HISTORY

The Authors League of America was formed in 1912 by a group of authors which included Arthur Twain, Will Irwin, Booth Tarkington and Kate Douglas Wiggin. At the first election in 1913, Winston Churchill was elected President and Theodore Roosevelt Vice-President. Soon the League concerned itself with problems of playwrights as well as book and magazine authors, and in 1919 it formed two Guilds--The Authors Guild and The Dramatists Guild. Subsequently, as new markets developed, the Radio Writers Guild and the Television Writers Group were formed as component parts of the League, and the Screen Writers Guild as an affiliate. But as the years passed it became apparent that the problems and interests of writers for so many different markets could not be conveniently handled in one body. In 1954, then, the Screen and Radio and Television writers formed their own organization (the Writers Guild of America), while The Authors League membership was once again aligned to authors and dramatists.

Our orgnaziational structure was changed under a reorganization which became effective on October 1, 1964. There are now three different membership corporations: The Authors League of America, Inc., The Authors Guild, Inc., and The Dramatists Guild, Inc. A member of either The Authors Guild or The Dramatists Guild is also automatically a member of The Authors League, and the two Guilds are corporate members of the League. Matters of joint concern to authors and dramatists, such as copyright and freedom of expression, remain in the province of the League; other matters, such as contract terms and subsidiary rights, are in the province of the Guilds.