20 November 2015 We were delighted that so many members were able to attend our Annual General Meeting last night (19 November). Resolutions The two resolutions, to approve the minutes of the 2014 AGM and to approve the SoA’s annual report and financial accounts for 2014, were passed unanimously. The Management Committee Daniel Hahn, Chair…
The SoA has written to Ed Vaizey along with other members of the Creators’ Rights Alliance to restate and amplify our demands for greater protection against onerous contracts for all creators. The letter notes the ‘inequality of bargaining power between individual creators and those who exploit their work’ and how this can lead to creators…
Q. What links: animal food chains; the intricacies of maths; the First World War; the wonders of our world; mindblowing facts about outer space? A. They’re all subjects of books on the 2015 ALCS Educational Writers Award shortlist. These five books have been chosen as outstanding examples of non-fiction for 5 to 11 year olds….
10 November 2015 The SoA has today written to express its concerns about Public Lending Right to Dominic Lake, Deputy Director of Arts, Libraries & Cultural Property, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. On 9 November it was proposed that the rate per loan for PLR be raised from 6.66 pence to 7.67 pence per…
9 November 2015 Two novels, a collection of poetry, and a volume of interlinked short stories make up the shortlist for the £5,000 Sunday Times/Peters Fraser and Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award. Works by Sarah Howe, Ben Fergusson, Sunjeev Sahota and Sara Taylor were chosen by judges Peter Kemp and Andrew Holgate of…
9 November 2015 A petition to the Scottish Parliament regarding the threat to Scottish school libraries was officially lodged on 16 October with a final total of 2,651 signatures and 170 comments. Librarian Duncan Wright, who put forward the petition, has been called on to appear in front of the Scottish Parliament on 24 November…
The SoA welcomes a new initiative from the Intellectual Property Office. Cracking Ideas provides information and free resources to teachers for classroom education on intellectual property across the key stages. The IPO explains the project: Is there a budding Branson or Dyson in your classroom? Know a future Bill Gates or J.K. Rowling? Or will…
22 October 2015 White Paper on Culture The SoA is preparing a submission for Government on the subject of culture. Ed Vaizey has announced the Government’s plans to produce a White Paper on Culture – the first in 50 years – and has called for public input. Simultaneously the Labour opposition has noted its own…
The SoA owns or manages more than 50 literary estates – Bernard Shaw and E. M. Forster among them – and uses the income from these to support all of its work. Our Literary Estates team is always busy managing and selling those rights. Through their efforts the British Library has recently released two classic…
The Conservative Party Conference has raised to the fore the issue of tax credits. Working Tax Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Employment and Support Allowance and Income Support are all currently being phased out, to be replaced by Universal Credit. The removal of Working Tax Credit in particular raises some worrying issues…
SoA members, in addition to holding panels, performances and workshops, pledged over £3,000 to Save the Children in aid of the refugee crisis in Syria. This was inspired by a fundraiser started by author and SoA member Patrick Ness, and the SoA efforts were led by John Dougherty, Chair of the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group…
7 September 2015 Over the weekend John Dougherty, Chair of the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group, led SoA members in a drive to raise money for the Syrian refugee crisis. The New Visions Conference for children’s writers and illustrators took place this weekend from 5-6 September and was attended by authors from all over the…
