Society of Authors’ members have elected Helen Fields, Nadine Matheson, Nikesh Shukla and Julia Williams to join the union’s Management Committee. The Management Committee is the SoA’s board of directors, voted for by the union’s members, and responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation.
The Management Committee for 2023/2024 will be Harriet Evans, Helen Fields, Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, Charles Harris, Joanne Harris (Chair), Abie Longstaff, Nadine Matheson, Juliet McKenna, Nicholas Rankin, Hugh Roberts, Nikesh Shukla, and Julia Williams.
The new members will join the Board after the 2023 AGM on 16 November, when Dorothy Koomson, Anne Rooney, Margaret Skea and Philip Womack complete their current three-year terms. Joanne Harris was unanimously re-elected as Chair in January 2022 and will serve until January 2024, after which her term will end and a new Chair will be elected from Management Committee members.
SoA Members were invited to stand for election in May and we received 12 nominations for four vacancies. The election – managed by Civica Election Services – recorded ballots returned by 1,425 members.
Welcoming the results, Chair of the Management Committee, Joanne Harris, said:
As next year’s general election looms, it’s more important than ever for authors to come together against threats to our livelihood, like artificial intelligence, dodgy deals and the cost of living crisis.
Helen, Nadine, Nikesh and Julia bring with them a wealth of knowledge, and a wide range of experience and perspective. I look forward to working with them to guide and support our members and lobby for authors’ rights at this critical time.
Many thanks to Dorothy Koomson, Anne Rooney, Margaret Skea and Philip Womack for their strategic input to the direction of the organisation over the past three years.
Really impressed with the newly elected board members. Really pleased to see that Nadine Matheson was elected.
Thanks for the breakdown of the voting figures. It’s a shame more members of the SoA don’t vote. Electing boards is important, I think.
In terms of the SoA’s systems in general, on 25th July I asked a question about the SoA’s structures in the comments section to the article ‘Member consultation: we need your views’. No one, as yet, has answered it. Is it possible to have an answer to that question that I wrote back then?
Hi Helen, to answer your question from the previous article, the title of Fellow is chosen by the Management Committee on members of high standing who have been exceptional in their support of the SoA. Fellows appointed since 2014 join for a ten-year term but may be reappointed one or more times. Fellows appointed before 2014 have a lifetime term.