leslie George, coauthor with Business: Careers category. Eve Yohalem: The Truth Albert Woodfox of his memoir, Anne Tyler’s Redhead by the According to Blue; Tom Young: Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades Side of the Road was longlisted for Silver Wings, Iron Cross; in Solitary Confinement. My Story the 2020 Booker Prize. Andrea Zimmerman (and of Transformation and Hope., was Richard Vetere’s I, Human was David Clemesha; Dan Yaccarino, a finalist in the General Nonfiction selected as an honorable mention Illus.): Smashy Town category for both the Pulitzer Prize in the 2020 Absolutely Amazing and the National Book Award. Whodunit Mystery Contest. Owl Goingback’s Coyote Rage Julie Weston’s Moonscape was Members Make was awarded the 2019 Bram Stoker a 2019 Foreword INDIES bronze News Award for Superior Achievement in winner in the Mystery category. a Novel. He also received the Horror Lisa Alther received the Idries Writers Association’s Lifetime Shah Foundation Award for Human Achievement Award. In memoriam Achievement for “contributions to Rex Gooch’s The Aviators: literature.” Stories of U.S. Army Helicopter Rudolfo Anaya, 82, died June 28 at his home in Albuquerque, New Avanti Centrae’s VanOps: Combat in the Vietnam War, Solstice Shadows was a finalist for 1971 – 72 received the bronze medal Mexico. His first and best-known novel, Bless Me, Ultima, told the the International Book Awards and for Best E-Book Design from the story of a young Mexican American received the bronze medal in the 2020 Independent Book Publishers boy growing up in New Mexico in 2019 Wishing Shelf Awards Adult Awards. Susan Marsh received the the 1940s, watched over by a lov- Books category. ing curandera, or mystical healer. Ted Chiang’s Anxiety Is the 2020 Wyoming Arts Council Creative Writing Fellowship in Inflected by magical realism and Dizziness of Freedom was nomi- freely mixing English and Spanish, nated for the 2020 Nebula Award in Fiction for her novel in progress, Eye of the Mountain. Mr. Anaya’s style was lost on main- the Novella category. stream publishers, but his success Mary Choy and Michele B. Fred Nadis was awarded a fellowship from the Alfred P. with a small California press gave Kaufman’s Healthcare Heroes: The hope to a generation of young Medical Careers Guide was named Sloan Foundation for his book Star Settlers: the Billionaires, Chicano authors. He would write a 2020 International Book Awards more than two dozen other works finalist in the categories of Young Geniuses, and Mad Visionaries Out to Conquer the Universe, as a for adults and children. In 1975, he Adult: Nonfiction and Business: joined the faculty of the University Careers. part of their Public Understanding of Science, Technology, and of New Mexico, Albuquerque, where received Edwidge Danticat Economics program. the creative writing program he the 2020 Vilcek Prize in Literature. Barbara Novack’s poem “My started now offers a Rudolfo Anaya Her short-story collection Mother’s Hand” won first place in fellowship, a scholarly award and Everything Inside won the National the 2019 Amy Woodward Fisher an annual lecture. In 2016, he was Book Critics Circle Award in the cat- World Day of Poetry Contest. awarded the National Humanities egory of Fiction. Ms. Danticat also Albert Russo’s Speak to Me, Medal. won the 16th annual Story Prize for Mother Beloved won the 2020 Deirdre Bair, 84, died April 17 short fiction for the same collection, Elite Choice Award in the category in New Haven, Connecticut. The becoming the first two-time recipi- of Poetry. His Zapinette’s Bible best-selling author began her writ- ent of the award. Odyssey won the 2020 International ing career while still in graduate Clare Di Liscia Baird’s Neliem Book Awards in the categories of school. With her medieval studies won the 2019 YARWA Athena Fiction and Humor. project going nowhere, she jumped Contest’s Best First Book Award Ray Sheehan’s Award-Winning a few centuries and made a list of and received third place in YA/NA BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them twentieth-century authors who Speculative Fiction category. won the 2020 International Book might make interesting subjects, Eileen Donovan’s Promises Awards in the Cookbook: General writing each candidate’s name on won the 2019 Marie M. Irvine category. an index card. Samuel Beckett being Literary Excellence Award. Susanne Tedrick’s Women of at the top of the alphabetically or- Howard Gardner received the Color in Tech received the Silver dered stack, she began researching 2020 Distinguished Contributions Award for Best Careers Book from his work and life and, in 1971, wrote to Research in Education Award the Nonfiction Authors Association. to the famously reclusive author

