Creators call for action on AI copyright exceptions

An exceptionally diverse coalition of creative workers including the National Writers Union (NWU) and other writers, illustrators, photographers, graphic artists, digital media workers, journalists, novelists, playwrights, composers, and songwriters today issued a joint call for action to redress the damage being done by copying of our creative work, without our permission and without compensation, to […]

NWU Urges IL Gov. Pritzker to Sign the Freelance Worker Protection Act

The National Writers Union today called on Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to sign a proposed new law designed to protect freelance writers, graphic artists, photographers, online content providers, website designers and numerous other contract workers from being cheated out of all or part of their pay. The president of the Writers Union, Larry Goldbetter, urged […]

NWU Testifies at Hearing on Generative AI

The NWU was invited to testify at the first of a series of listening sessions on the implications of generative artificial intelligence on April 19, 2023. This wass the first step in a lengthy public consultation process by the U.S. Copyright Office, which is hosting these events. The April 19 session focused on “literary works,” […]

Writers and “Generative AI”

How will “generative artificial intelligence” affect writers and other media workers? To ask the question in this way almost seems to imply that we are passive objects  of forces unleashed by venture capitalists and Internet platforms. But as a union, we don’t accept a role of passive victimhood. Our goal is to use the power […]

NWU stands up for writers at IFRRO annual meeting

The NWU’s Edward Hasbrouck represented both the NWU and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), of which the NWU is an affiliate, at the annual meeting of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO) held from October 24-27, 2022, in Brussels, Belgium. Participation in IFRRO has been an important part of the NWU’s work […]

Authors Object to the Internet Archive’s Book Piracy

Reaffirming our longstanding objections to the Internet Archive’s distribution of  unauthorized digital copies of books in which our work has been published, the NWU has joined almost two dozen national and international organizations of writers, photographers, and visual artists in a friend of the court brief in opposition to the Internet Archive’s book-scanning and so-called […]

NWU joins Creators Conference, May 11, 2022

The NWU and allied organizations representing people who earn our living as creators of copyrighted works will take part in a free, online conference on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, “Creators and Their Advocates on How Writers, Photographers, Illustrators, Designers, Dramatists, Songwriters, and Composers Are Being Taken Advantage of — and What We Can Do About […]

Antitrust, Copyright, and Media Workers’ Rights

The NWU recently submitted comments to separate inquires from the U.S. Copyright Office and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Our response highlights the need for a wholistic approach to the economic conditions and rights of workers who are not “employees.” A proposition like this needs to recognize the intersectionality of copyright, labor, and antitrust law […]

Book Division meets at 2021 Delegate Assembly

The NWU Book Division, including Delegates and other NWU members interested in issues related to books, e-books, and audiobooks, met online on October 22, 2021, as part of the 2021 triennial NWU Delegate Assembly (“DA”). This was an important opportunity to assess what we’ve done, what we are doing, and what remains to be done […]

Stop the Rejection. Self Publish!

The Boston Chapter’s recent workshop, Stop the Rejection – Self Publish, was a great success, drawing both members and non-members. Independent publishing allows you to be in full control of your writing and ensures that your book’s concept, content and cover are not altered by commercial interests. The pilot project allowed participants from around the […]