Authors Alliance is coming to Cambridge, Massachusetts to host a panel discussion at Harvard University with our co-sponsors at the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. The panel is free and open to the public. Join us!

Poster made using a photo by GrindtXX from Wikimedia Commons, repurposed and used here under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license

Thursday, October 30, 2014
3:30-5:30, with reception to follow
Lamont Library Forum Room
Harvard Yard, Harvard University
Cambridge, MA

For more information and to register, please visit the event website.

The internet has had disruptive effects on many aspects of the ecosystem in which authors reach readers. The roles of publishers, retailers, libraries, and universities, and other participants in this ecosystem are evolving rapidly. Amazon.com, in particular, has been the source of considerable controversy in its dealings with authors and publishers.

In order for authors to navigate these turbulent waters, they need to be strategic in their partnerships and careful in contracting. Copyright is supposed to help even authors with no legal expertise, but how good a job does it do? Could some changes in that law help authors reach readers more effectively? Looking beyond the law, what steps can authors take now to realize the full impact of their writings?

With these questions in mind, the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society are co-sponsoring the Authors Alliance in bringing a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing authors in the digital age to the Harvard campus.

The discussion will be preceded by remarks from Katie Hafner, a journalist, the author of six books, and a member of the Authors Alliance and advisory board.

Jonathan Zittrain will moderate a panel that will include:

• Rachel Cohen, a Cambridge-based author and creative writing professor at Sarah Lawrence College;
• Robert Darnton, university librarian at Harvard and member of the Authors Alliance advisory board;
• Ellen Faran, director of MIT Press;
• Mark Fischer, a copyright lawyer at Duane Morris LLP;
• Katie Hafner, a journalist, memoirist, and nonfiction writer;
• Alison Mudditt, director of UC Press;
• Sophia Roosth, a Harvard historian of science; and
• Pamela Samuelson, Authors Alliance co-founder and law professor at U.C. Berkeley.

The event will be webcast and recorded. We will post details on the webcast here at https://authorsalliance.org and on our twitter account prior to the event.