Yesterday I attended the launch, at the House of Lords, of the latest report from the All Party Writers Group on writers’ earnings in the UK. The short version is that they continue to decline, and the pandemic, with its attendant lockdowns, did nothing to help.
Amongst other things the report draws attention to the fact that authors are often expected to present at festivals for no payment — for ‘exposure’. It’s actually an issue for writers in general — not at all helped by the army of writers who are prepared to write for other people and companies for nothing.
The report makes some excellent recommendations. Let’s hope they are implemented.
You can download the report from here: All Party Writers Group.
Shameless self-promotion coming up:
Coming soon: Writing the Oulipo, A Taster
Explore how to make your writing come alive through the application of constraints! It sounds paradoxical, but it works, and a whole movement based on the idea has grown since the 1950s. This course takes place online on 18th June. For more details, and to enrol, go to https://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/writing-the-oulipo-a-taster/hw588-2122