Fall – Winter 2020 41 asking for his cooperation. Within Betsy Byars, 91, died February a week he had agreed, and she got 26 at her home in Seneca, South Authors on a plane to Ireland. Published in Carolina. The mother of four chil- 1978, the Beckett biography was fol- dren, Ms. Byars wrote for and about League Fund lowed by biographies of Simone de adolescents, often on such painful Beauvoir, Anaïs Nin, Carl Jung, Saul themes as disappearing parents. Since 1917, the Authors League Steinberg and Al Capone. Ms. Bair Over a career that lasted more than Fund has helped professional was a member of the Authors Guild four decades, she published some writers in times of need. The for 42 years and served on the 60 novels, including The Summer of Authors League Fund and Guild Council for many of them. the Swan, which won the Newbery the Authors Guild are sister Karen Blumenthal, 61, Medal in 1971 and the 1980 National organizations that share a long died May 18 in Dallas, Texas. Ms. Book Award winner, The Night history of working together to Blumenthal won awards for her Swimmers. connect writers with helpful young adult narrative nonfiction Joanna Cole, 75, died July 12 resources. The Authors League and worked as a business editor in Sioux City, Iowa. A prolific author, Fund sends direct financial aid at The Dallas Morning News and Ms. Cole launched her writing ca- to up to 80 writers per year, as an editor and columnist at The reer with The Truth About Bats and helping with rent, groceries, Wall Street Journal. Among her went on to create the seminal chil- utilities, and medical bills. many titles were Bootleg: Murder, dren’s book series the Magic School With the COVID-19 Moonshine, and the Lawless Years Bus in partnership with illustrator pandemic, thousands of writers of Prohibition; Bonnie and Clyde: Bruce Degen. The science series across the United States have The Making of a Legend; and designed to delight was launched seen a sudden and dramatic loss Tommy: The Gun That Changed in 1986 and has lasted for 34 years. of income. Overnight, writers America. Her last title, The Magic School Bus lost writing, teaching, and Eavan Boland, 75, died April Explores Human Evolution, will be editing jobs, as well as speaking 27 at her home in Dublin, Ireland. released in Spring 2021. In a 1988 engagements, school visits, and She was a trailblazing Irish poet, New York Times review of The other paid appearances. Many helping to open up the male-domi- Magic School Bus Inside the Earth, have spouses who also lost nated Irish literary world to women. Katherine Bouton gave the series work, and many face the difficult She received a lifetime achieve- the highest praise possible: “Just as transition to schooling young ment award at the 2017 Irish Book Sesame Street revolutionized the children at home. Awards. teaching of letters and numbers by The Fund immediately Patricia Bosworth, 86, died making it so entertaining that chil- shifted our focus to helping April 2 in Manhattan. She was dren had no idea they were actually these writers. In the months the author of best-selling biogra- learning something, so the Magic since, we have helped 300 phies of Montgomery Clift, Diane School Bus books make science so authors, journalists, poets, Arbus, Marlon Brando and Jane much fun that the information is al- and critics. We continue to Fonda, all of whom she knew well, most incidental.” help writers enduring medical whether from her prior career in Edith Kunhardt Davis, 82, emergencies and older writers theater and film, her studies at the died January 2 in Manhattan. She on a fixed income. Actors Studio, or her father’s role was best known for two very dif- If you are struggling, please as defense lawyer for two of the ferent projects: continuing the do not hesitate to apply for Hollywood Ten. She researched children’s series Pat the Bunny, support at www.authors her subjects as deeply as if she had launched in 1940 by her mother, leaguefund.org/apply or never heard of any of them before. Dorothy Kunhardt, and writing the contact the office atstaff@ She also wrote two acclaimed fam- challenging 1995 memoir I’ll Love authors-leaguefund.org. ily memoirs, Anything Your Little You Forever, Anyway, which de- Once we have connected, we Heart Desires and The Men in My tailed her battle with alcoholism and will share resources tailored Life. She was famous for the book the death of her son, for which she to your needs. We also highly parties she hosted for writer friends felt responsible. recommend the Authors and the after-show parties for her , 85, died March Guild’s COVID-19 Resources Tomie dePaola acting friends, and for mixing the 30 in Lebanon, New Hampshire. guide, available at www. two worlds with ease. At the time He was a beloved author and il- authorsguild. org/covid-19- of her death, she was at work on a lustrator of children’s books with . resources-for-authors book about her father’s collabora- over 270 titles to his credit. The tion with Paul Robeson on a civil Strega Nona series, inspired by his rights project in the early 1950s. Calabrian grandmother and great-

