The NWU Boston Chapter annual book party featured pizza, great conversation, and a celebration of the 17 members whose books were published in 2015. Six of the authors read enticing tidbits from their work to enthusiastic applause. Boston Poet Laureate Danielle Legros Georges delivered a stirring keynote on the importance of poetry in American history. She […]
Tax Tips for Writers
NWU member and tax accountant Therese Francis spoke at a recent NorCal event. These are points she covered in her talk on taxes for writers: Think like a business, look like a business, be seen as a business and, most of all, take advantage of tax laws for businesses. The IRS recognizes two types of […]
“Freelance Isn’t Free” Advances in the NY City Council
New York City – February 29: “The company closed, the owners took the furniture and equipment out of the office and disappeared. There was no bankruptcy, no one was notified—they simply closed…Freelancers got nothing! The total loss to 40 workers exceeds $300,000. I was owed more than $20,000.” That was a part of NWU VP […]
NWU VPs Testimony to the NY City Council
Mauricio Niebla Thank you for the opportunity to speak today about my experience as a freelancer.My name is Mauricio Niebla, I’m a writer, and as most writers, I am a freelancer. I have been a freelancer my entire professional life, for almost 30 years. I have been unpaid for jobs many times, but the most […]
NWU Statement on the Freelance Isn’t Free Act
The National Writers Union/ UAW Local 1981, supports the Freelancers Union’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act, and we urge the New York City Council to make it law. Our members, who are writers in all genres, in all media and on all platforms, are no strangers to nonpayment. We know how hard it can be to […]
Accountant Shares Tips at ‘Taxes for Writers’ Event
Therese Francis, PhD, an NWU member from New Mexico, led an informative and timely session, Taxes for Writers, on January 7 in San Francisco. NWU’s Northern California Chapter and the Mechanics’ Institute Library and Chess Room co-sponsored the workshop. A writer, publisher and accountant, Francis kicked off the current tax season with the lunchtime event […]
Reading and Feeding Writers
“You’re here to help get writers read, the NWU’s here to help get writers fed.”~ NWU member September Williams Hundreds of writers, editors, and publishers met in the city for the 13th annual San Francisco Writers Conference, February 11-15. New and established writers attended workshops with well-known authors, learned about publishing options, speed-dated with agents, […]
TAKE AUTHORS SURVEY, BOOST NWU
What is the easiest way to support your union? Completing an Authors Coalition survey. Each response can generate the same income for the NWU as gaining one new member. In 2015, your participation helped us accrue nearly $160,000 in non-title specific royalty payments. This amount is directly linked to the number of completed surveys. However, […]
POTENTIAL BLOW TO UNIONISM
In June, the Supreme Court will make an important decision regarding unionism when it rules on Friedrichs vs. the California Teachers Association. The case stands to reverse a 40-year precedent established in the 1977 case of Abood vs. the Detroit Board of Education. That ruling established public-sector unions’ right to collect “fair-share fees” from all […]
ROBERT ALTMAN: IN THE AMERICAN GRAIN
In July 2010, I pitched a book idea: a critical examination of film director Robert Altman’s work to Reaktion Books of London. Why Reaktion? Why Altman? Reaktion publishes a Critical Lives series, which deals with cultural figures. I was interested in writing about film, so I drew up a short list of directors whose work […]
NWU is the sole provider of IFJ Press Passes to freelance journalists in the U.S.