Faber & Faber

Thank you for your interest in clearing permission to use Faber and Faber material.  

These detailed notes are here to give you as much information as possible about clearing permission with us and to try to help your application be dealt with as quickly as possible. Please first read the information given here on fair usage and here on those uses and authors for which we are unable to grant permission.  

If you are certain that Faber and Faber handle rights in the material you wish to use then please read the general guidelines below before referring to the more detailed notes on specific types of permissions and the information we will require. 

Please make yourself aware of the following general principals:

We can only accept applications in writing via the email address gapermissions@faber.co.uk or normal mail addressed to The Permissions Department at Faber and Faber Ltd.

Applications must include all the information for your request as detailed below. We cannot accept any applications that haven’t provided all the details required. If details are missing, your request will not be processed.

At the moment our turnaround time is 8-10 weeks on average and sometimes longer in the case of larger requests and those where we have to consult with Estates or authors. We are unable to fast-track permissions or make exceptions.

If we are unable to process your request in the time needed, please do not use the material in question. If you require permission, it is because the material is protected under current international copyright law.

Please make your request as specific and appropriate as possible to the usage you currently require. We cannot grant blanket permissions covering multiple uses, languages and formats on the basis of possible future uses for the material.

We draw up our own licenses and cannot use yours.

In most cases there will be a fee due. Our minimum fee for use of a limited amount of material (e.g. up to 10 lines of poetry in one print run of a title to be distributed in the UK and Commonwealth only) is £75 excluding VAT. Please note this fee is charged on behalf of the copyright holders, writers and artists who have produced the original work you wish to use.

The permission fees we quote are non-negotiable.

At the current time we are unable to answer follow up enquiries, chasing emails or duplicate requests.

The onus is on you or your editor to use the Faber material in a fair and factual way. If using material in what may be deemed a negative or defamatory context, then please declare it.

Please note that we are representing the interests of the writers and artists who have produced the work you wish to use when handling these rights. We handle these rights on their behalf under licence and it is serving the copyright holders' best interests that guides our policy.

Anthology and Quotation/Print Extract Rights

Please provide ALL of the following details:

• Publisher (with full address)
• Title of their publication
• Territory for distribution
• Anticipated total number of copies of all printings of this edition
• Hardcover and/or paperback
• Published price
• Publication date
• Source(s) - we are unable to consider your request unless you provide details of the Faber and Faber publication in which the work appears
• Approximate number of lines to be reprinted in total (for poetry)
• Approximate number of words to be reprinted in total (for prose)
• Approximate number of pages (or lines if less than a page) to be reprinted in total (for plays)
• The context in which you wish to reproduce the extract, i.e. a copy of the extract you wish to reprint in the pages of your work

Art Exhibitions and Pieces

Please provide ALL of the following details:

• Artist/curator's name (with full address)
• A sample or sketch of what the work may look like
• The exhibition venue and dates
• Whether these words will be reprinted anywhere else such as the catalogue (this would be a separate Anthology and Quotation permission - see below)
• Whether your piece will be on sale and at what price
• Source(s) - we are unable to consider your request unless you provide details of the Faber and Faber publication in which the work appears
• Approximate number of lines to be reprinted in total (for poetry)
• Approximate number of words to be reprinted in total (for prose)
• Approximate number of pages (or lines if less than a page) to be reprinted in total (for plays)

Audio Rights

Please provide ALL of the following details:

• Publisher/manufacturer (with full address)
• Territory for distribution
• Anticipated total number of copies of all printings of this CD/download/other (explain)
• Published price
• Publication date
• Website address that it is to be downloaded from
• Restrictions on the number of downloads (if applicable)
• Price of download
• Who is reading the extract
• Source(s) - we are unable to consider your request unless you provide details of the Faber and Faber publication in which the work appears
• Approximate number of lines to be read in total (for poetry)
• Approximate number of words to be read in total (for prose)
• Approximate number of pages (or lines if less than a page) to be read in total (for plays)

Blind, Braille and Non-Commercial Reading Requests for the Disabled

Please email or fax your standard contract for signature. Please include the Faber source publication and ISBN as well as the intended format/s.

Broadcast Rights

This covers one broadcast, one repeat and online streaming. Please provide ALL of the following details:

• Broadcasting company (with full address)
• Type of broadcast - e.g. television, radio etc
• Name of channel
• Name of programme and the context of the material within the programme
• Length of broadcast in minutes/seconds
• Date of broadcast(s)
• If online streaming, the website url/address
• Source(s) - we are unable to consider your request unless you provide details of the Faber and Faber publication in which the work appears

Prop Use

If you want to use our books as props, then please to send a Release Form, making sure it states 'Prop'/'Cover' use and is not ambiguous (i.e. 'Material'/'Content'). Please supply your fax number and details of the scene and programme in which it will appear. 