42 Authors Guild Bulletin grandmother, was the best known Grit, a memorable story of revenge starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne of his works. set in his home state of Arkansas. Bancroft. Webb went on to write an- Shirley Ann Grau, 91, died Both True Grit and his first novel, other seven novels, including a se- August 3 in Kenner, Louisiana. In Norwood, were adapted for film. quel to The Graduate titled “Gwen” 1965, she was awarded the Pulitzer Carolyn Reidy, 71, died May that was never published. Prize for Fiction for her novel The 12 in Southampton, New York. The Carlos Ruiz Zafón, 55, died Keepers of the House, and her first woman to be named CEO of June 19 at his home in Los Angeles. short stories appeared frequently Simon & Schuster, Ms. Reidy was Mr. Ruiz Zafón was one of the best- in prominent magazines, including a greatly admired member of the known contemporary Spanish au- The Saturday Evening Post, The publishing community, known for thors, in large part due to his 20041 New Yorker and Southern Review. her skill in launching successful bestseller, The Shadow of the Wind, She was admired for her fresh prose titles and her command of every set in his native Barcelona. After a and the frankness of her writing on aspect of the publishing process. slow start, and propelled by a run race relations in the Deep South. She began her publishing career in of rave reviews — Richard Eder, the Pete Hamill, 85, died August 5 the subsidiary rights department of New York Times reviewer, sug- in Brooklyn. A high school dropout Random House in 1974, assigned gested that Shadow might have equally at home on a barstool, at a a desk just outside Toni Morrison’s been pitched by the publisher as black-tie gala or in the newsroom, office. She rose within Random to “Gabriel García Márquez meets Mr. Hamill fit the image of a classic head Vintage Books and held sig- Umberto Eco meets Jorge Luis New York reporter and then some. nificant posts at William Morrow Borges for a sprawling magic show, He apprenticed as a sheet-metal and at Anchor Books before mov- exasperatingly tricky and mostly worker in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, ing to S&S in 1992. She was named wonderful” — the title took off, even- spent five years in the Navy and CEO in 2008, just as the financial tually selling more than 15 million got his start at the New York Post crisis hit. In 2017, Publishers Weekly copies. in 1960. He published his first novel, selected her as Person of the Year, A Killing for Christ, in 1968 and fol- citing her leadership “through the dECEASEd Members lowed with another nine works of Great Recession, publishing’s digi- fiction. His nonfiction works include tal disruption, and a slow-growth Rudolfo Anaya Why Sinatra Matters, Downtown: sales environment all while keeping Karen Blumenthal My Manhattan and A Drinking Life: Simon & Schuster a commercial and Ralph Caplan A Memoir. critical success.” Wilbur Cross Donna Kauffman, 60, a best- Luis Sepúlveda, 70, died April selling author of more than 70 16 in Asturias, Spain, of COVID-19. Clive Cussler romance novels, including Blue The Chilean author, who was twice Edith Iglauer Daly Hollow Falls, Sugar Rush and imprisoned during the Pinochet William Ellis Pelican Point, died April 9, three era, wrote more than 20 novels and Aaron Fletcher months after her the release of her short stories, the best known of Shirley Ann Grau most recent work, Under a Firefly which was The Old Man Who Read Jeff Lipkes Moon. Love Stories, which he wrote while Harold Lyon Barbara Neely, 78, died living with the indigenous Shuar in Daniel Menaker March 2, in Philadelphia. Ms. Neely the Amazon in the 1970s. Gloria Rand was best known for her four-book Albert Uderzo, 92, died March Bernard Ryan Blanche White series and was 24 at his home in Neuilly, France. Staci Swedeen named the 2020 Grand Master by The comic book artist and author June Willenz the Mystery Writers of America. was co-creator, with René Goscinny, Robert Newton Peck, 91, died of one of the most beloved char- June 23 in Longwood, Florida. Mr. acters in French popular culture, Peck wrote popular young adult fic- Asterix. tion, including A Day No Pigs Would Charles Webb, 81, died June 16 Die and Soup. in Eastbourne, England. Mr. Webb Charles Portis, 86, died was best known for his first novel, February 17 in Little Rock, Arkansas. 1963’s The Graduate, published A onetime reporter and London bu- two years after the California native reau chief for the New York Herald graduated from Williams College in Tribune, he left journalism in his Massachusetts. Early reviews were thirties and published five novels. modest, but sales soared after the 1 The book was published in Spain in 2001, its He was best known for 1968’s True book was adapted for the 1967 film English translation in 2004.

Fall – Winter 2020 43 It was a Guild gala like no other — no cocktails, no Authors music, no dressing up, no taxis, made up for by record-breaking turnout, as 1,074 members1 and supporters of the Guild Zoomed in to celebrate Guild two treasured authors, who in turn proved to be as amusing, modest, and game for the improvised Foundation event as their books have been transformative and revered. Benefit, 2020 Presenting in bow tie and tux from Santa Fe, Guild president Doug Preston welcomed all who had tuned in. After alerting viewers to the An Evening with turquoise button at the bottom of the screen, for those who would like to make contributions to the Margaret and Authors Guild Response Fund, he turned to the main event of the evening. Judy, Doug and “It’s my great pleasure tonight to introduce, and honor, Margaret Atwood and Judy Blume. Andrea, and a Not only are they two of the world’s most beloved authors, but they are also the authors of books that lineup of admirers have been frequently challenged and even banned. So we recognize them not only for the body of their work but also for the courage of their literary expression . . .” Ms. Atwood, who has served as president of both the Writers Union of Canada and PEN Canada, who co-founded the Writers Trust of

1 Another 315 viewers watched it later on Crowdcast; 212 watched it on our website, and 38 visited our website by clicking through from the video.

44 Authors Guild Bulletin Canada, and was for a decade a member of the young adults, also vice president and editor at large Authors Guild, was awarded the Authors Guild for Scholastic Trade Books, and a born hostess. Foundation’s award for Distinguished Service to What followed was a memorable half hour the Literary Community. of exchanges light and serious, starting with Ms. Ms. Blume, who joined the Guild in 1970 and Pinkney’s first question — “Margaret, did you ever served on the Council for decades — including a think you would be honored from your favorite 14-year run of terms as a Guild vice-president — was comfy chair?” — and her second — “Judy, how does presented with the Authors Guild Foundation’s it feel to be greeting friends and fans in their living award for Distinguished Service to the Literary rooms?” Community and for service to the Authors Guild Members who missed the event in May can Council. stream the full show on the website (see below) Mr. Preston reiterated his regret and all of ours which includes personal salutes to the honorees that the awards could not be presented in person, from Rachel Vail, Tayari Jones, Neil Gaiman, Nan along with his hope that that day would arrive soon. Talese, and Susan Swan. Mr. Preston closed out “So to both Margaret and Judy . . . we thank the evening with a thank you to donors and a quote you for everything you have done and continue from Ms. Atwood: to do. We are so glad and delighted to be honoring “A word, after a word, after a word, is power.” you, we love you and we are delighted to have you join us this evening . . .” www.authorsguild.org/who-we-are/the- With that, he turned the mike over to the mod- authors-guild-foundation/celebrating-literary- erator for the evening, Andrea Davis Pinckney, icons-margaret-atwood-and-judy-blume/ award-winning author of books for children and

