The legendary Victorian author Charles Dickens was clearly a brilliant novelist, but what of his role as campaigner and advocate for authors' rights? What of his contribution towards the development of copyright law in the 19th century? As we raise a glass to our members and celebrate the role of collective action, join SoA Advisory Clinic co-hosts Johanna and Theo as they discuss all this and more, as they pay a special festive visit to the Charles Dickens Museum in London and talk to writer, broadcaster and great great great granddaughter of Charles Dickens, Lucinda Hawksley. Featuring a reading from Nicholas Nickleby performed by writer and actor, Ellen Robertson.

Not a member? Use code PODCAST20 for 20% off your first year's membership.

Welcome to 48 Doughty Street, the London home of Charles Dickens – Charles Dickens Museum

Lucinda Hawksley – Author, Art Historian, Public Speaker & Broadcaster

Inimitable: Uncovering Charles Dickens – Charles Dickens Museum

ALCS | Charles Dickens, Copyright Pioneer

Dickens and Christmas PB | Charles Dickens Museum Books

Where did Dickens go to the toilet? | Charles Dickens Museum Explore

Dickens's Artistic Daughter, Katey | Charles Dickens Museum Books

Events - The Society of Authors

Support us | Charles Dickens Museum

Ellen Robertson | United Agents

What role does the Society of Authors play in the awarding of literary prizes and funding? How does this all work to celebrate and support writers through their submissions? What do applicants need to be aware of when submitting more generally? Join the SoA Advisory Clinic's Johanna Clarke in conversation with Head of Grants & Prizes at the SoA, Robyn Law, as they discuss all this and more and share their winning tips and insights.

Not a member? Use code PODCAST20 for 20% off your first year's membership.

Prizes - The Society of Authors

The SoA Awards - The Society of Authors

Audio Drama - The Society of Authors

Grants - The Society of Authors

Join the SoA - The Society of Authors

What does AI mean for scriptwriters? What are the dangers and what are the opportunities? What can we learn from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike action in the US and how can writers safeguard their interests here in the UK?

Join SoA Advisory Clinic hosts Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones for another chance to enjoy this discussion, originally presented as part of the SoA@ Home festival of online events on 15 November 2023.

Playwright, novelist and chair of the SoA's Scriptwriters Group, Barney Norris chairs the panel, which features American screenwriter and advisor to the WGA John Rogers, writer and dramatist Hannah Silva, theatreologist Dr Aoife Monks and the SoA Advisory Clinic host Theo Jones.

Not a member? Use code PODCAST20 for 20% off your first year's membership.

Scriptwriters Symposium https://vimeo.com/886821886

The Big Conversation https://vimeo.com/885627572

Join the SoA - The Society of Authors

Barney Norris

John Rogers (@jonrog1) / X (twitter.com)

Hannah Silva

Aoife Monks - School of English and Drama (qmul.ac.uk)

'It is a beast that needs to be tamed': leading novelists on how AI could rewrite the future | Books | The Guardian

If on a Winter's Night a Traveller (penguin.co.uk)

Artificial Intelligence - The Society of Authors

Artificial intelligence: practical steps for members - The Society of Authors

My book has been used to 'train' AI – what can I do? - The Society of Authors

ALCS | Why writers are at a loss for words

Join the SoA - The Society of Authors

What does AI mean for the publishing industry and the authors, editors, illustrators, translators and other creators who work within its eco-system? What are the ethical, legal and practical concerns? How can authors benefit from the new technologies while safeguarding their interests?

Join hosts Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones for a chance to catch-up on this timely and important discussion, originally presented as part of the SoA@Home festival of online events on 13 November 2023.

SoA chief executive Nicola Solomon chairs the panel which features lawyer and founding partner at Lewis Silkin, Cliff Fluet, tech philosopher and author, Dr Tom Chatfield and publisher and CEO of Hachette, David Shelley.

Not a member? Use code PODCAST20 for 20% off your first year's membership.

