The SoA in Scotland (SoAiS) is a national group of the Society of Authors. Members with a Scottish postcode are automatically added to the group when they join the SoA.
If you have not been added but would like to join the SoAiS, please contact us.
The SoAiS organises a varied and busy calendar of activities through a committee of volunteers. Group activities are reported in the SoA's quarterly magazine, The Author. You can also join in the discussion on our closed Facebook group.
SoAiS News
Creative Scotland Hardship Fund
From 11 December, applications to the Creative Scotland Hardship Fund for Creative Freelancers, previously administered by the SoA, will be handled by Creative Scotland. We will continue to process applications until Friday 18 December (including those already received).
The Authors’ Contingency Fund and associated funds remain open to new applicants. Grants are up to £2,000 and designed to meet immediate need.
Applications are open to all professional authors who are resident in the UK or British subjects – including all types of writers, illustrators, literary translators, scriptwriters, poets, journalists and others – for whom author-related activities make up a substantial amount of their annual income.
To apply for a hardship grant from the Contingency Funds, please complete the application form on our Grants page. Applications are usually assessed within two weeks of receipt.
We cannot at present accept applications from authors who have already received a grant from the Contingency Funds (including the ‘Authors’ Emergency Fund’) since March 2020.
We are keeping this under review as we balance the availability of funds with the continuing demand from new applicants.
Please feel free to contact a member of staff in confidence for an informal chat on 020 7373 6642 or email grants@societyofauthors.org.
Scotland's own Margaret Skea is elected to the SoA Management Committee
As many of you will already know, I will be joining the Management Committee of the Society of Authors after the AGM later this month, for a 3-year term.
Thank you to all who voted for me, and for the many messages of support and encouragement I have received since the announcement.
I am honoured, excited and daunted in equal measure, and will do my best to justify your trust in me. I passionately believe that authors should be 'one tribe' regardless of their chosen route to publication and I especially want to be a voice for Scotland and those similarly remote from London.
I was already keen to advocate for increased provision of practical training and professional development, with easy access for all; with Covid-19 this has become more important than ever.
I will be supporting the work of the Scottish committee and their involvement with key Scottish organisations. But equally importantly, building on my experience and existing relationships, I want to strengthen links with national organisations such as The Alliance of Independent Authors and the Historical Novel Society; and to empower authors through facilitating increased understanding and navigation of self-publishing platforms including Amazon and Ingram Spark.
Finally, any members with issues they would like to be raised with the Management Committee, or specific suggestions to make, please do get in contact with me – margaretskea@hotmail.co.uk
Margaret Skea
Member benefits
SoAiS members can take advantage of a number of exclusive benefits, such as events and special discounts.
Partners
The SoAiS is a network member of Publishing Scotland, and together the two organisations have produced a good practice covenant between authors and publishers in Scotland. The SoAiS is also represented at meetings of the Literature Forum and the Scottish Parliamentary Cross Party Group on Culture and Media.
The SoAiS has partnerships with:
The SoAiS and Publishing Scotland are signatories to a joint code to improve relations between authors and publishers. Read the Voluntary Code.
Read the latest newsletter from the Literature Alliance Scotland/Caidreabhas Litreachais Alba, here.