Fall – Winter 2020 45 Supporters of Tess Gerritsen Min Jin Lee Jane Stanton Hitchcock Nina Kwan the Authors Erica Jong Jamilla Lankford, in memory of Guild Foundation Joanne Leedom-Ackerman Mr. and Mrs. Jacinto Aneille Jeffrey Mayersohn and Julia Watson Rhines The Board of the Authors Guild OverDrive Laura Siegel Larson Foundation expresses its sincere Mr. Pancks’ Fund, in memory of Eric Lax and Karen Sulzberger thanks to the many people who Graham Kimpton Simon Lipskar have made generous contributions Scott Turow and Adriane Glazier Simone Mailman as of late October (listed below), as Stephen Manes well as to the many others we could Benefactors Brian Meehl not include due to space limitations. Lynn Goldberg Josie Merck Kathleen Peratis Ruth O’Donnell Mutch The Toni Morrison Circle Fred and Alexandra Peters Caroline Niemczyk Michelle and David Baldacci Nancy Rasenberger Hannah Pakula Lee Child, Jane Grant, and Ruth Susan Redmond Patricia Patton Grant Wendy Strothman Peter Petre, in memory of Suzanne Collins and Charles Pryor Elizabeth Strout Alice Mayhew Renée and John Grisham Margo and Anthony Viscusi Nicholas Pileggi Douglas Preston Elizabeth Pitts Patrons Bruno Quinson The Saul Bellow Circle Lorraine Adams Richard and Barbara Russo James Gleick and Cynthia Crossen Ann Beman James Shapiro Echo Valley Foundation Sydney Ladensohn Stern, in The Madeleine L’Engle Circle Alice L. George memory of Deirdre Bair The estate of James Duffy Peter Gethers Shelby White Hachette Book Group Grove Atlantic Inc. Charles Williams Hieronymus Foundation, Inc. Frederic Martini and Kathleen Laura Pedersen and Willie Pietersen Welch Contributors Diana Rowan Rockefeller Daniel Okrent Lisa Alther Robert Pesce Karen Arrigoni The Elizabeth Janeway Circle Michael Shnayerson and Jeannine Atkins Charles C. Butt Gayfryd Steinberg Patrick Atkinson The estate of Aaron Frankel Jonathan Taplin Deirdre Bair Macmillan Publishers Ballybucklebo Stories Corp. New York State Council on the Arts Friends Molly Bang Sara Paretsky APCO Worldwide, in memory of Dylan Landis Baquet, in honor of Ruth Cohen Erica Landis The Barbara Tuchman Circle The Asen Foundation Mary Ellin Barrett Amazon Literary Partnership Ken Auletta and Amanda Urban Elizabeth Bernbach Judy Blume George Biddle Lorraine Bodger Roland DeSilva Mary Bly Peter Booth Wiley Rose & David Dortort Foundation John Brett Thomas Brown The estate of William H. Hallahan Joan Broerman Sandra Brown HarperCollins Publishers Alafair Burke Jack Campbell Ingram Sherri Burr Ted Chiang Katherine Neville Angela Cason James Curtis Mary Pope Osborne Neal Cohen, in memory of Nelson DeMille Recorded Books Ruth Cohen Kim Edwards Roxana Robinson Lloyd Constantine Dave Eggers David Shapiro Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel Alexandra Enders Simon & Schuster Annie Dillard, in honor of Pamela Erens R.L. and Jane Stine Phillip Hamburger Susan Fawcett Olivia Douglas Carolyn Ferris The James A. Michener Circle William and Mary Greve Foundation Nicholas Firth Marie Arana Janet Hallahan, in memory of Martin Fridson Association of American Publishers William H. Hallahan III Jill Furman

