At the 2022 Annual General Meeting SoA members voted in favour of three resolutions which gave the Management Committee and staff team a remit to begin a year-long organisational review, including a consultation on the roles of SoA Fellows, President and Management Committee.
As part of this, we have launched a member-only survey to gauge views and expectations about the role of President. The results of this survey will help inform next steps, with the Management Committee scheduled to present its recommendations at the 2023 AGM on 16 November.
Your opinions matter, so we want to hear from as wide a spread of the membership as possible. The SoA, publishing and other creative industries have changed immensely since Tennyson first took on the mantle of President in 1884. It is essential that any high-profile role can be fit for purpose in 2023 and beyond.
The survey will close on 28 August 2023. Many thanks in advance for your time.
About the survey
We will email a survey link to all SoA members between 28-31 July.
The link you receive is unique to you and should not be shared. The survey is designed to be completed by members only.
The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. It looks at the role of President from a range of perspectives, including:
- Usefulness and purpose
- The need for the role
- Members’ and public perception
- Risks
- Next steps
All responses will be treated in strict confidence.
Email delivery
Your unique survey link will be emailed to you between 28-31 July. It will be sent directly from our survey provider SurveyMonkey, so add member@surveymonkeyuser.com to your safe senders list to help with delivery. If the email doesn’t arrive in your inbox, check your junk mail folder. If you still can’t find it, email hello@societyofauthors.org.
About the structure of the SoA
The Management Committee oversees the direction and governance of the SoA and of the Chief Executive. It consists of 12 SoA members, who are elected by the membership to serve for three years at a time. They elect a Chair who serves for two years at a time. The current Chair is Joanne Harris.
The SoA Fellows are a purely honorary group made up of up to 60 members of high standing who have been exceptional in their support of the Society of Authors.
The SoA President is an unelected, honorary role, chosen by members of the SoA Fellows The President has no role in direction or governance.
The President is appointed for a term of five years. They can serve up to two terms.
The first SoA President was Alfred, Lord Tennyson, appointed in 1884. Past Presidents have included V.S. Pritchett and P.D. James. The most recent postholder was Sir Philip Pullman, who resigned from the role in March 2022.
I have a question. Given that the President is chosen by the SoA Fellows and the Fellows ‘are a purely honorary group made up of up to 60 members of high standing who have been exceptional in their support of the Society of Authors,’ I would like to know who it is who decides who the fellows are. How would ‘exceptional in their support’ be defined? In an evil society (which history shows societies can very quickly become) it would be very easy, if these questions aren’t answered, to end up with fellows who aren’t good people electing a president… Read more »
I believe the role should the most senior in the Society and be non executive take on all the ceremonial functions. with the Chairman of the Council leading on policy. The President should be elected by the whole membership. Five years is too long a term and it should be three as in the Medical Royal Colleges and not renewable.