The Big Conversation https://vimeo.com/885627572

Scriptwriters Symposium https://vimeo.com/886821886

Cliff Fluet (lewissilkin.com)

Tom Chatfield – Website of the author and tech philosopher

ALCS

David Shelley | Hachette UK

Homepage - Publishers Association

Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant | Hachette UK

My book has been used to 'train' AI – what can I do? - The Society of Authors

Artificial Intelligence - The Society of Authors

Artificial intelligence: practical steps for members - The Society of Authors

Join the SoA - The Society of Authors

The AI development race is opaque, unfettered and unregulated, and driven primarily by the profit motives of large corporations, despite some likely adverse impacts. The ethical and moral ramifications of these AI systems are complex, and the legal ramifications are not limited to the infringement of copyright's economic rights, but may include infringement of an author's moral rights of attribution and integrity and right to object to false attribution; infringement of data protection laws; invasions of privacy; and acts of passing off.

And these aren't issues for a hypothetical future.

Join hosts Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones for a look at the SoA's work on the challenges presented by new technologies, and as they seek to safeguard the interests and protect the rights of all authors, celebrate the authenticity of human authorship and raise awareness of the issues at stake.

Featuring contributions from Anne Rooney, Shoo Rayner, Keith Mansfield, Hannah Berry and Roland Glasser.

Not a member? Use code PODCAST20 for 20% off your first year's membership.

The Big Conversation https://vimeo.com/885627572

Scriptwriters Symposium https://vimeo.com/886821886

Artificial Intelligence - The Society of Authors

Artificial intelligence: practical steps for members - The Society of Authors

My book has been used to 'train' AI – what can I do? - The Society of Authors

Revealed: The Authors Whose Pirated Books Are Powering Generative AI - The Atlantic

Productivity boost from Generative AI - KPMG UK

Homepage - Publishers Association

Home | Association of Authors' Agents (agentsassoc.co.uk)

Home - BCC (britishcopyright.org)

Homepage - The Authors Guild

Join thousands of authors and sign the Authors Guild's AI open letter - The Society of Authors

ALCS

Trade bodies call for 'strong Government support' in face of AI - The Society of Authors

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (legislation.gov.uk)

ChatGPT banned in Italy over privacy concerns - BBC News

People Plus Machines - Publishers Association

The Author (subscription) - The Society of Authors

'It is a beast that needs to be tamed': leading novelists on how AI could rewrite the future | Books | The Guardian

If on a Winter's Night a Traveller (penguin.co.uk)

Shoo Rayner – Children's Author | Now you're reading!

Superintelligence - Paperback - Nick Bostrom - Oxford University Press (oup.com)

Anne Rooney - writer

ABOUT / CONTACT - Hannah Berry

Roland Glasser - The Society of Authors

Join the SoA - The Society of Authors

If you are a new or emerging writer in Northern Ireland seeking advice and guidance on getting started, this one's for you. Join SoA Advisory Clinic hosts Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones as they bring you another chance to catch-up on a session originally delivered as part of the SOA@Home festival. Brought to you by the Society of Authors in Northern Ireland, Senior Policy and Liaison Manager Dr Hilary McCollum speaks to Derry-based writer Sue Divin, Damian Smyth from the Arts Council in Ireland and our very own Johanna Clarke.

Not a member? Use code PODCAST20 for 20% off your first year's membership.

Getting Started

Working with Agents

Home | The Arts Council | An Chomhairle Ealaíon

About Sue — Sue Divin

Irish Writers Centre

Visually stunning comic launched to help creative freelancers with their mental health - The Society of Authors

The UK's copyright regime is often seen as a good practice framework for the protection of lucrative intellectual property, reserving to creators significant powers to control and monetize the value of their creative works. But with so much hanging on the terms agreed as a matter of contract, what of a creator's right at law to know exactly how their work is being used by a publisher or other licensee? What of their right to receive a fair and proportionate payment? As we look beyond borders, how much greener is the grass? Join SOA Advisory Clinic host Theo Jones in conversation with colleague Ambre Morvan to discuss this and more.

Not a member? Use code PODCAST20 for 20% off your first year's membership.

Ambre Morvan | The Society of Authors

SGDL

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (legislation.gov.uk)

Intellectual Property Code (wipo.int)

C.R.E.A.T.O.R | The Society of Authors

International Authors Forum – A forum for Authors' Organisations

Dilicom (centprod.com)

Copyright lasts for 70 years after your death, so it is important to plan for how best to continue to manage and control your estate in the future. Join SoA Advisory Clinic hosts Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones as they bring you another chance to enjoy this session originally delivered as part of the SoA@Home Festival, featuring solicitors Robert Craig and Matthew Smith in conversation with the SoA's Head of Advisory Sarah Burton and CEO Nicola Solomon. From questions around wills, estates, archives and manuscripts to executors, bequests, financial planning and control, the panel will equip you with what it is you need to know to put your own strategy in place.