46 Authors Guild Bulletin Peter G. Canby Supporters Michael Ravitch Amity Gaige Anton Textbooks Inc. Richard K. Rein Jane Garmey Diedre Badejo Kathleen Robinson Carole Geithner Ann Beattie Wendi Rose Jacob S. Gernsheimer Barry Beckham, in honor of Linn Sage Ashley Goodale Sidney Offit Lyons & Salky Law, LLP Toni Goodale Allison Blinken Paul Schullery Matthew Greenfield Elizabeth Bolte William Shirer Literary Estate Catherine Greenman Patricia Bosworth Susan Shreve Andrew Gross Amanda Brainerd Andrew Warren Siegel Beth Gutcheon Andree Brooks Augusta Stanislaw Duane Hampton Nancy Bunge Rylan Stewart, in memory of Marianna Houston Linda Burum Jerry Kamstra Olga Kagan Nancy Bynum Marcy Syms David Kaufman Rachel Caine Robert L. Taylor Beau Lamour Lolita Ann Cameron Jeffrey Toobin and Amy McIntosh Phoebe Larmore Cynthia Capone The Ellen M. Violett and Mary P.R. Lauren Lese Mark Carhart Thomas Foundation Steven Levy Neil Chrisman Charlotte Jones Voiklis Laurie Lisle Joel Cohen Diana Weymar Adam Mansky Gary Corcoran Poets & Writers Maura May Susan Cooper Cronyn Robert Zimmerman Jay McInerney and Anne Hearst Richard Curtis, in honor of Anonymous Grete Meilman the WQXR staff Marlane Melican Abigail Tiller Cutter Donors Geoffrey Menin Charles T. Dickinson Irshad Abdal-Haqq Fred Misurella Kirk Ellis John Adams Stephen Mitchell Lucy Ferriss Reinfred Addo Jay Mitchell Jane Green Figless Deborah Adele Patricia Morris, in honor of Joseph Finder Peggy Adler Douglas Preston Amanda Foreman Namrata Agarwal Richard Moskovitz Jonathan Franzen Janell Agyeman Shirley Rousseau Murphy Ellen C. Gendler Kathleen Alcala Nancy Novogrod Steven Gillis Bonnie Aldinger John Oakes Joy Hakim Diane Alexander Nell Painter Paula Hawkins Keisha-Gaye Anderson Katherine Paterson Ralph Henley Kathleen Anderson Adriana Payne Shelagh Herzog Linda Anderson The Poisoned Pen Bookstore Stephanie Hunt Mark Anspach Lynn Povich Piers Anthony Jacob Annette Aronson Janet M. Preston Bree Jeppson Raquel Arrechea Louise A. Rosen X.J. Kennedy Rilla Askew Léonie Rosenstiel Susan M. Kenney P.M.H. Atwater Judy Sanger Renée Khatami and Jessica Auerbach Stacy Schiff John R. MacArthur Gillian Bagwell Lawrence Shainberg Sandra Kitt Michelle Bailat Stephen B. Shepard Liz Klein Garrick Bailey James Skelton Stacy Kramer Bruce Balan Jane Smiley Christine Lehner Terry Ballard Stefanie Sobelle Marc Levy Julianne Balmain John Spooner Caitlin Macy Ariel Hana Balter Rosemary Stimola Gregory Maguire Victoria Barnett The Swig Foundation Ann M. Martin Thomas Bass John Thompson D.T. Max Judith Bass Rachel Vail and Mitchell Elkind Gillian McCain Elisabeth Bass Alison Weaver Donald Morrison Alice Bauer Edward Zuckerman Lynn Povich Tom and Susan Bean

Fall – Winter 2020 47 Mary Beath Mary Ann Caws, in memory of Laura Dwight Roger Beaumont Deirdre Bair Susan Dynerman Elizabeth Benedict Whitney Chadwick Joanne M. Ebersole Suzanne Bennett Jerome Alain Chanes Heather Ebert Michael L. Berger Loretta Chekani Solveig Eggerz Stanley M. Berry Harriet Chessman Deborah Eisenberg Gary Birken Kevin Christofora Evan Eisenberg Annette Blaugrund Andrea Clark Arnold Eiser Dianne Blomberg Judith Cohen, in memory of Lois Elfman Amy Bloom Ruth Cohen Steve Elkins William Blum Hannah Cohen, in memory of Bret Easton Ellis Karen Blumenthal Ruth Cohen Richard Elroy Elizabeth Bodien Peter F. Cohen Lawrence Elson Karna Small Bodman Scott and Jessica Cohn Charles Elster Paulette Bogan Fred Colby Jessica Emami James Bohun Thomas Colchie Rebecca Emerick Katy Boose Douglas Congdon Cai Emmons Alexis Boylan, in memory of Dan Connell Dianna Emory Deirdre Bair Bernard Conners Margorie Engel Deirdre Boyle Bruce Conord Sheldon Engelmayer Mike Bradley Jan Constantine Anjali Enjeti-Sydow Lori Brady, in memory of Karen Coombs Stephen Evans Ruth Cohen Harris Cooper Christine Evans Kelly Braffet Amanda Cooper Martha Fay Scott Bransford Jack and Lisa Copeland Marguerite Feitlowitz Lily Brett Jacqueline Sheritta Cotton Merle Feld Barbara Brett John Courter Ellen Feldman Mark D. Brewer Victor Cox Robert Feldman Laurie Sue Brockway George Cramer Ruchama King Feuerman Anthony Brooks Becky Crook Lillian Fimbres Terri Brooks Cal Cumin Roy Finamore Richard Broughton Jane L. Curry Nancy Flood Wynne Brown Janice D’Avignon Eva Fogelman Tina Brown Frances D’Emilio Jody Forrester Rosellen Brown Lynn Darling Lynne Foster Martha Browning Stephen Davenport Connie May Fowler William Bruns Ivor Davis Jeffrey Frank Beth Wagner Brust Kellye Davis Elizabeth Frank Sharon Bryant Christopher Davis Levi S. Frazier Sharon Bell Buchbinder Maci Daye Helen Fremont Barry Burd Lori Deeley Martin Fridson Elayne Burke Patricia DeMaio, in memory of Philip Fried Corinthia Burney Deirdre Bair Laura Furman Teresa Bodwell Burnham Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Jim Fusilli Daniel Burns Anna DePalo Teal Chimblo Fyrberg Janet Burroway Ariane Dewey The Garamond Agency, Inc. Samuel Butler Chris Dickon Carolina Garcia-Aguilera Heidi Butler Virginia Dominguez Gloria Gardner, in memory of Susan Butler Stacey Donovan Harding Lemay Amanda Cagle Sharon Doorasamy Marc Gellman Ben Camardi David Doty Jay Gertzman Carey Cameron Robert Doubek Marta Gibbons, in memory of Philip Caputo Catherine Drake Michael Edward Gibbons Betty Caroli, in memory of Deirdre Mary Drayne, in memory of Robert L. Giron, in honor of Bair Robert Moskin Covid-19 victims Gladys Justin Carr David L. Duffy Peter Glassgold Michael Castleman Roxana Dunn Elizabeth Gleick and Jim Parham

