THE BOOK OF BEES wins the ALCS Educational Writing Award 2017, the UK’s only award for creative educational writing

5th December 2017  The £2,000 prize was presented at the All Party Parliamentary Writers Group (APWG) Winter Reception at the House of Commons on 5th December.  The winner of the 2017 Award is THE BOOK OF BEES, written by Wojciech Grajkowski, illustrated by Piotr Socha, and translated into English from the Polish by Agnes Monod-Gayraud….

Sally Rooney Wins The Sunday Times / Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award 2017

7 December 2017  Sally Rooney’s debut novel CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS (Faber) has won this year’s Sunday Times / Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award 2017.  The £5,000 award was presented at a ceremony at The London Library on Thursday 7th December.  This year’s prize was judged by The Sunday Times Literary Editor…

Shortlist for 2017 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize

1st December 2017 We are delighted to reveal the four books that have been shortlisted for the 2017 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize, which recognises full-length works of imaginative and creative writing translated from Arabic. The winner will be announced in January, and presented with their £3,000 award at the Society of Authors Translation Prizes on…

Write to your MSP about the Scottish Culture Budget

29 November 2017 Next month the funds available to Scottish culture will be decided in a settlement between Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government. The proposals have been made available and each one presents a scenario where significantly less funding and fewer opportunities are available to develop arts and culture in Scotland. The Advocacy Group…

SoA responds to the 2017 Autumn Statement

23 November 2017 While there are no major changes or surprises, we find little to be enthusiastic about in this week’s Autumn Statement, with several points likely to disappoint authors, particularly those on lower incomes, and nothing to stimulate publishing and the creative industries as Brexit progresses. Yesterday’s Autumn Statement, while offering some concessions to…

SoA joins The Bookseller in calling for industry-wide cooperation to tackle sexual harassment

15 November 2017 On Friday 10 November, The Bookseller published the findings of its survey into sexual harassment in the publishing industry. We now join their call for all sections of publishing to work together to find constructive solutions. As Publishers Association CEO Stephen Lotinga said on Monday: ‘Any single example of harassment is completely…

Round-up from The Author Business event in Manchester

10 November 2017 On the 4 & 5 November members of Authors North gathered at Manchester Art Gallery to learn from experts in the field of business negotiation, tax, digital marketing and self-publishing. On Saturday the programme focused on how to maximise your income as a writer. Sessions included hard-won advice, perspective and solutions from…