![]() I would advise any author not to sign such a contract.” We have not seen a clause before now forbidding the author to speak to us. “The SoA’s role is to defend writers’ interests, and poets contacting us in the past about Eyewear contracts have always been grateful for our input. The termination clause is also extraordinary – the fact that it explicitly mentions the possibility of the publisher sending 'rude emails' that cause 'hurt feelings' speaks for itself. “Not only is this unenforceable, it constitutes an unwarranted interference with their civil rights. “To prohibit authors from contacting the SoA is to prevent them from taking independent advice from their trade union,” she told The Bookseller. Solomon described the clauses as "extraordinary" and unprecedented and revealed that Eyewear poets had contacted the society in the past in need of assistance. “The author may not claim any breach on the grounds of 'irreconcilable' or 'personal' differences, unless these can be clearly documented over a period of time and only if the grounds are such as would normally end a marriage or other serious relationship – 'rude emails' or 'hurt feelings' are not enough.” The contract clauses, seen in a contract from this year, state: "Under no circumstances shall the author refer these matters to 'The Society of Authors' as the publishers consider them biased against small press publishing and unduly aggressive. ![]() ![]() The publisher has been running since 2012 under founder Todd Swift and has published poets such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Muldoon, A K Blakemore and Kimiko Hahn, distributing in the UK and the US. Poets have complained about some of the London-based press Eyewear's contracts, seen in full by The Bookseller, demanding its authors not engage with the SoA which it said was “biased against small press publishing and unduly aggressive”. Independent press Eyewear Publishing has drawn criticism from the Society of Authors (SoA) over its treatment of poets, including contracts “constituting an unwarranted interference with their civil rights”.
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