If your books are in the Anthropic copyright settlement...don't be this guy. Yes, a crappy gift card is the expectation in many class action settlements, but not this time: per work payout is at least $3,000, & may be higher. If you don't file, you get nothing. Deadline is 3/30. File today.

I'll be there to answer questions. Join us!

Question for Entangled authors: did Entangled file a claim on your behalf in the Anthropic settlement, without your authorization to do so? (They are reportedly charging a $50 administrative fee for this.) Contact me (Writer Beware) in confidence: [email protected]

If you're part of the Albert Whitman & Company bankruptcy, there's a plan of reorganization: projected recovery for unsecured creditors (that's you, writers) is 40% of their claim...but "it depends". (article includes instructions for authors who didn't file a claim) authorsguild.org/news/albert-...

Literally a new one of these mirror websites blocked me 23 hours ago ... Went to the website it linked ... Same exact guy. New name. Now it's 'Kindlei' on Bsky. @tessahastjarjanto.com @victoriastrauss.com OG Writer's Beware article: writerbeware.blog/2025/02/21/w...

Also be sure to print and retain a PDF copy. Once you submit your claim the system shifts the file to a secure server and it can't be retrieved or altered.

Scam alert!

I've posted a lot of info about impersonation scams from the POV of targeted authors...but the people who're being impersonated suffer too. Here's agent Sally Ekus's experience of discovering an elaborate scam impersonating her notsosecretagent.substack.com/p/is-sally-e...

Here's the motion for final approval of the settlement in the Anthropic case. 1/4 writerbeware.blog/wp-content/u...

Class counsel in the Anthropic copyright case have lowered their fee percentages (which originally included 3 other firms not appointed to rep the class) by millions, responding to pushback from the court www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Wow.

If you do a lot of searching on the internet (as I do), this is a really useful article. Multiple things I didn’t know and will use going forward.

If you’re on the list and haven’t yet filed a claim, the clock is ticking!

Note to writers: No, your agent does not deserve to get a commission on your Anthropic copyright settlement payout. No, your publisher should not charge an administrative fee for filing claims on your behalf (and why would you want them to? It's easy to do yourself).

I am an unashamed devotee of em dashes (though I never sign my emails “warm regards”)

The void looks back

New #WriterBeware blog post: If you're one of many who has gotten an email from a company called Woodside Motion claiming to be scouting books for possible film adaptation, and you're wondering what the deal is...here is my deep dive into what the deal is. writerbeware.blog/2026/03/20/t...

Good news for UK creators: the government has backed away from advocating a change to copyright law that would have allowed AI companies to train on materials without permission (it is "considering" other approaches) www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

This is sad. I have so many Dial books on my childhood reading shelves www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

This guy’s argument is absurd.

Feed me.

Baker & Taylor has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It owes up to $500 million in liabilities to between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors (via @publisherslunch.bsky.social ) lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/wp-content/u...

The latest AI copyright lawsuit gizmodo.com/encyclopedia...

Author @christymarx.bsky.social details an impresonation scam I'm seeing multiple versions of right now: contact from what appears to be an editor at a major publisher, referral to a (fake) literary agent, who then tries to sell something www.patreon.com/posts/author...

Not theft, just tropes. The long-running Crave lawsuit, in which author Lynn Freeman sued author Tracy Wolff and agent Emily Sylvan Kim for plagiarism, has been dismissed by a New York court (sorry, paywall) lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2026/03/trac...

Widely cited AI labor research ignores the most important thing AI is doing: Killing the human internet.

MG/YA writers, have you signed up for our Constellation Series? 👀 It's SFWA's first-ever free-to-the-public professional development weekend. This March 21-22, we have master classes, a mentorship hour and open lobbies for networking, readings, and Q&As. Register today and spread the word!

My (skeptical) 2023 post on AI-free certification programs (with updates) writerbeware.blog/2023/08/11/d...

Good article from @janefriedman.com on the shortcomings of AI certification programs based on the honor system, w/ a focus on the Authors Guild's Human Authored program. She makes an important point: there's little evidence (as yet) that it matters to readers janefriedman.com/my-concerns-...

This article makes the point that some kind of universal standard is needed. Agreed, though what that would be & how it would be verified is easier said than done. As long as these certification programs rely primarily on good faith assurances, they are meaningless www.bbc.com/news/article...

"When I hear that something big is happening in AI, or see all the new AI systems and am told how powerful they are, I know that this is merely more hype. The tech elite pushing these systems want people to believe we have no choice but to accept these systems."

fighting the institutional adoption of ai is slow and difficult. but as individuals, we can still largely opt out, at least from direct use. i sincerely believe that those who do so will find solidarity in creativity, imagination, and humanity. in intelligence.

My indoor garden, tiding me over till I can get outside again

The harms of gen AI go far beyond copyright theft and environmental damage.

New Writer Beware blog post: A quick reminder that the deadline for filing a claim in the Anthropic copyright settlement is fast approaching writerbeware.blog/2026/03/13/d...

Lots of action this week on states' AI legislation www.transparencycoalition.ai/news/ai-legi...

“AI can never be AI without humans. It is not artificial intelligence. It’s African intelligence...We are training our own death. We train ChatGPT and it’s killing us slowly.” Kenyan workers are still the underpaid labor behind AI training, moderation, and sex chatbots. Now, they're fighting back.

More on the class action lawsuit against Grammarly over their ill-advised "Expert Review" AI feature that appropriated the names and identities of writers and journalists without their knowledge or consent gizmodo.com/grammarly-al...

FAFO, Grammarly

Public pressure can work!

"Nonetheless, the company’s use of people’s names without their sign-off became a bitter flashpoint in the AI discourse."

Public pressure can work.

Strongly encourage all academics, novelists, reporters, bloggers, whatever to just email this account and state that you want to opt out of this idiocy. Overload them with emails and make them regret they ever tried this shit. [email protected]

This is a protest not just against gen AI training generally, but against the UK government's proposal to allow AI companies to train on copyright-protected work unless the author/artist opts out www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Writers take note

This is outrageous. Opt _in_ should be the default. (Or maybe just never do this kind of slopsploitation. )

Yet more gen AI things we didn't ask for www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

Highly recommended.

On the heels of lawsuits by Spotify and several record labels, thirteen publishers and the AAP are suing pirate site Anna's Archive (via @publisherslunch.bsky.social ) www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

No offense to the AG--I'm a member & it does valuable work. But I am irritated by initiatives (this isn't the only one) that purport to authenticate human authorship but when you dig into them really just boil down to an assumption of participants' good faith www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...