A group of 10 organizations in the book-publishing community have created the Book Industry Health Insurance Partnership to help members navigate health insurance options using the services of Lighthouse Insurance Group Solutions. Those organizations include the Authors Guild, Book Industry Study Group, Horror Writers Association, Independent Book Publishers Association, Novelists, Inc., Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Western Writers of America, American Booksellers Association, American Society for Indexing, and Graphic Artists Guild. While it’s an important step forward, the help provided is—thus far—only navigational and not about negotiating lower costs. But with expert guidance in learning one’s coverage options, members of the 10 organizations may find solutions they wouldn’t have otherwise discovered on their own. The IBPA has a helpful FAQ at their site about what the partnership means.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
