Amazon Selling Plagiarized Books

On March 20, Book Division Co-Chair Aleah Barley, joined Authors Guild Executive Director Mary Rasenberger and a number of Authors Coalition member organizations on a conference call to explore ways to stop plagiarism on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and Kindle Unlimited (KU) platforms. The call was in preparation for a possible letter writing campaign […]

How writers monetize words: The marketplaces for writing in digital formats

The Internet is often depicted as a threat to traditional print publishing and traditional print publishers — which it is. But the Internet has also created many new digital publishing and income opportunities for tech-savvy, innovative, and entrepreneurial writers. This includes ways to make money from business models and types of writing that would be […]

Follow Ongoing Events at the UN Commission on the Status of Women

Journalists face daily threats of being attacked, imprisoned, threatened and harassed for doing their job. A survey of over 400 women journalists in 50 countries by the International Federation of Journalists showed that “almost one in two women journalists have suffered sexual harassment, psychological abuse, online trolling and others forms of gender-based violence while working.” […]

OUT MAGAZINE: PAY THE FREELANCERS !

Feb. 26, 2018 — NEW YORK CITY — The National Writers Union is now representing 25 freelance contributors to Out magazine, who are owed more than $40,000 for work that was contracted, produced and published. This campaign — which is also taking place on social media with the hashtag #OutOwes — is going public today, and we expect […]

NWU and NASW form Partnership

NEW YORK, NY (December 20, 2018) – The National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981) is proud to announce our new partnership with the National Association of Science Writers. The 2,000-member NASW is the largest organization of science writers in the world. The partnership will officially take effect on January 1, 2019. NASW consists of freelancers and […]

Finally, Ebony Pays!!!

We’re glad to announce that the final 4th quarter payment of the Ebony settlement is complete. The last $18,323 is en route to 16 writers. It was due Dec. 28, but Michael Gibson, president of the ownershp group CVG and CEO of Ebony Media, decided to get this done after being sued in court and slammed […]

President’s December 2108 Column

New Sanctuary Coalition I’m working on building a labor delegation to the New Sanctuary Coalition effort to bring thousands of people to the US/Mexico border to greet the Central American refugee exodus. The NSC Call to Organized Labor is here. Please sign on and share widely. So far about 100 union activists and unions have […]

Here’s How to Dodge the Cashier Check Scam

A short email arrived in my inbox, inquiring whether I still translate documents from German into English. I replied that I did, but didn’t pay much attention to the sender’s name, email address or the subject line: “Translator Needed ASAP.” Their reply came almost immediately: They thanked me for my quick response, and asked how […]

RIP Rashod Ollison

The National Writers Union is sad to announce the death of one of our members, Rashod Ollison. Ollison, 41, was an award-winning entertainment writer and music critic whose most recent post was at The Virginian Pilot, where he covered pop music and culture. He has also been a staff critic and feature writer for the […]

Ebony Media and CVG Fail to Pay Freelancers

New York (October 16, 2018) – Ebony Media Organization (EMO) and its parent Clear View Group (CVG) have failed to honor the terms of a February agreement with the National Writers Union (NWU/UAW) and 44 freelancer writers for about $80,000 for unpaid work that was contracted and published. The union filed a case in Cook County […]