Salmon Poetry was established 41 years ago with the express aim of addressing the lack of diversity and representation of marginalised groups, particularly at that time of women, in Irish literary publishing. It has since then published the work of 300+ poets and continues to be a flagship for diverse voices in contemporary poetry.
Salmon is committed to supporting writers by publishing and distributing their work to a wide audience, nationally and internationally. It publishes up to 15 collections by Irish poets each year as well periodic poetry anthologies and books of literary non-fiction and memoir.
The press is aligned with The Arts Council’s Paying the Artist policy and upholds the aims and objectives of this policy in its activities.
Salmon Poetry is committed to the following regarding the treatment and payment of artists:
* We offer contracts to writers for publications with clear terms and fees outlined. We respect the right of the artist to negotiate their contract and we try to accommodate what is possible within our funding structure.
* We aim to be open, transparent, and upfront in communications with writers.
* We ensure that writers’ copyright is respected and upheld.
* We review royalties for writers annually and distribute payments accordingly.
* We give a €300 signing fee to a writer for a book. This is not an advance on royalties, it is a separate payment.
* We pay €200 royalty advance to writers for their book plus royalties of 10% on net domestic sales, and 10% on gross international sales.
* When licensing the work of the author to other publishers / performers / translators, we pay to the author 85% of the gross fees earned from those subsidiary rights and such licensing only occurs with the author's permission.
* For residencies at the Salmon Poetry Literary Centre in Ennistymon, County Clare, we pay a fee of €1,500 to the writer for each week of their residency. In addition to this payment, we provide accommodation and full use of the Salmon library and Salmon Literary Centre facilities for the duration of the residency, including a dedicated writing space separate from living accommodation. During their residency, the writer will give a workshop, mentoring session or a reading of their work at the Salmon Literary Centre, enabling them to engage with the local community. We aim to host 3 to 6 such writing residencies annually.
* We provide free accommodation, where required, to poets who come to launch their Salmon books at the Salmon Literary Centre.
* For other publication launch events, we cover travel and accommodation expenses where a writer is traveling outside of their county for the event.
* We pay a reading fee to writers who read at The Salmon Literary Centre and free accommodation where necessary.
* We aim to ensure that writers’ fees are ring-fenced within project budgets to ensure they are protected against budget overruns in other areas.
* We are committed to engaging with the Arts Council and industry peers to develop best practice in the payment of writers in publishing. We are aware of the variance in terms and the gaps that exist in the process, and we are willing to come to the table with our peers for a conversation that will lead to improved terms for writers.
* We will review our Writer Payment Policy annually and we welcome feedback on the policy and suggestions for how it might be improved. Contact: info@salmonpoetry.ie
October 2022