48 Authors Guild Bulletin Glen David Gold Kerrie L. Hollihan Jill Lauren Morton David Goldberg Ann Hollingworth Daniel Lazar Bruce L. Goldsmith Angel Holmes Amy Leask Burton Goodman Patricia Holt Bernard V. Leason Meryl Gordon Denise M. Horn Jane Leavy Noah Gordon Edith Hornik-Beer Jae Lee Annette Gordon-Reed Karen Hudson Peter Lefcourt Judith Gorog Dean Hughes John Legg Jon Gosier Lisa Hughey-Underwood Maria Lorena Lehman The Graduate Center, CUNY N.E.H. Hull and Peter Hoffer Nancy E. Lemann Gary Graham Mongrel International Julie Lenehan J.B. Grant Allan Ishac Virginia Bertolini Lepre Karen Grassle Barb Ivey Bob Levin Richard L. Graves Donna Jackson Joel Levinson Alexis Greene Diane Jacobs Charles Lewis Robin Gregory Alan Jacobson Richard Lewis Lee Griffith Tricia Jarvis Jethro Lieberman Morton Grosser Marthe Jocelyn Mary Linkin Stephanie Guerra, in honor of Cathy Johnson Elinor Lipman Robin Rue and Beth Miller Kimberly Jones Janet Lisle Elissa Haden Guest Robert Jones Aimee Liu Stephen D. Gutierrez Alden Jones Vicki Lofquist Judith Mara Gutman Jill Jonnes Polly Longsworth Myrna Guymer Kathleen Jorgenson Barrington Lopez Michael de Guzman Louise Julig Jonathan Lord Charlie Haas Madeleine Kalb Karen Lotz Ki Hackney Geoffrey Kane Laurie Loughlin Piri Halasz Ricardo Kaulessar Bookworks Ltd. Karin Hall Andrea Kavaler, in memory of Susan Lurie Julie Hall Lucy Kavaler Kerry Lydon Stephen S. Hall Dodie Kazanjian and Tad Tomkins Robert Lynch Richard Hammer Edmund Keeley Gayle Lynds Catherine Hammer Jacqueline Kelly Marylee MacDonald Kent Harrington Nancy Davidoff Kelton Carol C. Macomber Dwight Harshbarger Mary Ellen Kendall Lilith Magazine Victoria Haugen Liza Ketchum Kaye W. Maggart Jennifer Havill Patricia King Melody Mansfield Juanita Havill Owen King Denise Marcil Odie Hawkins David Kipen, in memory of FDR Sarah Margolius Carrie Hayes Ellis Kirk J.F. Margos Pamela Hayes-Bohanan Jodi Klein Kai Maristed James A.W. Heffernan Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff Benjamin Mark Judith Heimann Sussy Komala Mildred Marmur Brian Heinz Ann Jacobus Kordahl Pamela Marquez Robin Henig Laura Kramarsky Tawanna Marsh Jacquelin Henrion Bryna Kranzler Mitchell Marstin Media, in memory Deborah Henry Bonnie Kreitler of Diane Martin Christopher Herrmann Leonard Kriegel Daniel Marzollo Jeffrey Higgins Elaine Kule Rochelle Maslin Richard Hill Diana Kurniawan William Mazanitis Paul Himmelein Suzanne LaFetra Jill C. McCorkle Cassandra Krivy Hirsch, in memory Jennifer LaFrance Sarah McCoy of Colin Stuart Krivy Lynne Lamberg Christine McDonald Susan Hitchler Brad Land Marilyn McDowell Martha Hodes Ilene Lang Terry McGarry Beatrice Hohenegger Joe Lansdale Alan McGowan Carol Holding Lisa Larson Shanelle McGrew

