Society of Authors

United Kingdom trade union

Not to be confused with Authors' Club.

Society of Authors

The Society of Authors

Founded| 1884; 141 years ago (1884)
Headquarters| London, UK
Location|

* United Kingdom

Members| 12,500 (2024)[1]

Key people

| Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin, Chair[2]
Anna Ganley, Chief Executive
Affiliations| European Writers' Council
Website| www2.societyofauthors.org

The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884[3] to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. Membership of the society is open to "anyone who creates work for publication, broadcast or performance" and the society both gives individual advice and 'voices concerns' about 'authors’ rights, the publishing and creative industries and wider cultural matters.'[4] In 2024 membership stood at 12,500.[5]The SoA is a company on the special register body[6] and an affiliated trade union.

Members of SoA have included Tennyson (first president), George Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy, Alasdair Gray,[7] John Edward Masefield, Thomas Hardy, H. G. Wells, J. M. Barrie and E. M. Forster.[8] Contemporary members include Malorie Blackman, Philip Gross, and Lemn Sissay.[9]

## History

[edit]

### Foundation

[edit]

The SoA was established in 1884 at a time when copyright law [10]and the idea of 'literary property' were becoming established.[11] In September 1883, the novelist Walter Besant set up a working party with 12 fellow members of the Savile Club. On 18 February 1884, the first General Meeting of The Incorporated Society of Authors took place. A Management Committee was elected with Walter Besant as Chair.[12][13] A Council of 18 members was also appointed and Alfred Lord Tennyson became the first President.[14] This structure endured until 2012 when[6] the Council became nominal with powers only to elect the President,[15]In 2022 the society made the position of president 'honorary' with a three year term only. At the same time members of the Council were renamed 'Fellows'.[16]

In 1890 the society founded its quarterly journal, The Author,[17] with Walter Besant as the first editor. He was succeeded by author C. R. Hewitt (writing as "C. H. Rolph"),[17] and the journal is currently edited by James McConnachie.[18]

In 1958, the Translators Association (TA) was established as a specialist group within the Society of Authors.[19]

### Recent campaigns and events

[edit]

In recent years, the SoA has focused on author pay and conditions.[20] In 2015-16 the SoA led a campaign for writers to be paid at literary festivals.[21] President Philip Pullman resigned as patron of the Oxford Literary Festival in protest against the festival's non-payment of authors.[22]

During the Covid pandemic 2020-21 the society focused on author income and wellbeing, pushing for government financial support and distributing more than £1.7million from its Authors’ Contingency Fund. [23]

Since 2019, the society has called for protection for authors in the use of internet archives.[24] More recently, working with the Authors' Licencing and Collecting Society (ALCS), [25] it has called for the payment of authors whose work is used to create AI programs.[26][27]

Philip Pullman resigned his presidency of the society in March 2022 after social media statements he had made were taken as representing the views of the society, and he felt that he would not be free to express personal opinions if he remained in the role.[28][29] The office of presidency was adjusted and remains vacant.[30]

In August 2022, the Society described itself as "absolutely committed" to condemning personal attacks made against authors over issues of free expression. This statement was made in response to an open letter signed by over 100 writers and industry members criticised what they saw as the Society's "abject failure to speak out on violent threats towards its members", following the stabbing of Salman Rushdie and a death threat against J K Rowling. The letter said the Society and its chair Joanne Harris had been "captured by gender ideologues".[31] Hundreds of others signed a letter supporting Harris's position.[31] At the November AGM, two motions were unsuccessfully tabled: a motion of no confidence against Harris and another in favour of reviewing the society's stance on free speech.[32][33] These were comprehensively defeated in the vote by members[34] but some prominent members resigned,[35][36] including management committee member Tim Tate who expressed concerns of bullying and improper process over the internal handling of complaints around the issue.[37][38][39]

In 2024, the society campaigned for sustainability in publishing,[40][41][42] and for the acknowledgement of celebrity ghost writers.[43][44]

In May 2024, members of the SoA called an emergency general meeting to discuss resolutions on ending fossil fuel finance in the books industry, the issue of artificial intelligence,[45] and an SoA statement on the war in Gaza.[46][47] The meeting voted to support the AI and fossil finance motions, but voted narrowly against the Gaza statement resolution, with the opposing speakers regarding it as "one-sided" and not appropriate for the society.[48][49] Some members, including writer Sunny Singh, resigned over this outcome.[50]

## Literary estates

[edit]

