Membership, Submission & Participation Terms and Conditions

 

PENNY AUTHORS

Membership, Submission & Participation Terms and Conditions

Penny Authors is an imprint of MAPublisher.

1. Nature of the opportunity

Penny Authors provides a funded, community-based publishing opportunity with defined participation requirements.

MAPublisher provides the publishing infrastructure and financial investment. Contributors are not charged membership, submission or publication fees.

PA is not a paid publishing service, employment arrangement or promise of commercial success.

2. Submission and acceptance

• Submission of poetry does not guarantee acceptance or publication.

• PA reserves the right to select work appropriate to the anthology and its theme.

• Contributors must confirm that submitted work is their own original work or that they have the necessary permissions.

• Contributors must disclose any material that has already been published where this is relevant to the submission.

• PA may request clarification or corrections before publication.

• Contributors remain responsible for the accuracy of the information they supply.

3. Contributor information

Contributors are required to complete the PA membership and submission documentation.

The information requested supports contributor administration, publication management and PA's diversity and representation objectives.

The handling of personal information is governed by the separate PA Contributor Privacy, Personal Information and Retention Policy.

No term in these conditions overrides a contributor's statutory data protection rights.

4. Photographs and biographies

Providing a personal photograph and short biography forms part of PA's contributor participation arrangements.

Contributors are required to provide suitable material for their individual poet profile and associated PA publicity.

The contributor grants PA/MAPublisher a non-exclusive permission to reproduce and display the supplied photograph and biography for the stated purposes of the PA publishing project, including its website, contributor profiles and related publicity.

PA will not knowingly use this material for unrelated commercial purposes.

5. Copyright and publishing permission

• Copyright in each poem remains with its author.

• Contributors do not transfer ownership of their poems to PA or MAPublisher.

• By submitting work for publication and accepting its selection, contributors grant PA/MAPublisher a non-exclusive permission to reproduce and publish the selected work in the relevant anthology.

• This permission includes the print and digital publication formats and reasonable promotion of the anthology.

• PA/MAPublisher may retain the relevant production files and publication records for legitimate publishing, archival and rights-management purposes.

• Contributors remain free to retain copyright and pursue other publishing opportunities, subject to any separate agreements they may enter into.

Any additional use outside the agreed publication and promotional purposes will require an appropriate further agreement or permission.

6. Publication and contributor copies

PA does not provide complimentary contributor copies.

Contributors are expected to obtain a copy of the anthology in which their work appears. They may purchase a copy through the available publishing arrangements or encourage a library to acquire one.

7. Community participation

Participation in Penny Authors includes an expectation of mutual recognition and support.

Contributors are expected to:

• Read the anthology and submit their Favourite Five poems and reviews.

• Provide a photograph holding the anthology for PA publicity and their contributor profile.

• Record an MP3 reading of their own published poem for possible radio consideration. Radio broadcast is not guaranteed.

• Produce a video reading of their published poem, showing the anthology, for the PA YouTube channel.

• Champion another poet by recording an MP3 and/or MP4 reading of that poet's work.

• Support the PA YouTube channel by watching, liking, commenting constructively, subscribing and sharing where possible.

• Follow and engage with PA's community activities.

These activities are part of the community participation model and are not financial obligations.

8. Recordings and publicity

Recordings supplied by contributors may be used for the stated PA community, publicity and promotional activities.

No contributor is guaranteed radio broadcast, media coverage, online views or commercial exposure.

Contributors must only submit recordings and material that they have the right to provide.

The scope of any recording or video permission must be agreed separately and clearly.

9. Contributor profiles and recognition

PA aims to provide each contributor with an individual online profile containing relevant biographical information, a photograph and a record of their PA publications.

The anthology may acknowledge contributors by name, include a contributor roll call and provide an index of their published contributions.

10. No fees and no financial contributions

There are no PA membership, submission or publication fees.

Contributors are not required to make monetary donations or pay MAPublisher for the publication of selected poems under this arrangement.

The expectation to obtain a copy of the anthology is separate from any membership, submission or publication fee.

11. Conduct and community standards

Contributors are expected to treat fellow poets, volunteers and PA representatives respectfully.

PA may refuse, suspend or end participation where there is serious misconduct, harassment, discrimination, abuse, infringement of another person's rights or repeated failure to comply with the agreed participation requirements.

Where appropriate, PA will explain the reason for its decision.

12. Changes and termination

PA may update its publishing and participation arrangements where necessary. Material changes will be communicated to contributors.

Ending participation does not automatically remove a contributor's work from an already published physical or digital edition. Any request concerning future use of a poem will be considered in accordance with the applicable publishing permission, the circumstances and the law.

13. Acceptance

By submitting work and signing the relevant PA membership and consent documentation, contributors confirm that they have read and understood these participation terms and the accompanying privacy information.

Penny Authors – Championing the spirit within.

Contributor Privacy, Personal Information & Retention Policy

 

PENNY AUTHORS / MAPUBLISHER

Contributor Privacy, Personal Information & Retention Policy

Policy owner: MAPublisher
Publishing imprint: Penny Authors
Responsible proprietor: Mayar Akash
Contact for privacy enquiries: [Insert PA/MAPublisher contact email]
Last reviewed: November 2026

1. Purpose of collecting contributor information

Penny Authors is a funded, community-based publishing opportunity with defined participation requirements.

MAPublisher invests its own financial and publishing resources in supporting contributors and bringing their work into print.

PA maintains contributor information to:

• Administer membership and publishing arrangements.

• Maintain accurate contributor records.

• Understand the age, gender and ethnic composition of its contributor community.

• Monitor diversity and representation.

• Support organisational reporting and the development of PA.

• Maintain appropriate records of published contributions.

