Scott Turow Elected President of Authors Guild; Judy Blume Is Vice President
(PRESS RELEASE) April 28, 2010. At the annual meeting of the Authors Guild in New York yesterday, members elected Scott Turow as their president and Judy Blume as their vice president. Meg Cabot, Michelle Richmond and T.J. Stiles joined the Guild's executive Council.
Roy Blount Jr. concluded his presidency of the Authors Guild, the largest organization of published book authors in the U.S., after serving four years. During his term, Mr. Blount oversaw the negotiation of a landmark settlement with Google, which, if approved, would open up new markets for authors of out-of-print books. He also guided Authors Guild positions and initiatives on many issues involving e-book rights and electronic royalties, including the Guild's backing of the so-called agency model for the sale of e-books and the Guild's launch -- during the showdown between Macmillan and Amazon -- of the Who Moved My Buy Button? website to allow authors to keep track of their "buy buttons" at Amazon.
"See this Google thing through, make sure Amazon doesn't take over the book industry, find out why e-book royalty rates are so shamefully low, and keep the digital pirates at bay," Mr. Blount advised Mr. Turow. "The rest should take care of itself."
"Roy's done a tremendous job, and has kept the Authors Guild in the thick of things during a time of rapid change in book publishing," said Mr. Turow. "It's the Guild's job to do what it can to make sure authors are fairly paid for their work. Roy certainly has kept the Guild focused on that. For authors, as the book industry continues its digital transformation, the challenges are only going to build. Authors are going to need every source of income they can get."
Guild members re-elected Peter Petre as treasurer and Pat Cummings as secretary, and re-elected Council members Barbara Taylor Bradford, Susan Cheever, James Gleick, John R. (Rick) MacArthur and Jean Strouse. On Monday, the Guild's Council appointed Michelle Richmond to fill a vacancy on the board.
