Author: David Robertson

Calling all academics!

If you have written material for a journal, or a book, we may be holding monies due to you.

None of us can afford to be complacent about money, especially during a recession. In addition to your day job, if you have had an article published in a printed academic or trade journal or written or contributed to a book then the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) could be holding money owed to you.

Why would we be holding money owed to you?

If books, magazines and journals containing your work are available to be photocopied or scanned in schools, universities, businesses or public sector bodies then you may be entitled to a share of the income collected. These organisations buy a licence enabling them to do limited amounts of photocopying. ALCS ensures that from this licence fee writers are paid their dues.

But I am not a writer….

For the majority of our 85,000 Members, writing is not their main job. Many of our Members are doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, academics etc. They might have written for a journal or have contributed to a book. These people might not consider themselves as writers but have written to share learning and best practice, or even just to supplement their income.

Academic writers, fiction, non-fiction, translators, adaptors, scriptwriters, magazine and journal article writers, editors and children’s writers are all eligible to be ALCS Members.

What do I need to do if I want to join and claim my money?

Join 85,000 other Members of ALCS. Lifetime membership costs £25. This is deducted from your first royalty payment so that no-one is out of pocket and you don’t pay anything up front. You won’t pay anything at all if we don’t collect any money for you.

In order to claim your secondary royalties you will need to register your published works or specialist academic journal and magazine articles. You can apply to join on-line at www.alcs.co.uk or alternatively contact our Membership Services Department on 020 72645700 or drop us an email at membership@alcs.co.uk.

Who is the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society?

ALCS is a not-for-profit membership organisation. We represent the interests of all writers and safeguard their intellectual property rights. We collect secondary royalties on behalf of over 85,000 writers across the UK and abroad and pay them directly to our Members, twice a year.

For more information, check out our website at www.alcs.co.uk, call our Membership Services Department 020 7264 5700 or write to us at: ALCS, The Writers’ House, 13 Haydon Street, London EC3N 1DB.