Dramatic Rights (also called Performing/Play/Production Rights)

For the most part, we do not handle dramatic rights and you must seek permission from the playwright’s agent.

The main two playwrights we handle rights for are Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney.

Please provide ALL of the following details:

• The play you wish to perform and the name of the author
• Your company/institution (with full address)
• Name of theatre/venue
• Venue's seating capacity
• Price range of tickets
• Performance date(s)
• Number of performances

Electronic Rights

CD-ROM - Please provide ALL of the following details:

• Name of publisher (with full address)
• Whether text or audio
• If audio, the name of the reader
• Whether or not it is interactive
• Whether or not the material can be downloaded or printed
• Number of copies of CD-ROM to be produced
• Source(s) - we are unable to consider your request unless you provide details of the Faber and Faber publication in which the work appears
• Approximate number of lines to be reprinted in total (for poetry)
• Approximate number of words to be reprinted in total (for prose)
• Approximate number of pages (or lines if less than a page) to be reprinted in total (for plays)
• The context in which you wish to reproduce the extract, i.e. a copy of the extract you wish to reprint in the pages of your work

E-Book Rights

Please provide ALL of the following details:

• Name of publisher (with full address)
• Whether text or audio
• The website url/address and company that runs the website
• Whether or not password protected
• Who can access it
• Do they pay for access
• Whether or not the material can be downloaded or printed
• How long will the material be available for
• Number of copies of E-book or CD-ROM to be produced
• Source(s) - we are unable to consider your request unless you provide details of the Faber and Faber publication in which the work appears
• Approximate number of lines to be reprinted in total (for poetry)
• Approximate number of words to be reprinted in total (for prose)
• Approximate number of pages (or lines if less than a page) to be reprinted in total (for plays)
• The context in which you wish to reproduce the extract, i.e. a copy of the extract you wish to reprint in the pages of your work

Website Use

Please provide ALL of the following details:

• Name of publisher (with full address)
• Whether text or audio
• Whether audio streaming or download
• The website url/address and company that runs the website
• Whether or not password protected
• Who can access it
• Do they pay for access
• Whether or not the material can be downloaded or printed
• How long will the material be available for
• Source(s) - we are unable to consider your request unless you provide details of the Faber and Faber publication in which the work appears
• Approximate number of lines to be reprinted in total (for poetry)
• Approximate number of words to be reprinted in total (for prose)
• Approximate number of pages (or lines if less than a page) to be reprinted in total (for plays)
• The context in which you wish to reproduce the extract, i.e. a copy of the extract you wish to reprint in the pages of your work

Please note: If you are posting anything online (www.), you will need World Rights.

Film Rights

If you think that Faber controls film or television rights then please use the general rights email (garights@faber.co.uk) rather than the permissions email address. Please note that we do not handle film or television rights in the majority of our list and can only reply to queries if we do control these rights and they are available for use. 

Image Rights

Internal Images:

Generally we don’t control the rights to the images inside our books and you should refer to the credited photographer/illustrator whose details we do not hold. 

Cover Use:

Please submit this under 'Anthology and Quotation' rights and provide a jpeg of the image required where possible.

If you want to use a cover image for publicity and review purposes, please contact our Publicity Department.

If you want to use a cover image for foreign or large print editions of our book, please contact the Rights Department.

Author Photos

Our Publicity Department will provide these and author biographies where requested.

Musical Settings

If you want to set our material to music, we need you to provide ALL of the following details:

• The genre of music and instrumentation
• The source publication - if a poem, then the title of the particular collection or anthology
• Whether usage is for performance, recording or publishing
• Where you intend to perform and/or distribute recordings of printed scores, i.e. which territories
• The title of your piece
• Your name, address and biographical details
• An example of your music on CD - to be sent to Faber and Faber Ltd, Bloomsbury House, 74-77 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DA

Photocopy (Microphotographic) Rights

If you need to photocopy an out-of-print book or we only publish it as part of a large collection, we can grant you a license to photocopy. For this, we need details of:

• Full contact details of the company/organisation making the request
• The book title, author and ISBN
• Number of pages to be copied
• Number of copies required
• Reason for use

Reading Rights

These may come under the Dramatic, Audio or Broadcasting umbrella - in which case refer to those sections.

However, for one-off private readings such as weddings, funerals, private recitals, religious sermons and charity events, please provide ALL details of:

• Title of source publication - if poetry, then title of source collection or anthology. We are unable to consider your request unless you provide details of the Faber and Faber publication in which the work appears
• Approximate number of lines to be read in total (for poetry)
• Approximate number of words to be read in total (for prose)
• Approximate number of pages (or lines if less than a page) to be read in total (for plays)
• The context in which you wish to reproduce the extract, i.e. what is the event in question