Fall – Winter 2020 49 Margaret McIntosh Julie Paasche Marly Rusoff Katharine L. McKenna Jane Paley Howard Russell Mona Mehas Philip F. Palmedo Albert Russo Kelly Jean Mendenhall Donald Palmisano Janice Rutledge Dan Merians Clara Parkes Salvatore Sampino Melanie Pratt Merriman Carolyn M. Parr Cynthia Sample Frances Metzman Carolyn Parr Richard Sand Lynn C. Miller Ann Parr Nahma Sandrow Philip Miller Selena Paulsen Esmeralda Santiago Andrea Miller Peggy Payne Malavika Sasikumar, in honor of Jeanne Miller Susan Pearson Nandana Nishanth Carissa Mina Judith Peck James Savage Jacquelyn Mitchard Paula L. Pedene Robert Andrew Sawyer Nancy Clare Morgan, in memory of Darlene Pedersen Mark Schlack Robert Moskin Julie Penny Kathryn Louise Schleich Margaret O. Morgan, in memory of Sylvia Perfetto Elise Urrutia Schlesinger Robert Moskin Cynthia Perkins Michael Schuman Suzanne Morris Gene Perret Lynda Schuster Mary Morris Adrienne Gaye Perry Beverly Schwartz Micah Morrison Herb Perry Sam Scinta Ira Mothner Diane Phelps Janny Scott Marnie Mueller, in memory of Nathaniel Philbrick Carol Scott-Conner Deirdre Bair Mark Phillips Ann Seaman Jack Mulcahy Walter Pickut Edward Sechkar Claire Rudolf Murphy Diane Michelle Piron-Gelman Rick Sellano Kathleen Murray Wanda Plentl Bob Shacochis Eric Myers Pamela Powell Diane Shah Maureen Mylander Dale Pozzi Terry Shames Shahael Myrthil Carolyn M. Prebble Eileen Sherman Robbie Narcisse Jason Primrose Kristin Sherry David Nathan Orel Protopopescu Alix Shulman Elinor Nauen Karen W. Pryor Charles Sigal Georgiana Nelsen Mary Jo Putney Davitt Sigerson Laura Nelson Robert Quackenbush Roberta Silman David Nersessian Gerit Quealy Sue Silverman Thomas Nevins Linda Quinton Mary Taylor Simeti Bruce Newling Michael and Katherine Raleigh Louise Simons Nancy Newman Elghanayan Chris Raschka Kathleen Sims Jack A. Nicholson Donald Rattner Mark Singer Carolyn Niethammer Kathleen Kelley Reardon Barry Singer Beth Nissen Kerri Reich, in memory of Ian Slater Albert A. Nofi Ruth Cohen Deirdre Slater Brian Thomas Noonan Richard W. Reinhardt Mike Slosberg Jill Norgren, in memory of Donald Martin Reynolds Michele Slung Deirdre Bair Eve Hart Rice Virginia G. Smith Nicki Norman and Peter Gleick Gail Rice Charlotte P. Smith Hana Samek Norton Lisa Richesson Steven Phillip Smith Sigrid Nunez Julieta Rodrigues Hedrick Smith Tiina Nunnally Saralee Rosenberg Shannon Song Jody Lynn Nye Ashley Rosenbluth Dimary Soto Christine O’Donnell Donna McCrohan Rosenthal Southwestern Legacy Press JoAnna O’Keefe Lucy Rosenthal Sonja M. Spears Joseph O’Neill Elizabeth Rosenthal Lisa Sperow Lin Oliver La Vergne Rosow Charlene Spretnak Kristi Olson E. Manning Rubin Steven Gregory Spruill David Osborn Sheila Rubin Megan Staffel Harriet J. Ottenheimer Laura Ruby Marian Stanley

50 Authors Guild Bulletin Maureen Stanton Joseph Wambaugh Stephen Stark John C. Waugh Brian Starr Stephanie Weaver The Authors Judith Steel Hillary Webb Mary Helen Stefaniak Alan Weisman, in memory of Legacy Elizabeth Stein, in memory of Drum Hadley Society Sol Stein Carol Weston Gail Knight Steinbeck Carolyn White By joining the Authors Legacy William Stempel, in memory of Mark Wiederanders Society, you can be remembered Ruth Cohen Ellyn Wilbur as a champion of literature. Frank Stephenson Kathryn Wilder Including the Authors Guild Peter Stevens Megan Wildhood Foundation in your estate plans Whitney Stewart Kristina Erin Clink Wilkerson will help ensure that we can Venia R. Stilson Margaret Willey continue our outstanding record Gail Stockton Donna Ann Williams of service as the leading writers Laren Stover Christine Williams advocate for fair compensation, Patricia Stroud The estate of Joy Wilson and effective copyright protection, Kevin V. Symmons Colin Wilson and free expression for genera­ David Tabatsky Mary Winkler tions to come. Members of Nisha T. Tagore Elizabeth Winthrop, in memory of the Society will be recognized Mark Tatge Elizabeth Sachs annually in the Authors Guild Nick Taylor and Barbara Nevins Thomas Wither Bulletin, unless they choose to Taylor Wendy Wolf, in honor of remain anonymous. Roy A. Teel, Jr. Frederick Peters For further details: Barbara Thomas Tobias Wolff, in memory of Helen Frost Thompson Eavan Boland * visit Liz Sutton Thompson Lee Woodman www.authorsguild.org/ Waddy Thompson Edward Wright legacy Andrew Tobias Caryn Huberman Yacowitz * or call Martha Tolles Patricia Yunghanns 212 594 7931 Christopher J. Tolliver Elizabeth Zagata Patrick Toomay Michael Zeilik Hallie Touger Amy Zipkin Rachel Trask Renée Zuckerbrot Toni Treworgy Ava Cantor Zuckoff Pamela Triolo Karen Zuercher, in honor of Monique Truong Roz Kane Sheila Tucker Phillip Zweig Lara Tupper Anonymous Eileen Twiggs Stephen Barry Ungar Pat Valdata Annette Van Duren Jennifer Vanderbes Maria Vasconcelos Jonathan Vatner Patrice Vecchione Jason Vest Eleanor Vincent Carl Vonderau Mary Wade Dan Wakefield, in memory of C. Wright Mills Elijah Wald Vince Waldron Robin Wallace Richard Walter

