Making enough money from book sales alone is hard. So how do most children’s authors and illustrators make a living? Our expert panel Tọlá Okogwu, Jo Nadin, Rikin Parekh and Steve Cole will talk about income streams including making the most of both traditional publishing and self-publishing, school visits, funding opportunities, teaching and more. This…
If you love the escape of listening to audio drama, the freedom of writing audio drama, or you just want to find out more about the medium, join industry experts as we unpick what makes a truly great audio play hosted by SoA Scriptwriters (SWG) Committee Member Robin Mukherjee. Panellists include fellow SWG committee members James Clarke and Sean Grundy; this year’s Imison Award winner, Sylvia Anne Parker; and Imison Award shortlistee Sherise Blackman. This event was in conjunction with our Scriptwriters Group (SWG).
This session on neurodiversity and disability spotlights the work of Sofia Brizio, an Italian writer, translator and editor based in Wales. Sofia lives with cerebral palsy and writes about disability rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and trans-inclusive intersectional feminism. She is currently a PhD researcher in Media Diversity at Birmingham City University. Chaired by Francesca Sobande, a…
Writing is often characterised as a solitary act but take a look at the acknowledgements page of any book and it’s clear that it takes a village. Tom Jeffreys, Mai-Anh Vu Peterson, Noreen Masud and Mohamed Tonsy discuss bringing together writers and book workers involved in a range of collective end endeavours, from building writing communities, to organising as workers to improve labour conditions, to inspiring possibilities of collaborative writing projects. This event was in conjunction with the Society of Authors in Scotland (SoAiS)
Two award-winning first-language Welsh writers, Manon Steffan Ros and Melanie Owen, join Cath Barton, Chair of SoA Cymru Committee, to discuss their experiences of living in a bilingual country. The shameful history of the Welsh Not, a token used by teachers at some schools in Wales, mainly in the 19th century, to discourage children from speaking Welsh,…
Chaired by SoA Committee member and associate professor Carole Burns, our discussion explores the threats AI poses to creators as well as steps SoA members can take to protect their future work. We’re pleased to be joined by member of the House of Lords The Right Hon Lord Brennan as one of our panellists. Lord…
Literature in translation is booking, from bestsellers to cult hits hand-sold in independent bookshops. But it can be hard to find meaningful ways to talk about the ‘translates-ness’ of these books. Reviewers often devote no more than a word or short phrase along the lines of ‘an X translation by Y’, if they mention it at all. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Join this discussion and hear a range of perspectives on how whether we read for pleausre or professionally – we can all more thoughtfully communicate our experiences of reading translated literature.
Join us for a panel discussion chaired by Alessandro Gallenzi with Stella Sabin, Rahul Bery and James Young on the topic of editing translated work. This event was part of the our John Calder Week, a week of events to celebrate the SoA’s new John Calder Translation Prize which was launched in November 2024. The John Calder Translation Prize is an annual…
What does the Anthropic settlement mean to you? This is your chance to find out the implications for authors in the UK and what action you can take. Join the US attorneys Jallé H. Dafa and Michael Adamson in conversation with SoA General Counsel Keith Ashby. They discussed the background to the U.S. action; the…
We kicked off our AGM Week this year with our #SoAatHome Big Conversation, chaired by SoA’s Chief Executive, Anna Ganley. She was joined by author Vaseem Khan, Canongate Communications Director Anna Frame, and Literary Agent Caro Clarke. They discussed their experiences of successful working relationships in publishing and the challenges that authors still face.
To celebrate the launch of the SoA’s Access Form template, ADCI is hosting a panel discussion on what an Access Form is and how it can help authors, agents, publishers, event organisers, and anyone else in the sector to work together more effectively. We’ll hear from publishing director Hannah Knowles, literary agent Caro Clarke, author…
As part of the Poetry and Spoken Word Group’s Autumn focus on ‘Working in Poetry’, this industry panel chaired by Rishi Dastidar with Laurie Bolger, Stephanie Conn and Belinda Zhawi dive into the different ways that poets and performers can sustain themselves across their careers. Drawing on their wealth of experience, panellists will discuss sources of income beyond book royalties including teaching, and…
