We believe that book consumers have the right to know whether a book they are purchasing or borrowing from a library was written by a human or was generated using AI. That’s why we’re introducing the Human Authored certification.
Any author who certifies their work going forward will be able to use the new certification mark.
Since its initial launch for Guild members, the Human Authored certification has already gained remarkable traction in the publishing industry. Authors Guild members have already added the certification to thousands of books.
Come join us!
In a 143-page decision that dropped in today, a New York federal court ruled for the Authors Guild plaintiffs on EVERY count AND ordered the reinstatement of EVERY grant terminated in DOGE’s April 2025 mass cancellation. We could not be more pleased with this complete victory for the Authors Guild and the more than 1,400 writers, scholars, and researchers whose awards were abruptly eliminated.
This week, Authors Guild general counsel Cheryl L. Davis joined Jacqueline Woodson, Nanette Vonnegut (daughter of Kurt Vonnegut), and Nick Bruel at the New York State Capitol to fight for the Freedom to Read Act and the Open Shelves Act, alongside an incredible coalition of advocates, booksellers, publishers, librarians, students, and parents.
We met with 15 state legislators, including 11 senators and 4 assembly members, and left with a brand new cosponsor: Senator John Liu.
Here’s what these bills would do: The Freedom to Read Act ensures fair, transparent processes for book challenges in school libraries, keeps books on shelves during review, and protects librarians and educators from retaliation. The Open Shelves Act keeps public libraries inclusive and professionally managed, ensuring that librarians, not political pressure, guide collections. Neither bill restricts parental rights.
If you live in New York State, call your local representatives today and urge them to support these bills. If you know someone in New York, share this post with them. Every voice counts.
@authorsguild@nyclu@penguinrandomhouse@oblongbooks@penamerica@leeandlowbooks@authorsagainstbookbans studentsagainstbookbans @equalityny
🚨🚨 MAY SUBMISSION CALLS 🚨🚨
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We’ve gotten a ton of questions from our authors about AI, so we went looking for answers—in existing legal frameworks, Copyright Office guidance, and deliberations with our Council of working authors and feedback from members.
AI technology and its legal complications are still relatively new, and the landscape is shifting, sometimes quickly, often slowly, with many cases still pending, including our own. We’ll continue updating these best practices as things shift.
The Authors Guild is not actively encouraging or discouraging AI use, but we do believe writers should be informed about the complexities, risks, and questions that come with it.
More at the link in bio 🔗
🚨🚨 MAY SUBMISSION CALLS 🚨🚨
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Get your proposals for #AWP27 in by June 1!
As we get ready for Chicago, we are still thinking about the last amazing conversation we hosted in Baltimore with Laura Lippman, Sujata Massey, and Angie Kim, where they discussed the importance of community and peer support among writers.
Looking forward to gathering in Chicago with everyone next year 🫶
From page to stage: When Kelly Starling Lyons wrote her children’s book, “Tiara’s Hat Parade,” she had no idea it would eventually turn into a theatrical production on a multi-city tour. On Tuesday, she’ll share everything you need to know about creative control, working with creative experts in other fields, and what to expect from the experience of watching your work on stage.
This webinar is free but you do need to register! Please join us at /event/page-to-stage-tiaras-hat-parade/
Your publishing contract probably says nothing about AI. This week, the Authors Guild updated its model contract clauses so yours can.
New protections cover the situations authors are actually facing right now: manuscripts being uploaded to AI platforms without consent, AI tools editing your work without your knowledge, and AI narration and translation happening without your approval. There’s also a new clause that means you cannot be required to use AI in writing your manuscript.
For authors who choose to license AI uses of their work, the updated clauses treat AI training, book summaries, and “chat with a book” applications as distinct, separately licensable rights, each with suggested payment splits.
You or your agent can request these clauses in your next contract negotiation. Publishers are encouraged to adopt them.
Full details at the link in bio.
🚨🚨🚨 Meta copied hundreds of thousands of books from websites that it knew were illegal pirate sites and used them to train its Llama language model. Here’s what’s happening with the case and how it may impact authors.
This case represents an important step in the fight to hold AI companies accountable for the mass-scale theft of authors’ works. The Authors Guild is especially grateful to Scott Turow, a past Guild President and current Vice President of the Authors Guild Foundation Board, for serving as a class representative on behalf of authors.
Unfortunately the activity detailed in the complaint offers yet another example of one of the world’s wealthiest companies free-riding on the hard work and talents of working writers to generate billions of dollars—not a penny of which has gone to the people whose work makes the technology possible.
When bestselling author David Baldacci decided it was time to fight against AI, he didn’t realize he’d end up being treated like the one who did something wrong. He shared what five years of fighting to protect his intellectual property really takes in a speech at this year’s Authors Guild Foundation Gala.
