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This paper examines the origins of the economy of authorship, focusing on the evolution of copyright laws and their effect on the position of the author. Previous studies have examined the role of the patron, the industrialisation of writing and the professionalisation of authorship, and the advent of literary agents. This paper reviews the models and concepts derived from these studies, and extends them into the last fifty years. It outlines the changing nature of authorship with particular reference to the different ways in which authors have derived income over the years. It evaluates the role of the contemporary literary agent and offers a perspective on the role of copyright in defining contemporary authorship particularly in the contexts of digital media and of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]