Author: Luke Alcott
Royal Society of Literature: A Room of My Own report
Report of the Writers Group Inquiry into Authors’ Earnings
Summer Reception and APWG Authors’ Earnings Report Launched
Writers, MPs and Lords attended the House of Commons launch of a report by the All Party Parliamentary Writers Group (APWG) which calls for immediate action to reverse a steep decline in writers’ incomes.
The annual APWG Summer Reception at the House of Commons centred on the launch of Supporting the Writers of Tomorrow. This report, the result of our Inquiry into Authors’ Earnings, makes recommendations to the Government based on evidence given to the Inquiry by a wide range of professional working writers, as well as industry bodies.
Writers 
attending the APWG Summer Reception included Anthony McGowan, Eley Williams, Abir Mukherjee, and 2018 Man Booker Prize winner, Anna Burns. They heard Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP, Chair of the APWG (pictured left), launch the report by thanking all those who gave evidence to the Inquiry, including the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), the Association of Authors’ Agents, Hachette UK, the Society of Authors, the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, the Publishers Association, as well as ALCS.
Mr Whittingdale continued: “What the report recognises is the importance of writing. Our creative industries continue to be enormously successful and underlying their success in almost every case are writers. Without writers we could not be as successful as we are. And yet it causes us concern that while our creative industries are continuing to thrive, authors earnings have been falling.”
Mr Whittingdale went on to state the APWG’s commitment to a robust copyright regime, to funding intervention from the Government where necessary, and to the equal treatment of printed and ebooks; including the abolition of VAT on ebooks. “A tax on books in any form is deeply regrettable,” he said. Other desirable measures in support of writers would include the creation of a Creators’ Council; addressing issues around diversity including the North-South divide; a review of tax and benefit rules; and support for independent bookshops.
Rebecca Pow MP, the newly appointed Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism (pictured right) and herself an author, also spoke at the launch. Commenting on the report launch she said: “I was particularly interested to come along today because my background is as a journalist and broadcaster focused on farming, rural affairs and gardening. And I so know it’s tougher and tougher for writers to make a living, and I understand the challenges that authors face. I also don’t need any convincing about the importance of writers and the position they hold in society.” She paid tribute to the likes of the Public Lending Right scheme, which this year celebrates its 40th birthday, and Arts Council England in supporting a diverse writing profession.
Supporting the Writers of Tomorrow is available to download here. The recommendations we offer are designed to ensure better support for authors, while also improving government engagement with creators; protecting the success of the UK publishing industry beyond Brexit; and ensuring fairness in the bookselling market.
Our recommendations to the Government include:
- the adoption of new copyright rules proposed in the recently passed EU copyright directive
- the protection and promotion of the UK’s existing, effective copyright system
- the establishment of a Creators’ Council to look at a variety of issues including diversity
- a reduction in the rate of VAT on ebooks
- a review of the tax and benefit rules for authors
- the creation of a ‘level playing field’ between high-street and online booksellers.
We urge all MPs and Peers to urge action from the Government on these points, if you would require any assistance to do so please contact us.
The contribution made to the UK economy by the creative industries, which now employ 1 in 11 working people, continues to grow and is valued at £101.6 billion. However, the most recent piece of research undertaken on behalf of ALCS by CREATe, University of Glasgow, shows that writers’ earnings have fallen by 42% in real terms since 2005.
In addition, the 2018 ALCS survey showed that female authors earn around 25% less than their male counterparts, a discrepancy that results both from lower rates of pay and a poorer breadth of opportunities, particularly in film and television.
Contributors to the Inquiry also raised concerns that a decline in authors’ earnings could discourage new writers from taking up the profession, exacerbating the lack of diversity in the publishing and creative industries. Figures from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport show that 92.5% of workers in the creative industries and digital sector come from more advantaged social groups, compared with 67.3% for the general UK workforce.
Photographs © Nikki Powell
Report from the Inquiry into Authors’ Earnings
Read the report here.
SUPPORTING THE WRITERS OF TOMORROW
The All Party Parliamentary Writers Group today publishes a report following its 2018 Inquiry into Authors’ Earnings. Supporting the Writers of Tomorrow makes a raft of recommendations to Government based on evidence given to the Inquiry by a wide range of professional working writers, as well as industry bodies including the Association of Authors’ Agents, the Society of Authors, the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, the Publishers Association and the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).
The report’s numerous recommendations are designed to ensure better support for authors, while also improving government engagement with creators; protecting the success of the UK publishing industry beyond Brexit and ensuring fairness in the bookselling market.
The recommendations include:
- The adoption of new copyright rules proposed in the recently passed EU copyright directive.
- The protection and promotion of the UK’s existing, effective copyright system.
- The establishment of a Creators’ Council to look at a variety of issues including diversity.
- A reduction of the rate of VAT on ebooks.
- A review of the tax and benefit rules for authors.
- The creation of a ‘level playing field’ between high street and online booksellers.
The contribution made to the UK economy by the creative industries, which now employ 1 in 11 working people, continues to grow and is valued at £101.6 billion. However, the most recent piece of research undertaken on behalf of ALCS by CREATe, University of Glasgow, shows that writers’ earnings have fallen by 42% in real terms since 2005.
In addition, the 2018 ALCS survey showed that female authors earn around 75% of their male counterparts; a discrepancy that results both from lower rates of pay and a poorer breadth of opportunities, particularly in film and television.
