Funding Week | Professional Development – The nuts and bolts of funding applications
20 May @ 18:00 - 19:30 BST
Tired of the same dry funding advice? Join Comic Creator, Rhiannon Griffiths in this session that flips the script on traditional fundraising training. This workshop is a practical, playful deep dive into the creative funding landscape.
Expect no buzzwords, no boring slides—just real talk on where to find funding, how to craft standout applications, and how to stay true to your creative vision while navigating the funding maze. Whether you’re grant-curious or a bid-writing burnout case, this session will equip you with fresh tools, insider tips, and a spark of rebellion.
This event is in conjunction with our Comics Creators Network (CCN)
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 Professional Development events – free for SoA Members
As of Feb 2025, #SoAatHome professional development sessions will continue to be free as a member benefit. However, for non-members, the price is £35 including VAT.
Not a member, sign up here with our special #SoAatHome offer and get 20 per cent off for the first year of membership – use code SOAATHOME20.
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
Programme
- Welcome, introductions and housekeeping from Hannah Berry (3 mins)
- Presentation by Rhiannon Griffiths (60 mins)
- Comfort break (5 mins)
- Q&A with audience (20 mins)
- Summary and closing comments (2 mins)
- This event will be moderated by Lilly Brend-Fish – Events Manager, SoA
Who is this session for?
This session is for creatives of all kinds who want to navigate the funding world with confidence, cut through the jargon, and learn how to pitch their projects without compromising their voice or vision.
What will this session cover?
- How to find funding opportunities that actually fits your creative work
- Writing funding applications without selling your soul (or sounding like a robot)
- Where to look for grants, micro-funding, residencies, and the odd gold nugget
- Tools to track, plan, and manage your funding pipeline like a low-key pro
- Common pitfalls, rejection tips, and how to bounce back stronger
- Real-talk advice from the creative frontline—no fluff, just the good stuff
About The Comics Creators Network (CCN)
The Comics Creators Network is a pressure group of working authors that advocates for the rights of traditionally and self-published creators of comics and graphic novels in the UK.
The comics industry has a history of treating people who work in it as disposable, and this is something that needs to change. It can be hard to push back when bad conditions are often viewed as standard practice, but if you publish comics you are an author just like every other poet, essayist or novelist, and you deserve to be treated the same way. No one should accept substandard treatment because they are grateful for being published.
For more information on how to join the Network, please email comics@societyofauthors.org.
Send us your questions
If you would like to send questions in advance, email LBrendfish@societyofauthors.org with ‘Funding applications’ 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
Rhiannon Griffiths
Rhiannon Griffiths is the chaos gremlin behind Comics Youth CIC, co-captain of the Comics Cultural Impact Collective, and founder of Marginal—the UK’s first youth-led publisher. Honoured with an MBE in 2023, she’s on a mission to amplify young voices with a splash of ink, rebellion, and radical creativity.
Website: www.comicsyouth.co.uk | Instagram: @comicsyouth
Hannah Berry
Hannah Berry is an occasionally award-winning comics creator, scriptwriter and campaigner. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was UK Comics Laureate 2019-21, is a founding committee member of the Comics Creators Network and co-director of the Comics Cultural Impact Collective.
Website: hannahberry.co.uk | Instagram: @Streakofpith | Bluesky: @Streakofpith
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
SoA Members: Please use the ‘Register – SoA Members’ form below and provide your details, including your membership number. If you’re unsure of your SoA ID, please email info@societyofauthors.org.
Non-members: Choose one of the two ticket options below, complete the registration form, then fill out the billing info to finalise your payment.
For event or registration questions, email events@societyofauthors.org.
SoA Members – Free
Non-Members – £35
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
Accordion Content
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.
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Register - SoA Member
Please use the booking form to register for this event.
Please email
events@societyofauthors.org if you have any questions.
