Melville House Books

J.K. Rowling

Several major British writers, including J.K. Rowling and Philip Pullman, are opting out of the Google Book Settlement, reports a Times of London story by Judith Evans.  Pullman’s agent, Caradoc King, tells the Times, “Why should we have to do this because Google decided to set something up which is clearly for the benefit of Google? Google can’t afford to do it without the support of major authors — they have to come back with a better deal.” Rowling’s reps, meanwhile, say the deal violates international copyright laws. Meanwhile the report also notes that “Other British authors including Helen Oyeyemi, Kamila Shamsie and Nick Harkaway have signed a petition headed by the children’s fantasy author Ursula le Guin, which argues the settlement ‘render[s] copyright essentially meaningless.’”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.