Funding Week | Industry Insider – Grants and funding opportunities with the Society of Authors
21 May @ 13:30 - 14:30 BST
The SoA gives away over half a million pounds annually in grants to authors across multiple charities. These include grants for works in progress, funds to support authors in financial need, and support for authors attending events or retreats across the country.
In this session the grants team will discuss all the funding opportunities available from the SoA, including who is eligible and how to apply, before taking questions from attendees.
Find out more about our grants, here.
Between the 19-21 May 2025, we are running a series of #SoAatHome events focusing on funding opportunities for writers in the UK.
These 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
- 21 May | Industry Insider – Grants and funding opportunities with the Society of Authors
#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.
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Access 20% off your first year of membership of the SoA with discount code SOAATHOME20
The Society of Authors is the UK’s biggest trade union for authors – representing more than 12,000 writers, illustrators, translators and other creative practitioners.
Our standard subscription rate is just £32.50 per quarter (£22.75 for students).
As an SoA member, you’ll get:
- Access to all our #SoAatHome events for free including the Professional Development sessions usually charged at £35 from Feb 2025
- Access to all our Feel Good Friday and Industry Insider events which are usually charged £5 from Feb 2025
- Access all #SoAatHome Vimeo professional development recordings so you can catch up in your own time
- Access Unlimited one-to-one professional advice
- Membership of our online and real-world professional networks and special interest groups
- A range of member-only discounts, including books, insurance and travel
- And much more
‘It was a surprisingly lovely way to meet fellow writers in a friendly, warm surrounding perfectly hosted by the SoA staff. Thank you for all the introductions, the welcome and the nourishment!’ – attendee from SoA in Person: Autumn New Members’ Party 2024
JOIN NOW | PRICING
Programme
- Welcome, introductions and housekeeping from Robyn Law – Head of Fundraising, Grants and Prizes, SoA (3 mins)
- Presentation by Robyn Law and Aine Pullan – Grants & Prizes Manager, SoA (30 mins)
- Q&A with audience (25 mins)
- Summary and closing comments (2 mins)
- This event will be moderated by Natalie Thorpe – Grants and Prizes Design Manager, SoA
Who is this session for?
Anyone considering applying for an SoA grant.
What will this session cover?
- Authors’ Foundation and K Blundell Trust
- Authors’ Contingency Fund
- Access Fund
- Strachey Trust Grants
- PD James Memorial Fund
- FAQs
Send us your questions
If you would like to send questions in advance, email grants@societyofauthors.org with ‘Funding opportunities with the SoA session’ 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
Robyn Law
Robyn joined the SoA in 2018. Along with the prizes and grants team, she administers prizes for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and translation. She also oversees the contingency fund grants for authors in need, and the Authors’ Foundation and K Blundell Trust grants for works in progress. Overall, the SoA awards just over £900,000 in awards and grants annually, and Robyn is always looking for funding to expand these lists.
Robyn was named a Rising Star by The Bookseller in 2019.
Aine Pullan
Aine joined the SoA in June 2021 and helps to administer all of the SoA’s grants, prizes and awards.
She is the Chair of the SoA’s staff Inclusivity Network.
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 60 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.
Accordion Content
Access 20% off your first year of membership of the SoA with discount code SOAATHOME20
The Society of Authors is the UK’s biggest trade union for authors – representing more than 12,000 writers, illustrators, translators and other creative practitioners.
Our standard subscription rate is just £32.50 per quarter (£22.75 for students).
As an SoA member, you’ll get:
- Access to all our #SoAatHome events for free including the Professional Development sessions usually charged at £35 from Feb 2025
- Access to all our Feel Good Friday and Industry Insider events which are usually charged £5 from Feb 2025
- Access all #SoAatHome Vimeo professional development recordings so you can catch up in your own time
- Access Unlimited one-to-one professional advice
- Membership of our online and real-world professional networks and special interest groups
- A range of member-only discounts, including books, insurance and travel
- And much more
‘It was a surprisingly lovely way to meet fellow writers in a friendly, warm surrounding perfectly hosted by the SoA staff. Thank you for all the introductions, the welcome and the nourishment!’ – attendee from SoA in Person: Autumn New Members’ Party 2024
JOIN NOW | PRICING
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Giving authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats
Every contribution helps us ensure that these needs and costs aren’t barriers to authors wishing to access events.
If you are in a position to help, please donate via the link below. If you are an author facing access issues, please click here to see if we can help.
DONATE NOW
Register - No donation
Please use the booking form to register for this event.
Please email
events@societyofauthors.org if you have any questions.