The society administers the literary estates of 58 authors (as of 2024[update]), and the income from this supports its work. These authors include George Bernard Shaw, Virginia Woolf, Philip Larkin and Rosamond Lehmann.[51]

## Legacy

[edit]

In 1969, the British Library acquired the archive of the Society of Authors from 1879 to 1968 consisting of six hundred and ninety volumes.[52] The British Library acquired a further two hundred and fifty-eight volumes in 1982 and 1984.[53]

## Awards and prizes

[edit]

Prizes for fiction, poetry, and non-fiction administered by the SoA include:[54]

* The Betty Trask Prize and Awards
* The Cholmondeley Award
* The Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography
* The Eric Gregory Award
* The Imison Award
* The Tinniswood Award
* The McKitterick Prize
* The Paul Torday Memorial Prize, for debut novelists over 60
* The Somerset Maugham Award
* The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award
* The ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award
* The Travelling Scholarships
* The Queen's Knickers Award
* The Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize for a novel focusing on travel

The organisation also administers a number of literary translation prizes,[55][56] including:

* The TA First Translation Prize, for translation from any language (annual)
* The Goethe-Institut Award, for German Translation (biennial)
* The John Florio Prize, for Italian Translation (biennial)
* The Banipal Prize, or The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Translation (annual)
* The Scott Moncrieff Prize, for French Translation (annual)
* The Schlegel-Tieck Prize, for German Translation (annual)
* The Bernard Shaw Prize, for Swedish Translation (triennial)[57][58]
* The Vondel Prize, for Dutch Translation (biennial)
* The Premio Valle Inclan, for Spanish Translation (annual)
* The TLS-Risa Domb/Porjes Prize, for Hebrew translation (triennial)[59]

It has previously administered the following prizes:

* The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award
* Calouste Gulbenkian Prize, for Portuguese Translation (triennial) Awarded for the last time in 2012[55]
* The Women's Prize for Fiction

## See also

[edit]

