The Anthropic settlement has received preliminary approval, and you can now search an online database to see if your works are part of the settlement.
The Authors Guild is holding a free webinar for all authors (you don’t have to be a member) with co-lead class counsel Rachel Geman and Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger on Thursday, October 16, at 6 p.m. ET. Learn more and register here.
Also, for a comprehensive guide to filing a claim, read this article from the Authors Guild.
Perhaps the most common area of confusion I’m seeing right now arises from authors who used the Atlantic’s database to see if their books were in the pirate databases used by Anthropic. The Atlantic’s data, pulled in 2025, is not the same as what Anthropic pulled in 2021 and should not be relied upon to determine which books are part of the settlement. That’s why it’s critical every author take a look at the official database at the settlement website, available only since Oct. 2.
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.
Thanks for this information, Jane! I don’t have a book. YET!