The All-Party Writers Group (APWG), together with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), held its winter reception in the House of Commons on Tuesday 9 December 2022. The event brought together ALCS members, industry heads and parliamentarians to hear speeches on how important writers are to the cultural makeup of the UK as well as marking the launch of the new ‘Authors’ Earnings and Contracts’ report, commissioned by ALCS.
APWG Chair, Giles Watling MP, highlighted how intrinsic authors are to society, and how much they do for us. From the stage to the screen, to books, writers are at the heart of the full spectrum of cultural activity for all.
Giles said “We are here to celebrate writers and their contribution to society at large …as a writer myself and having worked in the arts, I understand the plight of the authors. We will hear from an academic and a working journalist this evening on the state of the profession and what must be done.”
Amy Thomas, Lead Researcher and Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law at University of Glasgow, provided insight into the latest findings of the Authors’ Earnings 2022 report. She talked through many of the key statistics and challenges facing writers in the sector, particularly the uncertainty around the sustainability of a career in writing today for most.
Amy highlighted the declining earning power of authors and some evidence as to how the viability of writing as a career is being undermined, stating “The myth I want to debunk that is pervasive, is that creative labour is this inexhaustible resource that is constantly replenishing itself through the altruism of the creators and through the intrinsic motivation that art for art’s sake will prevail…If you believe that myth, then it’s very easy to justify a world in which you don’t have to renumerate them properly as their art ‘will feed them’ alone”.
There is massive inequality in the profession, with the top 1% of authors taking 24% of profits. Most authors take home less than minimum wage due to having to work for free or under murky contracts, with women and black and multi-heritage authors taking the brunt of the impact. Amy stated starkly: “40% of authors could make a living from writing alone in 2006, this fell to 28% in 2018, just prior to the pandemic and we have now found that only 19% of authors report that they are able to make a living from writing alone, making it unsustainable”
More detail and case-studies can be found in the full report here.
Giles then introduced author and journalist, Anna Codrea-Rado, to share her experiences in the sector, considering her clear successes whilst still contending with lower real-term earnings.
“Financial insecurity has become a normalised part of the writing profession. The ALCS report confirms something that, as an author, I already know to be true – that making a living as a writer is unsustainable. My portfolio career isn’t so much a savvy business decision, but rather a necessity in order to finance my journalism and book writing. Consistently undervaluing creative labour in this way comes at the expense of our livelihoods.”
She continued: “I am hopeful with legislative support we can continue to have a flourishing writing profession.”
Giles echoed this was “a powerful message” and invited guests to continue the celebrations in honour of writers as we were joined by senior parliamentarians from across the house including Lord Dubs and former chair of the APWG, Sir John Whittingdale.
