CWC High Desert Branch
Presents the Book Architecture Workshop
in Hesperia, CA
Saturday, September 30, 2023
The High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club announces a special workshop by Stuart Horwitz in the Percy Bakker Conference Center in Hesperia, CA, 9333 “E” Ave. The event takes place from 10:30am to 3:30pm.
Starting with the premise of “Finish your book in three drafts: crafting fiction and creative non-fiction with the Book Architecture Method,” this workshop will introduce writers to a process for organization and revision that includes in-depth exercises to complete throughout the day so that attendees leave with a new perspective on their book’s core, its structure, and where the work of revision lies most clearly. The workshop assumes nothing of a writer’s previous knowledge of technique, nor how much of their manuscript is complete.
Horwitz’s clients have reached the best-seller list in both fiction and non-fiction, and have appeared on Oprah!, The Today Show, and in the most prestigious journals in their fields. The program’s admission price does not include lunch. For details, visit hdcwc.com.
The Authors Guild Reports Success with
Infringement Lawsuit
March 23, 2023: “AG Celebrates Resounding Win in Internet Archive Infringement Lawsuit. The court’s ruling vindicates six years of advocacy by the Authors Guild against Open Library’s illegal scanning and distribution of books…. By ruling that the Internet Archive’s practices violate copyright law and are not fair use, the decision vindicates the arguments that the Authors Guild has made for years.
“While we were not party to the lawsuit, our fight against the Internet Archive’s illegal scanning and distribution of copyrighted books goes back to 2017. Read our update on the court’s decision to learn more about our advocacy work and the tremendous impact this case has on authors.” – Authors Guild.org/news.
U.S. Copyright Office Considers AI
The U.S. Copyright Office website announces: “The Copyright Office has launched an initiative to examine the copyright law and policy issues raised by artificial intelligence (AI) technology, including the scope of copyright in works generated using AI tools and the use of copyrighted materials in AI training. After convening public listening sessions in the first half of 2023 to gather information about current technologies and their impact, the Office will publish a notice of inquiry in the Federal Register.
Many Major Works Enter Public Domain
The Authors Guild has reported that “all books first published in1927 entered the public domain in the United States. That means authors and other creators can now incorporate any book published before 1928 into their own work — at least for U.S. distribution — without the need to get permission.” These include some titles by Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, E. M. Forster, Willa Cather, and Arthur Conan Doyle.
However, the Authors Guild cautions, “These same books may still be under copyright elsewhere in the world. So if you want to incorporate them in a new work to be published overseas, you’ll need to check the copyright in the relevant country. Copyright terms for older works in the U.K., for instance, are generally longer, so books from 1927 likely aren’t yet in the public domain there.”
Visit Cwc-South’s Booth
At The Riverside Dickens Festival
Saturday-Sunday, February 25-26, 2023
California Writers Club South will have a booth both days of the Riverside Dickens Festival, February 25-26, featuring books by Victorian authors, books about writing, a Dickens writing game, CWC handouts, a sign-up sheet, and information about joining the 113-year-old California Writers Club.
We’d love to have members join us to help staff our table for two-hour shifts, allowing them plenty of time to stroll and enjoy the vendors and programs.
Imagine a Renaissance Festival but Victorian, with live performers, actors portraying Victorian-era authors in monologues and debates, and vendors selling Victorian-era clothing in case guests feel inspired to dress up. There is also traditional food from across the pond, including fish and chips, meat pies, scones, Welsh cakes, Scotch eggs and of course tea. Look for details at dickensfest.com.
CWC High Desert Presents Check To VVAPL
On Behalf of Dean Koontz
In appreciation for famed author Dean Koontz’s recent program for our High Desert Branch, the branch made a $300 donation to the Victor Valley Animal Protection League in his name. High Desert interviewed him on a Zoom meeting accessible to all members of the CWC’s 22 branches. Koontz has written 130 books, is published in 38 languages, has sold more than 500 million copies of his works, and is an animal protection activist.
Authors Guild and Others
Oppose Unauthorized Scanning
As reported by the Authors Guild September 2022, “The Authors Guild filed an amicus brief in Hachette v. Internet Archive, the publishers’ lawsuit against Internet Archive’s unauthorized scanning and distribution of books through the Open Library platform. More than 20 other organizations representing U.S. and foreign writers, genres, photographers, and playwrights signed on.”
The brief states that “Internet Archive’s scanning and distribution of entire books is infringing, and it is not fair use under any copyright law theory. Making copies of copyrighted work, including in different formats, and providing copies to third parties, all without authorization of the copyright owner—as Internet Archive is doing with its Open Library project—is precisely what copyright law protects against, and for good reason. If third parties are allowed to make copies of books, in any format, and sell or give the copies away without permission, those free copies compete with the author’s and make it impossible for an author to earn income from the books.”