Literary Translation Model Contract

The important labor of literary translators deserves fair contract terms and pay. Bringing a literary work to life in another language is a form of writing that requires great creativity, talent, and skill.

Unfortunately, this literary art is often overlooked or taken for granted, leading many publishers not to credit translators properly or pay them ongoing royalties. To help change practices in the industry, the Authors Guild created a publicly available Literary Translation Model Contract and Commentary, for the use of translators and publishers alike.

Our model contract:

• Explains the standard terms of a publishing agreement for book-length prose translations.
• Offers important suggestions for translators to negotiate better deals.
• Includes clauses to help translators protect against the use of their works by generative AI.