Book review: writing for hire: unions, Hollywood and Madison Avenue by Catherine Fisk

What rights have writers working in film, TV and advertising in the USA historically held when it comes to ownership over the fruits of their labour and how has unionisation impacted on these? In Writing for Hire: Unions, Hollywood and Madison Avenue, Catherine L. Fisk traces a history of the labour relations relating to writer’s rights across Hollywood and the US television and advertising industries as they emerged in the middle part of the twentieth century. This is a rigorously researched and argued book that raises interesting and timely questions about labour rights and the importance of unionisation across industries, writes Daniel Zwi.