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The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. In 2020 membership stood at over 12,000. The SoA is a member of the European Writers' Council.

History

The SoA has counted among its members and presidents numerous notable writers and poets, including Tennyson (first president), George Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy, Alasdair Gray, John Edward Masefield, Thomas Hardy, H. G. Wells, J. M. Barrie and E. M. Forster.

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

Contemporary members include Philip Pullman (SoA president from 2013 to March 2022), Malorie Blackman, Neil Gaiman, Philip Gross, Judith Kerr, J. K. Rowling and Lemn Sissay.

Structure

Membership of the society is open to authors, defined as "anyone who creates work for publication, broadcast or performance". For full membership an author must have published a work with a publisher, or sold a specified number of print copies or ebooks if self-published, or met other criteria. Associate membership is offered to students and to "emerging authors" and students. As of January 2024 there over 11,800 voting members. The society's fellows are a group of "members of high standing and who have been exceptional in their support of the Society of Authors", whose role is to elect the president and to handle the society's assets should it cease to exist. A management committee of 12 members is elected to serve for three-year terms, and they elect their chair for two-year terms. The president "is an ambassador for the Society of Authors and comments on broad policy issues, but has no decision-making role in our direction or governance"; as of January 2024 the post is vacant, and a process to elect a new president will begin in 2024. Following decisions at the 2023 AGM after a review of the role of president, the position will in future be named "honorary president" and the holder will be elected for a three-year term, with a maximum extension of a further two years.

Literary estates

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

Legacy

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

Awards and prizes

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

• The ADCI (Authors with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses) Literary Prize, from 2022
• The ALCS Educational Writers' Award
• 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, 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)
• 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)

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
• Hellenic Foundation for Culture Award, for Greek Translation (triennial)
• The Women's Prize for Fiction

See also

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

References

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. Sherwood, Harriet; Taylor, Harry; Arts, Harriet Sherwood; correspondent, culture (17 November 2022). "Joanne Harris sees off vote to oust her from Society of Authors role". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2024. {{cite web}}: |last4= has generic name (help)
5. "Our Members". EWC - European Writers Council. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
6. "Gray, Alasdair, 1934–2019 | Art UK".
7. "Society of Authors - history". Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
8. Anderson, Porter (4 October 2023). "UK's Society of Authors' CEO Nicola Solomon is Retiring". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
9. Philip Pullman resigns from SoA Presidency, The Society of Authors.
10. "Council & President", The Society of Authors.
11. "Am I eligible?". The Society of Authors. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
12. "Governance". The Society of Authors. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
13. "Literary estates". The Society of Authors. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
14. Society of Authors Papers, archives and manuscripts catalogue, the British Library. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
15. Correspondence and papers of the Society of Authors and League of Dramatists, archives and manuscripts catalogue, the British Library. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
16. "Society of Authors -Prizes for fiction and non-fiction". Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2008.
17. "The ADCI Literary Prize". societyofauthors.org. The Society of Authors. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
18. ^ "European literature in English translation : recent prizewinners". Languages across Borders. Cambridge University Libraries: European Collections. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
19. Anderson, Porter (9 February 2023). "The Society of Authors: 2023 Translation Prize Winners". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
20. "Bernard Shaw Prize 2023 shortlist announced". SELTA. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
21. "Sarah Death wins the Bernard Shaw Prize for translation for the third time". ALCS. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
22. "The Risa Domb/Porjes Prize". Jewish Literary Foundation. Retrieved 25 January 2024.

External links

• 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"

• Trade unions in the United Kingdom
• British writers' organisations
• 1884 establishments in the United Kingdom
• Society of Authors awards
• Trade unions established in 1884