2. Information collected

Depending on the contributor arrangements, PA/MAPublisher may collect:

• Full name and contact details.

• Date of birth.

• Gender.

• Ethnic background.

• Personal photograph.

• Short biography.

• Poetry submissions and accepted works.

• Publication and page-reference details.

• Reviews, Favourite Five selections and other contributor material.

• Audio and video recordings supplied for PA activities.

Information is collected directly from contributors. PA does not attempt to determine a person's ethnicity or gender from their appearance.

3. Use of demographic information

Date of birth, gender and ethnicity information help PA understand its contributor community and monitor representation.

Ethnicity and gender information are intended for internal organisational and statistical reporting.

Such information is not included in public poet profiles, printed anthologies or public demographic records. Where statistical information is used outside PA/MAPublisher, it should be aggregated or anonymised so that individual contributors cannot be identified.

4. Confidentiality and access

Contributor information is held for PA/MAPublisher's internal publishing and administrative purposes.

• Information is not sold.

• Personal information is not made publicly available.

• Access is restricted to authorised persons who need the information for PA/MAPublisher activities.

• Information is not provided to third parties for their independent commercial use.

• Where a service provider processes information on behalf of PA/MAPublisher, appropriate data-processing arrangements will be put in place.

5. Photographs and biographies

A personal photograph and short biography are required under PA's contributor participation arrangements.

Photographs and biographies may be used for individual poet profiles, anthology recognition and PA/MAPublisher publicity connected with the publishing project.

Photographs are personal data. PA does not use visual appearance to assign or assume a contributor's ethnicity.

The permitted uses of photographs, biographies and promotional material are explained separately in the contributor participation and publicity terms.

6. Digital storage and security

Contributor information is maintained digitally alongside relevant publishing and administration records.

PA/MAPublisher will take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, disclosure or destruction.

Access to personal and demographic information is restricted. Where information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymised in accordance with the retention arrangements below.

7. Retention and destruction of personal information

PA/MAPublisher distinguishes between identifiable contributor information and the preservation of published works.

Identifiable administrative and demographic information will be reviewed periodically and retained only for as long as it is necessary for its stated purposes and any applicable legal obligations.

The proprietor's intention is that identifiable contributor information held in PA/MAPublisher's administrative records will be securely destroyed during his lifetime and before his death.

Appropriate arrangements will be made to ensure that this process can be carried out, including where necessary by an authorised successor or administrator.

Where demographic information is required for historical or statistical reporting, it should be anonymised so that individual contributors cannot reasonably be identified.

The destruction of personal information does not mean that a published anthology, an author's work or the necessary publication and copyright records must also be destroyed.

8. Publication archive

Book production files, published editions and appropriate publication records may be retained separately from identifiable contributor administration records.

The archive may contain the published work, the author's credited name, publication details, ISBN information and other records necessary to establish and manage the publication.

Copyright remains with the individual author unless a separate written agreement states otherwise.

9. Business sale, transfer or succession

Should MAPublisher, Penny Authors or the relevant publishing activities be sold, transferred or taken over by another publishing company, relevant publication files and business records may be transferred to the successor.

Any transfer of personal information will be considered separately and will only take place where permitted by applicable data protection law.

A successor organisation must establish its own lawful basis for any continued processing, provide any required privacy information and respect applicable contributor rights.

PA/MAPublisher does not promise that a business sale automatically transfers unrestricted permission to use contributor personal information.

10. Contributor rights

Contributors may contact PA/MAPublisher to:

• Request access to their personal information.

• Ask for inaccurate information to be corrected.

• Raise concerns about how their information is used.

• Request deletion or restriction where the law provides that right.

• Object to processing where the applicable legal basis provides that right.

• Raise a data protection complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office.

11. Legal compliance

PA/MAPublisher will identify and document an appropriate lawful basis under Article 6 of UK GDPR for each relevant processing purpose.

Where special-category information such as ethnicity is processed, PA/MAPublisher will also identify and document an applicable Article 9 condition and any additional requirements under the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy will be reviewed when necessary to reflect changes in the law, PA's operations or its information-handling arrangements.

Penny Authors – Championing the spirit within.

A funded, community-based publishing opportunity

 

PENNY AUTHORS

A funded, community-based publishing opportunity

Penny Authors (PA) is an imprint of MAPublisher (MA).

Penny Authors is established to provide poets with an opportunity to see their work published, recognised and shared with a wider readership.

The project is financially supported by MAPublisher, which invests its own resources, time, publishing infrastructure and experience in bringing contributors' work into print.

There are no membership, submission or publication fees. Contributors are not asked to make financial donations.

However, Penny Authors is not simply a free poetry-printing arrangement. It is a community publishing initiative built around mutual recognition, support and participation.

Our participation principles

Contributors are expected to:

• Provide the information requested through the PA membership and contributor arrangements.

• Supply a personal photograph and short biography for their individual poet profile.

• Obtain a copy of the anthology in which their work appears.

• Participate in the Favourite Five and review process.

• Record their own published poem, where requested, for possible radio consideration.

• Produce a video reading of their published poem, showing the anthology, for the PA YouTube channel.

• Champion another contributor by recording a reading of their poem.

• Support PA's online activities through viewing, liking, commenting, subscribing and sharing where possible.

These requirements help establish a publishing community in which contributors recognise and support one another, rather than simply appearing in a publication and having no further involvement.

Our commitment to contributors

• Copyright remains with the individual poet.

• PA publishes selected work under a non-exclusive publishing permission.

• Contributors receive recognition in the anthology and an individual online poet profile.

• Contributors can use relevant publication covers and their own PA recordings to promote their work, subject to the applicable permissions.

• Contributors may have an opportunity to develop their own book through MAPublisher.

Penny Authors – Championing the spirit within.