Contributors to the Inquiry also raised concerns that a decline in authors’ earnings could discourage new writers from taking up the profession, exacerbating the lack of diversity in the publishing and creative industries. Figures from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport show that 92.5% of workers in the creative industries and digital sector come from more advantaged social groups, compared with 67.3% for the general UK workforce.
Tony Bradman, children’s writer and Chair of the ALCS Board, comments:
“Hard-working writers continue to produce great work which supports our thriving creative industries, and also provides entertainment and information for huge numbers of people in the UK and around the world. And yet, as the APWG report confirms, it’s now tougher than ever to make a living as a professional writer. That’s not fair and adopting the recommendations of the report would be a very good way of beginning to address the problem”.
Joanne Harris, author and ALCS Board member, said:
“The APWG report confirms what writers have known for a long time: that their incomes are falling by the year. It also constitutes worrying evidence that the writing profession is set to get less diverse rather than being the place for all kinds of voices that it needs to be. Writing is not just a fun pastime. It’s a real job, that real people do. It’s about time those real people were fairly rewarded”.
The Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP, Chair of the All Party Writers’ Group, comments:
“Continuing our tradition of rich creativity is central to establishing the UK’s future in the world. We must do all we can to support our creators, and ensure they are fairly rewarded for their fantastic contribution to our society”.
Supporting the Writers of Tomorrow was launched at the All Party Writers’ Group Summer Reception at the House of Commons on 11 June 2019, hosted by the Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP.
Read the report here.
Gender Inequality and Screenwriters
Early findings and priorities from the inquiry into authors’ earnings
APWG Winter Reception 2018
On the 4th of December 2018 writers, Lords and MPs attended the All Party Parliamentary Writers Group (APWG) winter reception.
At the APWG Winter Reception the winner of the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) Educational Writers’ Award was revealed. Proceedings began with a speech by Giles Watling MP, who gave an insight into his 50-year career as an actor and likened the small amount of royalties he still receives for television re-runs to the money authors receive for their writing. Mentioning the findings of ALCS’ most recent authors’ earnings survey, he pointed out that the average author doesn’t earn enough to make the income tax threshold. He commended the perseverance of authors, telling them ‘nothing happens without you – there’s no informative leaflet, no textbook, no play, no illuminating children’s book… it starts with you’. Giles also announced that ALCS now has a landmark 100,000 Members.
Mat Pfleger, Chief Executive of the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) outlined his organisation’s work in selling licenses to educational institutions, government bodies and others that ensure creators are rightfully remunerated for the reuse of their work. As well as collecting secondary royalties for ALCS’ 100,000 Members, the CLA also collects for 50,000 visual artists and around 3,500 publishers. Mat highlighted CLA research in 2017 which showed that ‘many teachers spend up to 5 hours a week sorting content for use in lessons’. As a result of this, he said, ‘CLA is working on a number of initiatives to support the Department for Education’s goal to reduce teacher workload but also to support schools in making the best use of quality published content rather than relying on the web’. More details of these CLA initiatives are due to be revealed in 2019.
Tom Watson MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, then spoke about the enduring importance of books in our society, emphasizing the strong association between critical thinking, creativity and books. He praised the books shortlisted for this year’s Educational Writers’ Award, commenting they ‘are all brilliant and their topics are very, very important’. Tom was passionate about the need for children to have access to books, calling out the fact that ‘creativity and culture are being undervalued in our schools, with young people missing out on creative skills they need throughout their working lives’. Tom concluded with a heartfelt plea for the importance of libraries. ‘In the words of the great Joni Mitchell “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” And that’s never been more true than for Britain’s library network.’
Océane Toffoli, Senior School Librarian at Wimbledon High School and one of the judges for this year’s Educational Writers’ Award, introduced the shortlist. Around 40 books were entered for the Award, and the competition was fierce, she said. Tom Watson then announced that the winner was Cath Senker for her book, Far From Home: Refugees and Migrants Fleeing War, Persecution and Poverty, published by Franklin Watts. Cath Senker thanked her editor, the commissioner and refugees and volunteers who work with refugees. She gave an impassioned speech about the need to help those seeking refuge and encouraged people to do all they could to help the refugee community.
Pictured: Tom Watson MP and EWA winner, Cath Senker
Photographs © Richard Lewis
ALCS, Directors UK, SoA and WGGB concerns for UK creators
Keeping Britain on Screen: Supporting the Future of UK Creators, ALCS, Society of Authors, Directors UK and WGGB key concerns for creators ahead of the withdrawal from the European Union.
Film, TV and stage creators drop in session on Brexit
14 November 13:00-15:00 in Dining Room C, House of Commons
The All Party Writers Group will be hosting a drop-in session with representatives of more than 100,000 creators working in the UK creative industries. This will be an opportunity for parliamentarians to discuss the areas of interest for creators with regards to our withdrawal from the European Union.
Topics of interest include:
- Recent copyright developments in the EU
- Creators economic rights with the EU
- Free movement for creators and workers in the creative industries
- The loss of EU funding for cultural projects
- Health & Safety issues for workers in the creative industries
Representatives will include:
- Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), the UK’s collective management organisation (CMO) representing 98,000 authors.
- Directors UK, the professional association and CMO for British screen directors, with over 7,000 members.
- Society of Authors the UK trade union for more than 10,000 writers, illustrators and literary translators.
- Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), a trade union representing professional writers in areas including TV, film, theatre, radio, and videogames.
If you are interested in attending the drop in session, please contact Barbara Hayes by email barbara.hayes@alcs.co.uk.