Starts: Sat 21 Oct 2017
Time: 10.30am – 4.30pm
Duration: 1 Day
Cost: €60/€50 Members
Booking: Irish Writers Centre
If you wish to learn more about the business of being a writer including the process of writing applications with a view to improving your success rate for bursaries, residencies, retreats and other writing opportunities, as well copyright law, contract law and managing your taxes then this course is for you. These professional development sessions are aimed at established and emerging writers and will focus on the business aspect of writing. All sessions will allow time for Q&A.
10.30am-11.40am: Do’s and Don’ts of Application Writing with Valerie Bistany: Learn how to communicate more effectively and present your best self on the page. Topics will include how to draft a quality writer’s CV, how to make your application stand out from the rest and what to avoid.
11.50am –1.00pm: Copyright & Authors’ Rights with Samantha Holman: What is copyright and what does it allow and prevent? Is it a barrier to innovation or does it adequately protect creators’ rights. Find out all you need to know on getting legal advice for writers, to issues of plagerism and (illegal) downloads, etc.
2pm-3.10pm: Managing your Taxes with Gaby Smyth: When it comes to understanding and managing your own taxes you’re not alone. This presentation is led by a leading accountant and tax specialist operating in the arts sector.
3.20pm-4.30pm: Writers’ Contracts with Conor Kostick: There is always a tension between the ideal author-publisher agreement and the attainable. Each clause, and every situation can be negotiable. Writers should bear this in mind when examining an offered contract. This seminar will cover details on the optimum contract a writer might hope to obtain from a publisher.
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Valerie Bistany is Director of the Irish Writers Centre. She is a professional arts manager, producer and event coordinator with 20+ years of international experience in the industry. She curates the Centre’s residency and bursary schemes and is an experienced freelance facilitative consultant in strategic and vision planning.
Samantha Holman has been the Executive Director of ICLA since 2001. She is currently also a substitute director of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations as well as vice-Chair of the IFRRO European Group and Chair of the European Development Committee. She is a co-opted director of the Irish Visual Arts Rights Organisation and a director of the Copyright Association of Ireland.
Gaby Smyth is managing director with Gaby Smyth & Company Ltd. He has provided business and taxation advice to individuals and companies for almost 20 years, specialising in the literary music, film and theatre arts.
Conor Kostick is the author of a number of successful books and was the 2010 Farmleigh Writer-in-Residence. He has been the Disputes Officer of the Irish Writers Union for eight years and is also a delegate to the European Writers Council and International Authors Forum.
