9 May 2016 Members of the Society of Authors have issued a statement warning about the detrimental effects of current trends in Government policy on the teaching of writing to school children. Members who write for children from both the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group and the Educational Writers Group have spoken out against increasingly…
5 May 2016 We are delighted to announce that the 2016 Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography has been awarded to Andrew Gailey for The Lost Imperialist – Lord Dufferin, Memory and Mythmaking in an Age of Celebrity (John Murray). Judges Roy Foster, Antonia Fraser, Flora Fraser, David Gilmour and Munro Price chose Gailey’s book…
15 April 2016 The SoA is pleased at the news that the All Party Parliamentary Group on Publishing is launching an investigation into how best to reap the benefits of the UK’s strong publishing industry. However, it is essential that the role of authors is not overlooked. The announcement follows the publication of the Government’s White…
15 April 2015 The shortlist for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, announced on Wednesday 13 April, is a great reminder of the wonderful breadth and variety of translated fiction available to readers today. The £50,000 prize is split equally between author and translator, a welcome recognition of the importance of translators’ work. Boyd Tonkin,…
11 April 2016 The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) has voted to include school libraries in Ofsted inspections. The SoA has long pressed for this move as a way to boost literacy and encourage reading for pleasure. We believe school libraries and author visits play a vital part in encouraging children to read. Compulsory…
30 March 2016 We are sorry to announce that the Chair, William Horwood, has stepped down from his position on the Management Committee for personal reasons. The Committee has elected David Donachie to replace him as Chair with immediate effect. David Donachie is the author of over 40 novels and has been a Management Committee…
24 March 2016 We welcome the publication of the Government’s White Paper on Culture, the first in over 50 years. The SoA was one of the bodies which contributed to the consultation. We are pleased to see that the white paper recognises that culture has a huge intrinsic value as well as an economic worth….
16 March 2016 It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of author and historian Lord Asa Briggs. Asa died peacefully yesterday (15 March) at his home in Lewes, aged 94. Asa’s history specialised in the Victorian era, and he was the author of a five-volume text on the history of broadcasting…
We warmly invite you to stand for election for the Management Committee, or to nominate a fellow Member to stand. Former Committee member, Sarah Waters, said of her MC experience: Membership of the Management Committee is serious, but it is not solemn or daunting. Everyone is there for the same reason: because they care about…
Our campaign to improve contract terms is gathering pace as we meet with individual publishers and continue to push for legislation. Particular concerns are to futureproof contracts so that authors can benefit by negotiating terms when new modes of exploitation arise, rather than in advance and reversion clauses so that unexploited rights can be returned…
9 March 2016 We have updated our Minimum Practice Guidelines for literary festivals. Since publishing our survey and guidelines last year, we’ve received more feedback and information from authors and festivals and we have responded by revising our Minimum Practice Guidelines. One particular issue of concern that was raised repeatedly was ‘exclusion’ or ‘exclusivity’ clauses…
8 March 2016 The way that class 2 National Insurance is paid has changed with an important impact for the self-employed on low incomes. Class 2 National Insurance payments qualify you for contributions-based benefits such as the State Pension. Previously contributions were paid by Direct Debit either monthly or six monthly, now they are collected…
