Ursula K. Le Guin resigns from U.S. Authors Guild

Award-winning science-fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin has resigned from the U.S. Authors Guild after accusing the organization of dealing with the devil in a settlement with Google over its plan to digitize books.

"There are principles involved, above all the whole concept of copyright; and these you have seen fit to abandon to a corporation, on their terms, without a struggle," said Le Guin in a letter of resignation.

"You decided to deal with the devil, as it were, and have presented your arguments for doing so. I wish I could accept them. I can't."

The guild responded in a statement by agreeing with Le Guin's point about copyright.

"We hold the principles of copyright to be fundamental — they are bedrock principles for the Authors Guild and the economics of authorship. That's why we sued Google in the first place," it said.

"It would therefore have been deeply satisfying, on many levels, to litigate our case to the end and win, enjoining Google from scanning books and forcing it to destroy the scans it had made. It also would have been irresponsible, once a path to a satisfactory settlement became available."

The 80-year-old writer, who has been a member of the guild since 1972, says she is keeping her ties with both the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the National Writers Union because they had opposed the Google deal.

"They don't have your clout, but their judgment, I think, is sounder, and their courage greater," she wrote.

The guild urged the author, known for the children's fantasy series Earthsea and books The Left Hand of Darkness and The Lathe of Heaven, to keep the lines of communication open.

It said that it was essentially backed into a corner by Google, saying that "when digital and online technologies meet traditional media, traditional media generally wind up gutted."

The guild said it chose the path of "constructive engagement" with the giant search engine instead of fighting it.

Not all authors are against the agreement. In September, some 50 authors declared their support, including Elmore Leonard, Garrison Keillor and Judy Blume.