Fall – Winter 2020 51 Regional time to help each other with ideas experiences and concerns, and and problem-solving. In May, our suggested ways to create change. Chapters newest chapter, Phoenix, Zoomed The talk included Jalissa Corrie, Update a conversation with Diane Phelps Christopher Myers, Cheryl Budden, author of The Author’s Willis Hudson, Wade Hudson, This June marked the second Concise Guide to Marketing. The Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, anniversary of our regional chapters Philadelphia chapter, led by Sally Quressa Robinson and Authors program, a Guild initiative designed Wiener Grotta and Janet Benton, Guild general counsel Cheryl to meet the needs of members in held Zoom meetings in March and Davis. (See p. 17.) many different parts of the country. April. In late June, the New York In July, Dodson and Lyons As COVID-19 began to spread in City regional chapter held a locally followed up with a related second the spring, we considered whether focused discussion, and there are panel, “Black Voices: Centering chapter events could be held safely plans to host a monthly online Black Creators” and organized amid lockdowns and stay-at-home meeting going forward. a third in August, “Black Voices: orders that varied among states. In On April 23, Chicago celebrated Building Community,” both open the end, we decided to take all our a “Spring Strangeness Reading” for to the full membership as well. All communities online, holding Zoom its members on Zoom. The meeting three are accessible on the Guild’s panels and talks and opening up featured a panel of readers, with an website. several events to the full Authors open mic for anyone interested in Throughout the summer and Guild community. sharing new work. The event was into the fall, we will be monitoring Chapter events in COVID recorded and is also available on our the possibilities of returning to time began in mid-March, with YouTube channel. The festivities in-person meetups. Until then we an event our Bay Area chapter also marked the last event hosted by will continue to provide as many had organized on social media Chicago’s original co-ambassadors, ways as possible for our members for writers, cosponsored by the Arnie Bernstein and Alta Price, to create and maintain their local Women’s National Book Association who have done a fabulous job of communities. bringing programming to the Chicago and scheduled to take place at — Melissa Ragsley literary community. We are currently Book Passage in San Francisco. Manager of Regional Chapters Ambassador Laird Harrison had searching for new ambassadors to planned a panel featuring writer lead the Chicago region. Nayomi Munaweera, writer and In April, Detroit ambassadors editor Lyzette Wanzer, social Weam Namou and Violet St. Karl media consultant Elise Marie began a three-part writing workshop Collins, and tech executive Nilofer cosponsored by the Chaldean Merchant to discuss how writers Cultural Center. The first virtual can best build their audiences. As it session focused on the process of happened, the event was scheduled writing. The second, held July 28, for March 18, the eve of what focused on publishing and will be turned out to be the country’s first followed by a marketing component major lockdown, in San Francisco. in the fall. Switched to Zoom, it marked the first Finally, what began as an idea of many events to be rescheduled for a Raleigh-Durham regional and was offered not only to the Bay chapter event in June became a Area members it was originally larger call to action. Our North planned for but to the extended Guild Carolina ambassadors, Judy Allen community. The event was recorded Dodson and Kelly Starling Lyons, and can be viewed on the Guild’s put together a panel called “Black YouTube channel. Voices: Pushing for Change in In an effort to keep online Children’s Book Publishing.” gatherings as close to an in-person Influenced by current events and experience as possible, several the most recent Lee & Low diversity chapters have limited access to graphic on Black representation local members, giving participants in the publishing industry, the the freedom to discuss issues with event hosted a panel of industry writers in their communities and experts who offered insights, shared

52 Authors Guild Bulletin expanded Health Insurance Options

The Authors Guild is pleased to announce a new health insurance benefit for members that will help you navigate your state’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace exchanges and find the right healthcare plan for you and your family, as well as purchase dental, vision, critical care, and other supplemental insurance plans. We know that many of you have difficulty identifying and securing affordable health insurance; freelance writers rarely qualify for group health insurance and are left on their own to navigate the insurance marketplace under the ACA. The Guild has been working for years to find a viable answer to this problem. While current laws prohibit us from offering a true association health plan for your primary medical care needs, by forging an alliance with other writing-related groups under the Book Industry Health Insurance Partnership (BIHIP) umbrella, we are able to offer this joint remedy through LIG Solutions, a division of Lighthouse Insurance Group. Under the plan, LIG Solutions will provide concierge services to identify and obtain the best ACA healthcare solution for you and your family, and will also provide any dental, vision, critical care, or other supplemental insurances that you may need. Authors Guild members can do one of the following to get more information about these health coverage options:

* Call (866) 735-5507 to speak directly with the LIG team of licensed advisors about your health coverage needs. * Visit www.ligmembers.com/ authorsguild for information about the program and to schedule an appointment to learn more about this valuable Authors Guild member benefit. Open enrollment under the ACA starts in Fall 2020, so now is a good time to start thinking about health coverage for 2021. LIG’s licensed advisors, based in Independence, Ohio, stand ready to assist you with a no- obligation health insurance assessment. The Authors Guild, Inc. 31 East 32nd Street, Suite 901 prst std us postage paid New York, NY 10016 philadelphia, pa permit #164

Did You Know the Authors Guild will review your contracts and more? Our legal experts will assist you with: CONTRACTUAL NEGOTIATING POINTS + CONTRACT DISPUTES + REVERSION OF RIGHTS + DEFAMATION AND PRIVACY RIGHTS + COPYRIGHT QUESTIONS + NONPAYMENT OF ROYALTIES + COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT + PUBLISHING CONTRACT REVIEWS CONTACT US AT [email protected] TO LEARN MORE.

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