This event idea is a great way for your local group to connect to the wider literary community in your area and find out about support and opportunities available. You could organise the event as a half day session or split it into individual sessions to work with your regular meetings. It can be run online or in person, though you would need to hire a venue for the event. Please get in touch with any questions.
Event outline
You have the ideas, the skill, the ambition to make your writing work, but what’s missing? What could make it better? What support, knowledge, funding and other hidden opportunities could help you build the environment you need to thrive?
Join us for this half day workshop looking at the support and opportunities available to authors in your region. We’ll cover how to apply for grants and funding, developing your creative work, your rights as an author, and projects you can get involved with. Whatever career stage you’re at, find out how you can engage with fellow writers and readers in your area.
45-60mins – Grants and funding advice surgery
Approach your national arts funder and ask if their literature development officer or relationship manager is able to give an overview of grants and funding authors can apply for. This session can include advice on how to fill in the application form itself, what makes a successful project and how to get your idea off the ground. They can also highlight funded projects in the area that authors can get involved in.
Creative Scotland | Arts Council England | Arts Council Wales| Arts Council Northern Ireland
30-45mins – How to develop your writing craft
Get in touch with the writer development agency for your region and ask them to give an overview of their programmes, opportunities and support for authors.
Find your nearest writer development agency:
Sc Scottish Book Trust | New Writing North | Writing East Midlands | Writing West Midlands | National Centre for Writing | Spread the Word | New Writing South | Literature Works | Literature Wales
30-45mins – Demystifying contracts and authors’ rights with The Society of Authors
So you’ve written your work and have been offered a contract. What next and what does it mean? A member of The Society of Authors advisory team will explain the most common standard contractual terms that you might encounter and flag pitfalls that you’ll want to avoid, including the rights you’re granting to the publisher and issues relating to production, publication and payment. We can also go through the fundamentals of your rights as an author including copyright, attribution and moral rights which underpin any agreement which is reached between an author and publisher.
30-45mins – Working with festivals
Approach your local literary festival and ask them to speak about how authors can get involved and share advice for approaching and working with festivals to reach new audiences and readers.
30-45mins – Working with your local library service
Your local library service may have a library development officer who could speak to the group about their upcoming projects and programmes authors can get involved with, such as delivering workshops or readings.