The short answer is no, mere "publication" does not make a work eligible for the gutenberg.org collection under the current policy as I interpret it. That policy deserves some robust discussion and consultation to clarify what it should mean in the current context of publication and Publication.I think in the coming months it would be good to find a way to have that discussion. Eric
On Jan 7, 2026, at 5:08 PM, Walter Farrell via gutvol-d <gutvol-d@lists.pglaf.org> wrote:
Interesting discussion.
Perhaps I missed it, and if so I'm happy to be corrected, but I don't see anything in that policy that prohibits self-published works. It prohibits works that are unpublished and not distributed. But many authors self-publish by producing their books through Amazon as epub, or even physical books via print-on-demand services. If that were done, and then the author dedicated it to the Public Domain after at least one copy had been purchased, wouldn't it be eligible for the main Project Gutenberg collection?
Walt
On 1/7/2026 8:33 AM, Eric Hellman wrote:
Note that an independent translation of a public domain work would itself be a self published work, and thus not eligible for the gutenberg.org collection, regardless of copyright status.
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