Hundreds of writers including children's laureate and Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson, Philip Pullman and Anne Fine are protesting the government's plans to amend educational copyright, with many saying they will be forced to stop writing for schools if the changes go ahead.

Schools currently pay an annual license fee for permission to copy and reuse hundreds of thousands of published works. A government consultation on changing the UK's copyright system proposes amending this arrangement "so that copyright does not unduly restrict education and teaching" [PDF], but this would mean that the authors whose work is photocopied and reused in schools would see their income "seriously reduce[d] or even eradicate[d]", according to the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society, which currently collects the fees. Last year 18,500 authors were paid for educational use of their work, with many professional education writers earning more than £10,000 in income.

The ALCS has been contacted by "hundreds" of writers condemning the proposal to widen the field for copyright exceptions, it said, with many authors saying they would not be able to afford to continue writing for the educational sector under the potential new rules.

"These changes would be a blow to many writers who don't make much money from royalties and rely on income from photocopying. As someone who has written a hundred books for schools, I don't regard educational books as being less creative than any others," said Donaldson.

Pullman insisted that "it's essential that the originators of such material should be fairly paid for it", while former children's laureate Anne Fine said that money from the ALCS formed a "significant" part of her income. "If this source of income is removed, I would be in a position where I would have to concentrate on areas of writing in which I felt I would get a fairer return for the hours worked," she said. "It will be a particular and ongoing personal and educational loss if writers whose work inspires children feel compelled to absent themselves from the field in order to make a living elsewhere."

Fine was not the only author to say she would be unlikely to continue writing for schools if the changes go ahead. Educational writer Clare West said she used her copying fees to live on while she writes her next book. "If I don't receive them in future, I may not be able to continue my writing career," she said. "What will happen if educational writers can no longer afford to spend time creating books that schools desperately need?" ELT writer Michael Vince called allowing textbooks to be copied for nothing "professional suicide".

"Should I lose the copyright licensing income from ALCS, I must say that the 50% or more cut in my income would be highly demotivating to me continuing to produce new editions, with subsequent loss of benefits to student learning," added former sociology lecturer and textbook author Ken Browne.

While the consultation paper says that "restricting or removing this ability to license could ... deliver significant financial benefits to educational establishments and free up their use of copyright works", it also admits "there is a danger that going too far will undermine the financial incentives that encourage the creation of new educational works". Closing in March, it is currently asking for further evidence of the costs, benefits and implications of the proposed changes.