Tell us something about yourself and what you write.

I was a literary agent representing writers in film and television together with film and television rights in books until 2012, when I took a gap year and fulfilled an ambition I’d always had to write. My first YA novel, My Second Life, was published in 2014 and was followed by What I Couldn’t Tell You in 2016. Both books are best described as mystery thrillers for teenagers. I am currently working on a new YA novel, After Alys.

As an agent I was passionate about making sure that the writers I represented were fairly treated and fairly paid for the rights in their work.

What skills and perspectives do you hope to bring to the ALCS Board?

As an agent I was passionate about making sure that the writers I represented were fairly treated and fairly paid for the rights in their work. Sometimes this involved negotiating large sums of money, and sometimes small. Often it was about who controlled what rights. In my experience scriptwriters really need agents to fight their corner. Film and television projects are ultimately collaborative, but every project starts with a writer and a script, and so no matter the size of a deal there is always a negotiation to be had to ensure that terms are fair for the exploitation of a creator’s work. So what I bring to the ALCS Board is exactly that working principle and the working knowledge I have had as an agent, and I intend to use it as best I can now in a collection society context, and in particular for the large number of our members who work in the film and television industry. And as a writer now myself I do also recognise the real value and importance of a collecting society like ALCS for its members. I’m really delighted that I have the opportunity to get involved.

Without doubt the ever evolving and fast-paced developments in technology will continue to be one of the most pressing issues for ALCS this year

What do you regard as the most pressing issues for writers and for ALCS in 2018?

Without doubt the ever evolving and fast-paced developments in technology will continue to be one of the most pressing issues for ALCS this year and beyond, in the same way it is for anyone working within an industry that involves the digital exploitation of IP. We need to keep asking ourselves how writers can best get paid in an increasingly digital world. So whilst the digital world means that we can all enjoy the benefit of accessing words and pictures in a way that is easier and more direct than it has ever been before, how creators get paid for the exploitation and access to their work digitally, and crucially in a way that is both meaningful and fair, is something that needs to be continually discussed, revised and worked through across all the varied industries in which our members write. ALCS is keenly aware of these issues, and is already hard at work on them in a number of areas, and as far as I can see, will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

And please tell us something about your own cultural preferences: film, theatre, tv, music?

Perhaps unsurprisingly I am a big fan of TV. I have most recently been enjoying the second series of The Crown, devouring Stranger Things with my twelve-year old daughter, and catching up on Peaky Blinders… And of course, I read a lot. As a Patron of Reading for my local secondary school and a YA writer I alternate between reading as much YA fiction and adult fiction as I can.

Faye Bird joined the ALCS board as a non-executive director in 2017.  She is the author of two acclaimed YA novels, both of which were shortlisted for several children’s book awards, including the NE Teen Book Award 2014 and Lancashire Book of the Year 2017.

She regularly visits schools giving talks and running workshops on creative writing for young people, and has been part of the Schools Outreach Programmes for both the Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Bath Children’s Literature Festival. She has also presented workshops for Booktrust and the National Literacy Trust on inspiring reluctant readers.