irish writers union

PLR notices posted

plr All registered authors are to receive an acknowledgement of their registration for PLR in Ireland, according the PLR office in Dublin. Posting was scheduled to begin on December 2, 2009.
Registered authors residing outside the Republic of Ireland should also receive, in the same envelope, a notice asking them to tell the registrar how they wish to be paid if they are due a payment for 2009.
The choices are: payment through a collecting society, or payment by euro cheque. For detail, see the website:
more

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Nomination to Irish Writers Centre board

The Irish writers Union nominated executive committee board member Brendan Nolan to the board of the Irish Writers Centre, following changes to the board which oversees the development and running of the Irish Writers Centre on Parnell Square. more

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Public Lending Right is here

At a time when the global recession is severely affecting the publishing industry, it is a pleasure to welcome some good news for Irish authors: the launch – at last - of a Public Lending Right scheme to pay authors whose books are borrowed through public libraries. here

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What's this?

contract What do you do if a publisher suggests you pay for some of the publication costs?
What if you are offered a print-on-demand deal and you want your rights back, eventually?
What if you believe you are owed a payment and the publisher thinks not?
Find out on our frequently asked questions page which is updated here

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Non-Fiction writers need not apply

Non-fiction writers continue to be excluded from the Arts Council-funded Writers in Schools scheme. Unless they are creative non-fiction writers.
In response to Irish Writers’ Union representations on behalf of its members the Arts Council responded that its remit does not cover areas such as non-arts biography, educational reference, sports or historical books. more

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Judge approves interim Google Settlement

A New York court judge, on December 3, 2009, rejected Amazon's request that he withdraw preliminary approval of a revised Google Books Settlement. In a memorandum filed with the Court, Amazon said the ruling was made without the benefit of opposing viewpoints. Presiding judge Denny Chin said Amazon could argue its case at a thorough fairness analysis of the settlement at the fairness hearing on February 18, 2010.
Chin granted preliminary approval on November 19, 2009 of an amended settlement in the Google Book Settlement case. more

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Writers' Publications running against the breeze

Members' writings, latest publications and doings are included on the news page
here

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Irish Writers' Union code of practice for reviewing books is online

The code of practice for literary editors
and reviewers was drawn up some years ago and is now published in full on the union website, for reference.
For details see here