Authors Want Boom Lowered on Book Pirates

A surge in book piracy has followed hot on the heels of the growth in ebooks, the New York Times reports. Publishers trying to stamp out unauthorized editions online say the ease with which books can now be copied online make their efforts little more than a game of "Whac-a-Mole," and hope to learn from the lessons of the heavily pirated music industry.

Some authors say they don't mind the free exposure, but many others are outraged to find their work being offered for free on the Internet. "I don’t ask to get rich off this stuff," said sci-fi author Harlan Ellison  “I just ask to be paid.”  Ellison has pursued hundreds of people who have posted his work online without permission. "If you put your hand in my pocket, you’ll drag back six inches of bloody stump," he warned. (More book stories.)