Funding Week | Industry Insider – Funding opportunities in England, Scotland and Wales

Funding opportunities in England, Scotland and Wales: On 20 May from 10am, Society of Authors’ Chief Executive, Anna Ganley chairs a discussion with Relationship Manager for Literature in the Midlands, Pete Stones, Relationship Manager for Literature in London, Patrick Cash, Alan Bett, Head of Literature and Publishing at Creative Scotland, and Artistic Director at Literature Wales, Leusa Llewelyn.

Join us to find out what funding opportunities are available to writers in England, Scotland and Wales.

 If you’re a writer in Northern Ireland: watch our Getting Started webinar: Industry Insider – Getting started on Vimeo or listen to our advisory clinic podcast: and for more information about funding opportunities for authors based in Northern Ireland, see: Society of Authors in Northern Ireland (SoAiNI) on Vimeo

There are more event recordings for authors based in Scotland, here: Society of Authors in Scotland (SoAiS) on Vimeo

On the 19 and 20 May 2025, we are running a series of #SoAatHome events focusing on funding opportunities for writers in the UK.

These three sessions are:

• 19 May | Professional Development – Developing your creative practice funding
• 20 May | Industry Insider – Funding opportunities in England, Scotland and Wales
• 20 May | Professional Development – The nuts and bolts of funding applications

#SoAatHome Industry Insider events – free for all + donation

Our #SoAatHome industry insider events are free for all, but you can choose to make a donation to the Society of Authors’ Access Fund when registering for the event. The fund helps to provide authors with support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats. If you would like to donate, you can do so when registering for the event.

Programme

• Welcome, introductions and housekeeping from Anna Ganley, SoA (3 mins)
• Presentations from Patrick Cash (10 mins)
• Presentation from Pete Stones (10 mins)
• Presentation from Alan Bett (10 mins)
• Presentation from Leusa Llewelyn (10 mins)
• Comfort break (5 mins)
• Discussion and Q&A chaired by Anna Ganley, with Patrick Cash, Pete Stones, Alan Bett and Leusa Llewelyn (40 mins)
• Summary and closing comments (3 mins)
• This event will be moderated by Elsa Robert, SoA

Who is this session for?

Creators based in England, Scotland and Wales who are looking to explore funding options for creative projects.

What will this session cover?

Discussion of the funding options available to creative practitioners based in England, Scotland and Wales.

Send us your questions

If you would like to send questions in advance, email ERobert@societyofauthors.org with ‘Funding opportunities’ in the subject header. We will prioritise questions sent in advance and answer as many as we can from the audience on the day.

#SoAatHome Fundraising Bookshop

Browse our virtual Bookshop.org store featuring books by authors and speakers taking part in the #SoAatHome. When you make a purchase using our affiliate links, a percentage will go to the Society of Authors’ Access Fund, giving authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats.

The Line-up

Anna Ganley, SoA

As Chief Executive, Anna Ganley is responsible for overseeing the running of the Society of Authors and driving the SoA’s mission of empowering and supporting authors in the UK. Working closely with the SoA’s board of directors (Management Committee), Anna ensures that SoA’s activities and campaigns remain aligned with the SoA’s core mission. Anna is vice-Chair of the Creators’ Rights Alliance, sits on the board of the International Authors Forum and is a member of the London Book Fair Advisory Board.

Alan Bett

Alan Bettleads on Literature, Languages and Publishing at Creative Scotland, working with individual writers, publishers and literary organisations to support Scotland’s vibrant ecology of books and writing. The literature team work with individual writers and storytellers in a plethora of forms, and in all of Scotland’s languages, at every stage of their careers.

Patrick Cash

Patrick Cash works as a Relationship Manager in Literature (London) for Arts Council England. He specialises in supporting individual writers and independent publishers, as well as looking after a roster of National Portfolio Organisations in the London area. He works as a writer outside his ACE work and is a member of The Society of Authors.

Pete Stones

Pete Stones work as a Relationship Manager, Literature for Arts Council England’s Midlands Area. He has been with the organisation since 2013, initially working from Arts Council’s North Area before moving to the Midlands. His current areas of interest are comics and graphic novels, artificial intelligence, and innovative approaches to reader development.

Leusa Llewelyn

Leusa Llewelyn is the Artistic Director of Literature Wales. She has worked for Literature Wales since their inception in 2011, following graduating from the Welsh and International Politics Departments at Aberystwyth University. Her interests align with Literature Wales’ priorities of developing the writers of Wales, celebrating Wales’ rich literary culture and traditions, and ensuring that communities across Wales benefits from the joys and impact literature can have on lives. Leusa is based at the Tŷ Newydd – Wales’ National Writing Centre in Gwynedd, north Wales. She enjoys meeting the hundreds of writers that visits annually, and taking advantage of the beautiful setting and location of the centre to take river or coastal walks during lunchtime to observe the unique nature and wildlife found in this spectacular part of the world.

Need to know

Accessibility

• Attendees will have the option to turn on the live transcript, to watch with subtitles
• If you require BSL interpretation for this event, please email events@societyofauthors.org

Before the event

• Once registered, you will be sent a confirmation email with the Zoom link
• If the confirmation email doesn’t arrive in your inbox, please check your junk/spam email folder
• Please add events@societyofauthors.org to your Safe Senders list so you receive our confirmation and reminder emails

During the event

• This online event will take place on Zoom Webinar; you will not be visible on screen but will be able ask questions via the Q&A function or interact via the chat box
• This event will be recorded but you won’t be on screen
• Attendees have the option to turn on the live transcript
• This event is 90 minutes

After the event

• Hashtag for this event: #SoAatHome
• SoA Members and paid attendees of this event will be able to catch the recording on our Vimeo channel (password protected) or members can access via the SoA website.

Booking

Please either use the form titled ‘Register – no donation’ or the option of the different ticket options with a donation amount depending on how much you would like to donate towards the Society of Authors Access Fund.

For event or registration questions, email events@societyofauthors.org.