The Authors Guild
Book and Periodical PublishingNew York, United States51-200 Employees
The Authors Guild, founded in 1912, is the oldest and largest professional association for writers in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, it sits in the book and periodical publishing industry and serves a membership drawn from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, journalism, and related roles such as literary agents and writers’ estates. It pursues authors’ legal rights through support for fair contracts, copyright protection, and free speech, while fostering an inclusive community that seeks a livable wage for writers. The Guild is known for broad participation from award-winning and best-selling writers. The Guild emphasizes four guiding principles—compensation, ownership, distribution, and attribution—to ensure authors are paid, retain rights, control how works are shared, and receive proper credit. In 2026, the organization undertook public actions, including a lawsuit against Anthropic, with a delegation of notable Guild members participating. These efforts reflect ongoing activity in defending authors’ rights amid debates over AI training and publishing.