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. 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"; 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, 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 organisation also administers a number of literary translation prizes, including: It has previously administered the following prizes: