Local groups grow to a third of SoA membership in 2020/21
Almost a third of our membership now has a local group in their area – with new groups set up across England, Wales, Scotland and Germany over the last year.
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“Vivid… exemplify the art of historical biography” – Shortlist for 2020 Elizabeth Longford Prize
Announcing the shortlist for the 2021 Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography – four books that “exemplify the art of studying people’s lives close up”.
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Time for racial equality in literary translation
A statement from the Translators Association and the Society of Authors.
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World of Books Group fund new award for writers with the power to change the world
World of Books Group, the UK’s largest retailer of used books, have partnered with the Society of Authors to launch a new grant to support writers as they work on books of any genre that have the power to inspire progressive behaviour change.
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‘Strong, emotional and assured’ – Fraser Ayres’ Maynard wins 2021 Imison Award
Actor, writer and director awarded £3,000 for best original script by a writer new to radio, at the 2021 BBC Audio Drama Awards. Christopher Douglas takes the Tinniswood Award for best original audio drama script for ‘Tristram Shandy: In Development.’
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SoA Comics Creators Network welcomes new Steering Committee
Five comics creators have joined the Steering Committee for the SoA’s Comics Creators Network alongside founders Hannah Berry and Woodrow Phoenix.
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The SoA View on Budget 2021
We welcome the Chancellor’s £400 million boost for the arts, but the Budget fails to do ‘whatever it takes’ to help self-employed authors and creative professionals who have fallen through the gaps in Government support over the last 12 months.
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Authors’ unions launch investigation into contribution publishers
UK writers’ unions the Society of Authors and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), backed by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), have joined forces to research the allegedly exploitative practices of some publishers that charge authors to publish their work. This follows a sharp rise in complaints from authors about these companies received by both unions.
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COVID-19: how has it affected you so far and what will it mean for you this year?
The first 2021 round of our Authors in the Health Crisis survey is now open.
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Author trade union concerns over PRH and Simon & Schuster merger
We have written to the Competition & Markets Authority and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy expressing concerns about the proposed $2.2 billion acquisition of US publisher Simon & Schuster by German conglomerate, Bertelsmann, which owns Penguin Random House.
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Contingency Fund open for repeat applications
Individuals supported by the Fund in 2020 can now reapply, as we take stock of how the SoA can continue to support authors through the health crisis in 2021.
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‘Writer and translator in powerful harmony’ – Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri wins John Florio Prize for translation
Author takes the 2020 John Florio Prize for her ‘exceptional’ and ‘agile’ translation from Italian of Trick by Domenico Starnone, in the Society of Authors’ annual Translation Prizes. Editor Saba Ahmed wins the TA First Translation Prize for the second year running.