Google Books settlement – who opted out?

The list of authors who opted out of the Google Books Settlement has been published, as Annex C of this court document. The document is non-searchable and alphabetised by first name. It also seems to treat estates and companies in varying ways. Still, it's all there for a keen reader.

Although I haven't read the whole list carefully, even picking a few randomly out of the nearly 7000 names shows that a striking range of authors and their heirs have decided they would rather they, not Google, should control the online presentation of their work. Simply by turning a few pages, I spotted:

Thomas Pynchon, Theodore Dalrymple, Susie Orbach, Bret Easton Ellis, Madeleine Bunting, Ben Schott, Mark Helprin, Louis de Bernieres, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Lauren Child, the Rogers and Hammerstein companies, the estate of Arthur Hailey …..

The tireless Gill Spraggs comments:

“Estates are particularly strange: some have been opted out under the name of the deceased author, (eg Robert Graves), a few as 'the estate of x', some under the names of particular companies that control them, and others, I think, under the names of the heirs: thus, I imagine Stephen James Joyce has opted out both as the heir to the Joyce estate and as an author in his own right. Interestingly, John Prescott appears on the list. The only author of that name whom I can trace is the politician (Prezza: My Story: Pulling No Punches).”

To join the mailing list for updates from her, go to the Authors' Rights website.