Unveiling ‘Untapped’: the Australian Literary Heritage Project

Australia has a rich and diverse literary heritage, but much of it is out of print and unavailable to buy or borrow. Many acclaimed novels, powerful poetry collections, ground-breaking plays, award-winning works that explore our country’s history, and much-loved children’s books have dropped out of circulation, often because they’re no longer commercially viable to publishers. … Continue reading Unveiling ‘Untapped’: the Australian Literary Heritage Project

Are contracts enough? The case for better creator protections in Australia

I'm delighted to announce that the Copyright Society of Australia and the Intellectual Property Research Institution of Australia are hosting their first joint seminar. It will feature findings from the Author's Interest Project's recent research into publishing contracts, and a lively discussion about the case for introducing new baseline minimum legal protections into Australian law. … Continue reading Are contracts enough? The case for better creator protections in Australia

The availability of Miles Franklin winners as ebooks, audiobooks and in print

As our research has shown, publishing contracts (almost always) last for the entire term of copyright, and cover a broad range of rights and uses - commonly all territories worldwide, and all languages.  But publishers don't always actually exploit all the rights they take for any given title, and in most cases they stop meaningfully … Continue reading The availability of Miles Franklin winners as ebooks, audiobooks and in print

Visiting Fellowships to work on creators’ rights in Melbourne

We at the Author's Interest Project are delighted to announce the opening of applications for Visiting Fellowships in 2020 and 2021. These Fellowships are intended to support outstanding emerging researchers to conduct innovative research into creators’ rights in the outstanding research environment of the Melbourne Law School. This is a unique opportunity to travel to … Continue reading Visiting Fellowships to work on creators’ rights in Melbourne

Are authors’ rights ‘all taken care of’ by their contracts? Our new research suggests not.

Book authors are (almost always) the first owners of their copyrights. They typically licence or transfer their rights to publishers to get their books to market. 'Reversion' refers to the return of those rights to authors - for example, after a certain period of time, or where a book has gone out of print, or … Continue reading Are authors’ rights ‘all taken care of’ by their contracts? Our new research suggests not.

The Author’s Interest project hits the road

I'll be on the road for the next two months speaking about and working on the Author's Interest project. Here's some key events - come along and say hi if you'll be in the neighbourhood: August 26, Nashville (ATRIP conference) August 29, Lexington (University of Kentucky) September 3, Washington DC (American University) September 10, NYC … Continue reading The Author’s Interest project hits the road

#disruptedfestival: The truth about making a living as a writer

They say everyone has a book in them, but can everyone afford to write it? Authors Annabel Smith, and Morris Gleitzman, and ASA CEO Juliet Rogers joined me in Perth last month to pull back the curtain on the taboo topic of the economics of independent publishing and the realities of Australian author incomes. You can watch the panel via the link below: … Continue reading #disruptedfestival: The truth about making a living as a writer

The Author’s Interest Project @ Disrupted Festival

Writers and readers take note! I'll be at the Disrupted Festival In Perth on Saturday 27 July on a panel with Australian Children's Laureate Morris Gleitzman, Annabel Smith (who you might know from marvelous novels like Whiskey Charley Foxtrot, or her taboo smashing blog series 'How writers earn money') and the CEO of the Australian … Continue reading The Author’s Interest Project @ Disrupted Festival