I don’t know that this will do a lick of good, but at least the AG tried.

The gist.

1. First, we ask that publishers voluntarily withdraw their claim from books that have been long out of print, regardless of whether there is proof that rights have formally reverted under the contract.

If a publisher has not issued a statement or paid royalties on a book in years—certainly if it has been more than a decade—then the publisher should relinquish any claim to the award for the title and allow the author to take 100 percent. Many authors and publishers have not kept good records of their reversions, and it makes little sense to send authors, agents, and publishers on a wild goose chase to find those records. Even if it turns out that the author or their agent never actually sent the reversion letter or that it was not received and recorded, it should not matter. We have heard from far too many authors whose books have been out of print and have not had any communication from their publishers for 20, 30, and even 40 or more years, where the publisher is still claiming 50 percent. That is not fair. Let’s please agree that those rights should have reverted and the author deserves 100 percent.

The full letter here.

#thiswritinglife Chatter AG statement to publishers Anthropic settlement Authors Guild