Janet Anderson MP Announced as New Chair of the All Party Writers Group

LONDON - The All Party Writers Group is Delighted to Announce Janet Anderson MP as the New Chair

Janet Anderson has been a member of the All Party Writers Group since its launch in November 2007 and is a strong supporter of intellectual property rights. She is also a member of the Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee.

The aim of the All Party Writers Group is to represent the interests of all writers; to safeguard their intellectual property rights and ensure they receive a fair level of recognition and reward for their contribution to the economy and society as a whole. During the past 18 months the Group has met a number of times, debating issues such as how writers should be compensated for the unlicensed use of their work on the internet, issues around newspaper archives, cuts in funding of the Public Lending Right (PLR) and how current legislation needs to be reviewed to ensure e-books and audio books are covered by PLR in the future.

Upon the appointment, Janet said, “I am delighted to be taking on the role of Chair of the All Party Writers Group. At such a pivotal time for writers and the creative community at large it is extremely important that writers receive fair recognition and reward and can effectively defend their moral rights especially in the digital age. I am keen to understand and pursue the issues around writers’ rights in the digital arena and am heartened by the recognition given to the work of the All Party Writers Group which has pushed for a review of PLR to make it appropriate for the digital age. In the recently launched Digital Britain Report, it appears the work of the Group has been acknowledged and will be taken forward, which is excellent news for writers.”

Rt Hon Denis MacShane MP will continue in his role of Vice-Chair of the All Party Writers Group, supported by Ed Vaizey MP as Secretary and Tim Boswell MP as Treasurer.

Notes for Editors

About All Party Groups: All Party Groups provide an opportunity for Members of Parliament to help keep the Government and Opposition informed of opinion both inside and outside Parliament on policy issues.

Contact information: ALCS, The Writers’ House, 13 Haydon Street, London EC3N 1DB; email alcs@alcs.co.uk. Website: www.alcs.co.uk

Source: All Party Writers Group

Media Contact: Becca Wyatt: +44(0)1798-867-117; +44(0)7801-061-420; ALCS, Alison Baxter: +44(0)20-7264-5700. Contact information: ALCS, The Writers’ House, 13 Haydon Street, London
EC3N 1DB, Tel: +44(0)20-7264-5700; email alcs at alcs.co.uk