Roxana Robinson to head the Authors Guild, succeeding Scott Turow

Roxana Robinson was elected the new president of the Authors Guild on Wednesday; she takes over as Scott Turow completes his term.

The Authors Guild is the largest federation of writers who have published books in the U.S. During the last decade, it has fought for the rights of authors in the courts in the most significant cases affecting publishing -- and it has not often won.

“As writers, we are living in very interesting times. The challenges are huge and I am thrilled to be a part of it all,” Robinson said in a statement. “We’re going to move ahead, we’re going to extend our membership, we’re going to continue to offer practical help and advice and a sense of community to our writers, and we’re going to continue to support the craft of writing.”

Robinson is the author of five acclaimed novels, two short story collections, a biography of Georgia O’Keefe and numerous book reviews and other articles. She has been serving on the Authors Guild executive council since 2005.

Leading the organization alongside Robinson will be three co-vice-presidents: Judy Blume, James Shapiro and Richard Russo.

“American writing is alive and well,” Turow said in the release. “There is no question about the vitality of our literary community or the vitality of the literary impulse in the United States. There will always be authors, there will always books.... We need to continue the struggle in order to protect writing as a livelihood.”

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