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

Internet Archive removes controls on “lending” of bootleg e-books

Using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse, the Internet Archive has — without permission or payment — removed all limits on how many people can simultaneously “borrow” digital copies of some of its bootleg e-book editions scanned from printed books. Included in this co-called National Digital Library are bootleg e-book editions of 1.4 million books, […]

Not Just About Race: American Dirt has Class Issue

The novel American Dirt chronicles a middle-class Mexican woman and her son on a harrowing journey to the US as they flee cartel violence. Jeanine Cummins’ book is at the center of a train wreck in publishing for its obvious race problems and less visible class issues. The publisher, Macmillian, insisted on positioning the work […]

Getting Writers Read and Fed!

The NWU is Back at the San Francisco Writers Conference February, 13-16, 2020. The National Writers Union Northern California Chapter will be at the conference for a 4th year, and is presenting the one-hour panel, Getting Read and Getting Fed! This panel includes NWU Members Cedric O’Bannon, Edward Hasbrouck, Brigid O’Farrell, and September Williams. This event takes place […]