Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, and a central tenet of an author’s work and livelihood. We work to protect free speech, and to create an environment where all are afforded an equal voice.
As a union for all types of authors, we resolutely support the right of all our members to freely create and to make a living from the business of authorship without interference and we recognise that it is essential that a fair and open playing field within the industry is available to all.
We oppose in the strongest terms any attempt to stifle or control the author’s voice whether by censorship, imprisonment, execution, hate speech or trolling.
The SoA also stands against the marginalisation of minority voices in the UK on any grounds, including those of ethnicity, disability and class, and we support initiatives to promote diversity in UK publishing.
If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.
George Orwell
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs)
SLAPPs are abusive lawsuits filed by private parties with the purpose of silencing critical speech. Used mainly by large corporations and wealthy individuals to intimidate journalists, authors and others, they are a major obstacle to free expression. In the UK, such lawsuits are used almost as often as in all European countries and the US combined.
The SoA has been a member of the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition since 2022, working with partner organisations – including English PEN, Index on Censorship and the National Union of Journalists – to lobby the UK Government to introduce legislation to end this abuse of individuals’ rights and the legal system.
We are committed to the Coalition’s shared goal of ending SLAPPs in order to safeguard SoA members’ right to freedom of expression, although we do not necessarily endorse or participate in every action conducted in the name of the Coalition.
Scottish and Northern Irish Libel Law
The Defamation Act came into law in 2013. Unfortunately, only England and Wales adopted all of the improvements to libel law included in the Act – Scotland enacted only a few and Northern Ireland none at all.
We now have an opportunity to press for reform in Scotland. The Scottish Law Commission has written and recommended a draft bill, and we need to put pressure on the Government to agree and adopt it. The Scottish Government consulted on reforming the law in early 2019, and will report back later in the year.
We are supporting Scottish PEN’s campaign to reform Scottish defamation law. You can find out more here.
Speak Out
We work alongside English PEN and the Publishers Association on Speak Out, a campaign to raise awareness and international support for writers at risk.