* Organized labour portal

* Writers' Guild of Great Britain
* Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Annual Return for a Trade Union" (PDF). publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
2. ^ Bayley, Sian (23 January 2024). "Fox O'Loughlin elected new SoA chair, succeeding Harris". The Bookseller. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
3. ^ "The Society of Authors overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
4. ^ Website, SOA. "Where we stand – The Society of Authors". Society of Authors. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
5. ^ "About the SoA – The Society of Authors". Retrieved 4 February 2025.
6. ^ a b Society of Authors. "Governance – The Society of Authors". Society of Authors. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
7. ^ "Gray, Alasdair, 1934–2019 | Art UK".
8. ^ "Society of Authors - history". Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
9. ^ "Fellows – The Society of Authors". Retrieved 21 February 2025.
10. ^ Little, JD (2001). "History of copyright: a chronology" (PDF). University of Chichester. "1884 The Society of Authors is founded for the defence and maintenance of literary property. "
11. ^ "Project Overview · The History of the Society of Authors, 1884–1914". historysoa.com. Retrieved 3 February 2025. "campaigns in defence of 'literary property'."
12. ^ Coustillas, Pierre, ed. (1978). London and the Life of Literature in Late Victorian England: The Diary of George Gissing, Novelist. Brighton: Harvester Press. p. 569\. ISBN 0-85527-749-1.
13. ^ Owen, William Benjamin (1912). "Besant, Walter" . Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). Vol. 1\. pp. 152–157.
14. ^ "History – The Society of Authors". Retrieved 3 February 2025.
15. ^ Society of Authors, Constitutional Review (August 2012). "REPORT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL TASK FORCE". Society of Authors.
16. ^ "Governance". The Society of Authors. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
17. ^ a b The History of the Society of Authors. "The Author · The History of the Society of Authors, 1884–1914". historysoa.com. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
18. ^ "James McConnachie | The Times & The Sunday Times". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
19. ^ Anderson, Porter (4 October 2023). "UK's Society of Authors' CEO Nicola Solomon is Retiring". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
20. ^ Flood, Alison (5 March 2018). "Philip Pullman calls for authors to get fairer share of publisher profits". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
21. ^ Clark, Alex (28 May 2016). "Fair play: can literary festivals pay their way?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
22. ^ Flood, Alison (14 January 2016). "Philip Pullman resigns as Oxford Literary Festival patron over lack of pay for authors". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
23. ^ "Authors still 'suffering badly' from pandemic, SoA survey finds". The Bookseller. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
24. ^ Flood, Alison (22 January 2019). "Internet Archive's ebook loans face UK copyright challenge". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
25. ^ "ALCS launches AI report in parliament of 13,500 authors showing major concerns". The Bookseller. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
26. ^ Horne, Marc (27 July 2024). "Society of Authors, the UK writers' union, claimed the deception was part of a wider trend". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
27. ^ Knight, Lucy (20 July 2023). "Authors call for AI companies to stop using their work without consent". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
28. ^ Mendick, Robert; Pepinster, Catherine (24 March 2022). "Philip Pullman quits Society of Authors after supporting Kate Clanchy in 'racist' stereotyping row". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
29. ^ Shaffi, Sarah (25 March 2022). "'I would not be free to express my opinion': Philip Pullman steps down as Society of Authors president". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
30. ^ "Governance". The Society of Authors. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
31. ^ a b Shaffi, Sarah; Knight, Lucy (17 August 2022). "Society of Authors responds to calls for Joanne Harris to step down as committee chair". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
32. ^ "Speech to the Society of Authors AGM concerning free speech - Amanda Craig". www.amandacraig.com. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
33. ^ Urwin, Rosamund (29 October 2022). "Rival writers' camps in free speech showdown". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
34. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (17 November 2022). "Joanne Harris sees off vote to oust her from Society of Authors role". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
35. ^ Simpson, Craig (17 November 2022). "Cancel culture has taken over Society of Authors, claim writers". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
36. ^ Bindel, Julie (23 November 2022). "It's time to replace the Society of Authors". The Spectator. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
37. ^ Simpson, Craig (20 November 2022). "Society of Authors official quits, "Mr Tate has now resigned after claiming his work processing complaints against Society chair Joanne Harris and chief executive Nicola Soloman was 'impeded by attempts to undermine its impartiality and integrity'."". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
38. ^ Tate, Tim (18 November 2022). "STATEMENT ON RESIGNATION FROM THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE". Tim Tate. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
39. ^ "Tim Tate resigns from SoA management committee, citing its 'handling of complaints'". The Bookseller. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
40. ^ "SoA launches campaign to help authors discuss their books' sustainability with publishers". The Bookseller. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
41. ^ Shaffi, Sarah (19 April 2023). "Society of Authors creates new campaign to help writers hold publishers to account on sustainability". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
42. ^ Malvern, Jack (8 November 2024). "Authors' union accused of hypocrisy over fossil fuel investments". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
43. ^ Sanghera, Sathnam (16 December 2024). "The Society of Authors, which is calling on the publishing industry to acknowledge the writers behind celebrity books, is focused on the wrong target". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
44. ^ "Society of Authors calls for change to 'acknowledge all writers involved' in celebrity-written books". The Bookseller. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
45. ^ Society of Authors (2 May 2024). "EGM resolutions".
46. ^ "Writers, the time to speak out for Palestine is now!". Verso. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
47. ^ "SoA calls extraordinary general meeting to debate Gaza statement". The Bookseller. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
48. ^ "Fossil Free Books responds to SoA vote on Gaza statement". The Bookseller. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
49. ^ "SoA members vote against Gaza resolution". The Bookseller. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
50. ^ Nathan |, Lucy. "Members Leave U.K.'s Society of Authors over Gaza Resolution". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
51. ^ "Literary estates". The Society of Authors. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
52. ^ Society of Authors Papers, archives and manuscripts catalogue, the British Library. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
53. ^ Correspondence and papers of the Society of Authors and League of Dramatists, archives and manuscripts catalogue, the British Library. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
54. ^ "Society of Authors -Prizes for fiction and non-fiction". Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2008.
55. ^ a b "European literature in English translation: recent prizewinners". Languages across Borders. Cambridge University Libraries: European Collections. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
56. ^ Anderson, Porter (9 February 2023). "The Society of Authors: 2023 Translation Prize Winners". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
57. ^ "Bernard Shaw Prize 2023 shortlist announced". SELTA. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
58. ^ "Sarah Death wins the Bernard Shaw Prize for translation for the third time". ALCS. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
59. ^ "The Risa Domb/Porjes Prize". Jewish Literary Foundation. Retrieved 25 January 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* "The History of the Society of Authors, 1884–1914". historysoa.com. Project funded by Leverhulme Trust; database contains "digitised archival and published documents relating to the history of the Society, as well as social network visualisations of its committee members"

Authority control databases: People |

* Trove

|