Book Division

The NWU Book Division represents authors, contributors, and ghostwriters of books of all types in all genres and formats: fiction or non-fiction, single-author or anthology, published by large or small commercial or academic publishers or self-published, distributed on paper or as audiobooks or e-books.

The Book Division provides a place for networking, information sharing, and mutual support in our working lives as authors, especially through the NWU-BOOK email discussion list. The Book Division also takes a leading role in the NWU’s advocacy work on copyright and other issues of particular concern to book authors.

The Book Division is a national caucus within the NWU. Book authors are members of their respective local NWU chapters as well as of the Book Division.

The Book Division has published a variety of resources and advisories for authors about book contracts, copyrights, e-books, licensing, and other issues. NWU members are also eligible to receive assistance and advice from the NWU Grievance and Contract Division (GCD) on book contracts or disputes with publishers or others.

The Chair or Co-Chairs of the Book Division are unpaid member volunteers elected by the NWU’s triennial Delegate Assembly.  The current Book Division Chair elected at the 2021 Delegate Assembly is Dan McCrory, (Southern California Chapter), writingbiz@yahoo.com, phone 323-719-2173.

Contact the Book Division Chair if you would like to be part of this work or have ideas for what the Book Division should be doing.

    • Report infringements of your copyrights (including infringements by publishers) to the U.S. National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center. Reporting is essential to document the nature and extent of infringement problems.

Latest Division News

French Law Favoring Publishers Repealed

The French government earlier this year repealed a terrible law giving the country’s publishers the “right” to issue or license new editions of “out of print” books and pocket the revenues. The law, which was overturned last June, allowed print publishers to profit from these newly issued digital editions, regardless of the availability of previous versions of […]

Growing Coalition of Writers Renews Call for Reform of Copyright Registration

Back in January of 2017, the National Writers Union was joined by three other national organizations of writers in a variety of genres, media, and formats –– the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), and Horror Writers Association (HWA) — in a formal Petition for Rulemaking asking […]