Presentation and Q&A: Familiarizing Writers with Book Contracts

This event is virtual-only (via Zoom) and is open to Helen Zell Writers' Program MFA students, Zell Fellows, and alumni, as well as U-M graduate and undergraduate students. It is not open to the general public. Please email Ashley Bates (asbates@umich.edu) for login instructions.

Carey Salerno's presentation will cover a few basic elements of book contracts, identifying key elements within the document and highlighting areas where writers might give further deliberation.

Carey Salerno is the executive director and executive editor of Alice James Books, an independent publishing house that was established in 1973 and is dedicated to poetry. At AJB, she’s worked with over 100 writers: Jane Wong, Andrés Cerpa, Matthew Olzmann, and Shara McCallum are a few recent examples. One of her current editorial projects the New & Collected Poems of Jean Valentine.

A former Michigander, Salerno holds a BA from Western Michigan University and an MFA from New England College. She is the author of Tributary (2021), Shelter (2009), and co-editor of Lit From Inside: 40 Years of Poetry from Alice James Books (2013). She has a book of literary criticism and versification in relation to publishing arts in progress. She teaches courses in poetry and publishing arts for the University of Maine at Farmington and resides in New Jersey.