Masterclass: Publishing Contracts with Kevin Stewart, Contracts People One-Day Virtual Course
Publishing contracts not only outline the lifespan of a book, but they also form the foundation of the publishing business. Understanding how publishing contracts work and recognising the concerns of those involved in handling them, whether in-house or externally, should help everyone negotiate better deals from all perspectives.
This course is designed for individuals involved in author agreement drafting and negotiation, regardless of their experience. It will provide a practical and hands-on approach to understanding the key issues that need to be included in publishing agreements with authors. The course will be based on CLARK’S PUBLISHING AGREEMENTS: A Book of Precedents, which Kevin will use as a starting point to walk through the clauses in detail.
The training will consider current live issues, such as:
- The use of Artificial Intelligence by authors and publishers
- The impact of recent and pending legislation, including the Hate Speech Bill
- Rights reversion conditions
- Open access issues
- Dignity at work conditions; publishers’ risks and potential contractual conditions
Ahead of the course, a questionnaire will be sent to the delegates to ask which specific issues they would like to learn about. During the session, Kevin will answer those questions and any others raised by the matters discussed.
Kevin Stewart, Contracts People
Kevin founded Contracts People in 2013 and currently leads a team of four experts who specialise in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating various publishing rights and associated agreements for different UK publishers and agents. His experience in the field gives him a unique perspective to understand the motivations and concerns of both parties in any deal and find solutions that align with his client’s goals without any conflicts. Before this, Kevin worked as a freelancer for five years and then as a Contracts Assistant at Hodder and Stoughton in 1987. He later became the Director of Group Contracts for Hodder Headline (part of Hachette UK) and managed all Hodder Headline Contracts for over a decade before leaving in 2008.
He has authored the Trade Author/Publisher Precedent Chapter, described as ‘a tour de force’ in a PA Newsletter, which features in CLARK’S PUBLISHING AGREEMENTS: A Book Of Precedents. He has been contributing to this chapter since the seventh edition and has also written several other chapters for the book in its various editions. His most recent contribution was on audio publishing. With his experience, he has conducted training courses for Publishing Scotland and the Publishing Training Centre, as well as on an in-house/one-to-one basis.
