Privacy Policy

The Clay That Connects Us - Limited-Edition Book

This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is collected, used, stored, and protected in relation to The Clay That Connects Us book project, including story submissions, presale purchases, and cover voting activities

We are committed to respecting your privacy and handling all personal information in accordance with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.

1. Who We Are

This project is managed by Morris & James Ltd.

For any privacy-related questions, corrections, or requests, you can contact us at:
sales@morrisandjames.co.nz

2. Information We Collect (by Activity)

A. Story Submissions

When you submit a story via the submission form, we may collect:

  • Your name
  • Email address
  • Phone number (if provided)
  • The written story you submit
  • Any images you upload
  • Your preference for name attribution or anonymity

Why we collect this:

  • To manage, curate, and review submissions
  • To contact you if clarification is needed
  • To attribute your story correctly
  • To notify you about the book launch or presales

What we do not do:

  • We do not sell or share your story or personal details with third parties
  • We do not use submissions for unrelated marketing or advertising

B. Images Submitted with Stories

If you upload images, we may collect:

  • Image files and embedded metadata
  • Context provided with the image

Images are reviewed for suitability and copyright compliance before use.

Images are only used for:

  • Inclusion in the book
  • Related promotion of the book project

Images that cannot be used will simply be excluded.

C. Pen Names

If you select the pen name option:

  • Your real name will not appear in the book
  • Your contact details will be used only for internal administration

We still collect your contact information so we can manage submissions properly, but anonymity is fully respected in publication if you prefer to use a pen name.

D. Presale Purchases (Shopify)

When you purchase the book via presale, personal information is collected and processed through Shopify, including:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Billing and delivery address
  • Order details

Why we collect this:

  • To process presale orders
  • To communicate about presale status, voting, and delivery
  • To ship the book when it is released

Payment details are handled securely by Shopify and its payment providers.
Morris & James does not store your credit card details.

E. Cover Voting

For cover voting, we may collect:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Your selected cover preference

Why we collect this:

  • To confirm voting eligibility
  • To ensure one vote per order
  • To administer and audit the voting process

Voting data is used only to determine the final cover design.

3. How We Use Your Information

Your information may be used to:

  • Manage story submissions and editorial curation
  • Publish stories and images (as agreed in the Terms & Conditions)
  • Communicate about the book, presales, and voting
  • Deliver the finished book
  • Meet legal and administrative obligations

We do not use your information for unrelated marketing or third-party advertising.

4. Storage & Security

  • Information is stored securely using reputable third-party platforms (e.g. Shopify, Woobox, email services)
  • Access is limited to those directly involved in managing the project
  • Reasonable steps are taken to protect data from loss, misuse, or unauthorised access

5. How Long We Keep Information

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to:

  • Complete the book project
  • Fulfil legal and accounting requirements
  • Maintain records related to publication and sales

Information that is no longer required is securely deleted.

6. Sharing of Information

We may share limited information only when necessary with:

  • Printers or production partners (e.g. image files, attribution names)
  • Fulfilment and shipping providers
  • Platform providers (Shopify, Woobox)

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Request access to your personal information
  • Request corrections to inaccurate information
  • Withdraw a submission (subject to production timelines)

Requests can be made by contacting:
sales@morrisandjames.co.nz

8. Updates to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated if project requirements change.
Any material changes will be communicated via the website or email.

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Our policy is to keep any information you supply in processing your order private and secure as much as is reasonable. Your Credit Card will be processed by DPS on a secure site. Any information we receive will be used to process your order, allow delivery and allow us to contact you in relation to the order if that is necessary. The information will be stored for the purposes of maintaining our transaction records however we will not use the information for marketing or sales purposes nor will we sell the information.

Disclaimer

Our liability is limited to the Terms and Conditions listed above except as required by law including the Consumers Guarantees Act and the Fair Trading Act.