Thursday, November 19th, 2020
SJWG members – Zoom Link provided on Meetup (see below)
You’ve written a book, tackled the query and managed to secure an offer of representation from an agent (or publisher). That was the easy part. Navigating the pages and pages of the contract’s complicated legal jargon may leave you with the sinking feeling you could be signing your rights away. Consulting an attorney specializing in Arts & Entertainment law could help.
Philadelphia attorney Gabrielle Sellei who specializes in arts and entertainment law will give a primer on literary law designed to prepare authors to negotiate the best contract and protect their work.
Gabrielle will discuss the eight most common literary agreements and key contract terms such as licensing of rights/copyright, representations and warranties, creative control/last look, termination/reversion, restrictive covenants (non-compete, “next book rights”), options and everybody’s favorite: advances and royalties!
Gabrielle has negotiated and closed numerous publishing deals, option agreements, foreign rights, reversions of rights, etc. with HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Bloomsbury, Yale, MIT and other academic, trade, independent, and foreign publishers. She has also worked with CAA, WME and many other talent agencies, large and small, as well as authors who opted to self-published their works. She is a Director of Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.
Find more information about Gabrielle Sellei at www.selleilaw.com.
Additional resources at Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers of the Arts at www.pvla.org.
