Credit

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Authors have a right to be recognised for the work they produce. The SoA campaigns for fair credits in all cases.

An author’s name is their brand. They deserve and need to be properly credited for their work. Cover credits, inclusions in metadata and listings, and references in reviews are important forms of recognition that help them build careers and improve discoverability.

Getting it right is in everyone’s interests, which is why crediting contributors of all kinds is a core element of our CREATOR campaign for fair contracts.

But the need to recognise contributions goes above and beyond contractual arrangements. Commentators and reviewers have a duty to ensure they lead the way in celebrating and rewarding all those who contribute to the literature we enjoy. Translators, illustrators and photographers in particular are at risk of being overlooked.

Translators and illustrators are fighting side by side because of the way our work plays a vital role in a reader’s experience of a book. We usually work freelance and like any business, our names become our brands, what people come to respect and look out for. But they can only do this if they know our names. We want to see our names included in award lists, on book covers, in digital book data, in the media, anywhere people are writing or talking about our books.

Sarah McIntyre, illustrator and originator of #PicturesMeanBusiness

What are we doing?

We support the Pay The CreatorName the Translator and Pictures Mean Business campaigns, working to make sure that authors, translators and illustrators get the credit they deserve.

#NameTheTranslator

Name the Translator is an ongoing campaign to ensure the contribution of translators is recognised.

It was started in response to a tendency among reviewers and marketers of translated works to omit the name of the translator, mentioning only the original author.

Join the campaign on Twitter using the hashtag #NametheTranslator.

#PicturesMeanBusiness

Pictures Mean Business is a campaign to ensure illustrators are properly credited for their work. Through education and lobbying it tackles the issues caused by incorrect or incomplete book metadata, which can cause the names of illustrators to disappear from view.

Join the campaign on Twitter using the hashtag #PicturesMeanBusiness or visit www.picturesmeanbusiness.com.

#PayTheCreator

We are a member of the Creator’s Rights Alliance (CRA) #PayTheCreator campaign, which brings together the campaigning work of member organisations to collectively call for creators of all types to be paid properly for the work they do, and the rights they grant, and to be given the same considerations enjoyed by other workers in the areas of pay, business support and policy making. 

Pay The Creator campaign logo