Author Law A to Z: A Desktop Guide to Writers' Rights and Responsibilities

From authors to editors, literary agents to journalists, anyone who works with words confronts an astonishing variety of legal puzzles and perils. This easy-to-use guide to writers’ rights and responsibilities will help users navigate this legal maze and work more profitably. Part legal dictionary, part publishing encyclopedia and chock-full of helpful how-to advice, Author Law A to Z addresses key concepts in the publishing field. Styled as a series of alphabetical entries, this reference book makes it easy for readers to locate answers to specific questions, get help with a particular problem, or simply browse an array of fascinating entries for greater professional knowledge. Topics include all the major legal issues related to the business of writing and publishing. Entries are extensively cross-referenced for maximum usefulness and most are supplemented with charts, checklists, sidebars, boxes, tips, profiles, case summaries, sample letters, contracts, forms, and other illustrative material.

Stacy Davis, is a lawyer, editor and author. Admitted to the courts of New York, she has practiced in the areas of publishing and immigration law. She has worked as a staff editor for a major legal publisher and as a freelance editor for a several clients.

Karen Dustman received her Juris Doctor degree from U.C.L.A., where she served on two law reviews and worked as an extern for a Federal District Court judge. Admitted in the courts of California and Nevada, she combines the practice of law with a successful freelance writing career, as the author of three books and more than a hundred articles.



Sallie Randolph is a senior partner with Randolph Law Offices and concentrates on copyright and publishing law. During a distinguished career as a freelance journalist she wrote hundreds of articles for magazines and major newspapers and authored six books. Ms. Randolph holds a bachelors degree from Michigan State University and is a cum laude graduate of State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law. She teaches publishing law as an adjunct professor at her alma mater, where she established a copyright clearance program and served as the program’s initial director. She is a frequent speaker and consultant on publishing and copyright law at writers’ conferences and educational institutions. Ms. Randolph is chair of the Legal Resources Committee of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), former chair of the Intellectual Property Committee of the Bar Association of Erie County, New York and a member of the New York State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, ASJA and the Authors Guild. She lives in Buffalo, NY.