Show notes:

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• Industry Insider – May your works survive you: Wills, estates and your manuscripts - The Society of Authors - event listing
• Industry Insider - May your works survive you: wills, estates, and your manuscripts - Vimeo
• Robert Craig (howardkennedy.com)
• Matthew Smith - Harper Macleod LLP
• Sarah Burton | Society of Authors
• Nicola Solomon, Chief Executive | Society of Authors
• Ask an advisor - Society of Authors

SoA Advisory Clinic hosts Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones invite you to come celebrate with them, and a host of stars, as 2023 marks the centenary celebrations of 100 years of audio drama on the BBC!

Shining a light of this most brilliant of forms, they showcase the SoA's work in running and administering their two awards for audio drama writing, celebrated each year at the BBC, and walk writers through the importance of the organisation's role in collective bargaining on behalf of their members – and writers more generally – in this field and what it means for them.

Seeking to equip writers of audio drama with advice, guidance and insight as they seek to establish and sustain a career as a writer, they will also discuss the importance of commissioning opportunities and portfolio careers.

Featuring contributions from Christopher William Hill, Rex Obano, David Morley, Rhiannon Tise, Ian Billings, Connor Allen and Nadya Menuhin.

Show notes:

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• Audio Drama - The Society of Authors
• ALCS
• Welcome to the Peggy Ramsay Foundation
• https://vimeo.com/866326909
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The Making of a Monster
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, End of Transmission
• BBC Radio 4 celebrates 100 years of audio drama with raft of special programmes
• BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3, Ariel and Winter Trees
• BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3, People Everywhere Will Sing
• BBC Radio 3 - Between the Ears, The Radio of the Future
• BBC Radio 4 Extra - Radio Drama at Ninety: Julius Caesar - Radio Drama at 90
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The Ballad of Eldon Street
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, If on a Winter's Night a Traveller
• BBC - BBC Contains Strong Language Festival 2023 comes to Leeds to celebrate the poetry and passion of the city
• BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Live from the Contains Strong Language festival
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Kaleidoscope 3
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, You Must Listen
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Slow Air
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Radio Waves
• Rhiannon Tise - The Royal Literary Fund (rlf.org.uk)
• About | Perfectly Normal Productions
• Children's Author, Stand-Up & Playwright - Ian Billings - Home
• Television | Rex Obano Screenwriter
• Christopher William Hill - MBA Literary Agents
• Connor Allen | Actor | Writer | Artist
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, When The Pips Stop
• BBC Radio 3 - The Wire, Not Talking, by Mike Bartlett
• BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3, Marathon Tales
• BBC Radio 4 - Sarah Woods - Borderland
• BBC Radio 4 Extra - CW Hill - Killing Maestros
• BBC Radio 4 Extra - Katie Hims - The Earthquake Girl
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Girl from Mars
• BBC Radio 4
• BBC rates - The Society of Authors
• www2.societyofauthors.org/download/radio-drama-script-commissioning-agreement-bbc/?wpdmdl=90484&refresh=650d4ed208ec81695370962
• ALCS | Why writers are at a loss for words
• bbc.co.uk/writersroom/
• BBC-radio-drama-writer-guidelines-2016.pdf (societyofauthors.org)

Contracts are legally binding agreements, recognisable at law and enforceable through the courts. They can be made orally or in writing, and on clear and express terms or implied by conduct. But what makes a contract and how best to navigate what this means in the context of a commission or publishing deal? What steps should be taken to protect your interests and what rights are available to you? How can you use 'clarifiers' 'sweeteners' and 'softeners' to ensure you are getting the best possible deal? Join SoA Advisory Clinic hosts Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones as they explore all of this and more in this important and timely episode, to follow the earlier bonus special 'Can't Pay Won't Pay' originally recorded as part of the SOA@Home Festival.

Show notes:

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• C.R.E.A.T.O.R | The Society of Authors
• Industry Insider - Can't Pay; Won't Pay on Vimeo