Who would I go to for permission to write a story about another author's character?

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Ankh Ascendant

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Specifically, the character is Lythande, created by Marion Zimmer Bradley.She has unfortunately passed away, so I can't get permission from her, but she did allow two other authors to use that character in stories. The publisher of the one book the character starred in was Daw Books, Inc., which is still alive, but I wasn't sure if they actually have any control over it.
 
I'm no pro, but based on what I hear in news every now and then, about people suing others for copying their material ....

I think, you need to get permission from the publisher, who holds the copy right for the material, other than the author.
 
It's really hard say because I'm not familiar with this. If I were seeking this info then my first point of contact would be the author. In this case, the author's agent. Even though she's deceased, if her books are still in print, being printed, or if her estate is seeking other deals for her work (movie/tv, etc) then there is an agent or literary agency that you need to contact. I would be her estate's agent/agency.

Now, literary contracts can be quite complex. Deals can be made for a publisher to print the book in paperback only, so the author retains the rights to sell the book in other forms (including e-book, hardback, etc). With this in mind, I think it's the author who retains the rights to the actual story and characters involved, because they can then sell those characters/plots/storylines to another entity (movie studio, for example). They only sell the rights to the story in book form, and even that might be limited depending on the contract they sign. Following me?

My reasoning is that the characters are owned by the author's heirs, so you're first point of contact should be her estate's literary agency, because the publisher only own the rights to the novel in book form, and for all we know it could be in paperback only, or for hardback publishing in North America (Authors retain the rights to negotiate with publishers in different countries to publish their book), publishing is a complex business.

Find out the literary agency that's handling her estate and go from there. Or, another avenue would be to contact the authors who have gotten permission to write about the character and ask them who owns the rights to the character or from whom the were given permission. I'd bet more than likely it's the author's estate.

To find the literary agency you can search the author's site, if the estate has one, or you can search in the back of a few of her books to see if she mentions the name of her agent or literary agency (in the Thank You's), and then search for the name.
 
It's really hard say because I'm not familiar with this. If I were seeking this info then my first point of contact would be the author. In this case, the author's agent. Even though she's deceased, if her books are still in print, being printed, or if her estate is seeking other deals for her work (movie/tv, etc) then there is an agent or literary agency that you need to contact. I would be her estate's agent/agency.

Now, literary contracts can be quite complex. Deals can be made for a publisher to print the book in paperback only, so the author retains the rights to sell the book in other forms (including e-book, hardback, etc). With this in mind, I think it's the author who retains the rights to the actual story and characters involved, because they can then sell those characters/plots/storylines to another entity (movie studio, for example). They only sell the rights to the story in book form, and even that might be limited depending on the contract they sign. Following me?

My reasoning is that the characters are owned by the author's heirs, so you're first point of contact should be her estate's literary agency, because the publisher only own the rights to the novel in book form, and for all we know it could be in paperback only, or for hardback publishing in North America (Authors retain the rights to negotiate with publishers in different countries to publish their book), publishing is a complex business.

Find out the literary agency that's handling her estate and go from there. Or, another avenue would be to contact the authors who have gotten permission to write about the character and ask them who owns the rights to the character or from whom the were given permission. I'd bet more than likely it's the author's estate.

To find the literary agency you can search the author's site, if the estate has one, or you can search in the back of a few of her books to see if she mentions the name of her agent or literary agency (in the Thank You's), and then search for the name.
 
It's really hard say because I'm not familiar with this. If I were seeking this info then my first point of contact would be the author. In this case, the author's agent. Even though she's deceased, if her books are still in print, being printed, or if her estate is seeking other deals for her work (movie/tv, etc) then there is an agent or literary agency that you need to contact. I would be her estate's agent/agency.

Now, literary contracts can be quite complex. Deals can be made for a publisher to print the book in paperback only, so the author retains the rights to sell the book in other forms (including e-book, hardback, etc). With this in mind, I think it's the author who retains the rights to the actual story and characters involved, because they can then sell those characters/plots/storylines to another entity (movie studio, for example). They only sell the rights to the story in book form, and even that might be limited depending on the contract they sign. Following me?

My reasoning is that the characters are owned by the author's heirs, so you're first point of contact should be her estate's literary agency, because the publisher only own the rights to the novel in book form, and for all we know it could be in paperback only, or for hardback publishing in North America (Authors retain the rights to negotiate with publishers in different countries to publish their book), publishing is a complex business.

Find out the literary agency that's handling her estate and go from there. Or, another avenue would be to contact the authors who have gotten permission to write about the character and ask them who owns the rights to the character or from whom the were given permission. I'd bet more than likely it's the author's estate.

To find the literary agency you can search the author's site, if the estate has one, or you can search in the back of a few of her books to see if she mentions the name of her agent or literary agency (in the Thank You's), and then search for the name.
 
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