Русско-англо-русский юридический словарь

A publishing contract is a legal contract between a publisher and a writer or author (or more than one), to publish written material by the writer(s) or author(s). This may involve a single written work, or a series of works. (Wikipedia)

Authors and publishers will generally have a publishing agreement (sometimes referred to as an author or licence agreement) in place when a work is published. (website of the University of Melbourne)