If you missed our webinar on the Anthropic settlement last year you can now catch up with the recording on our website. Our General Counsel, Keith Ashby, was joined in conversation by US attorneys Jallé H. Dafa and Michael Adamson.

Before we say goodbye to the year, we take a moment to remember the Fellows who we have sadly lost during 2025 – and the lasting legacies they leave. David Lodge Allan Ahlberg Tom Stoppard Joanna Trollope You can find out more about their work on our website. buff.ly/8fjGwN0

As we draw a close to 2025 we wanted to thank everyone who has joined us for our events over the last year, whether that be online or in person, or if you’ve been able to catch the recordings from our #SoAatHome programme via our Vimeo Channel.

Christmas is a wonderful time to share books with family. Sarah Baxter, our Contracts Advisor & Literary Estates turns to Snow, by Walter de la Mare and beautifully illustrated by Carolina Rabei. Not just because this is one of the SoA's treasured estates, it's also a wonderful festive read.

Our offices are now closed, and we're all at home with a good book. Lindsay Bennett Ford is our Joint Head of Policy and Public Affairs. We don't give her too much time for reading. She'll be putting that right this Christmas though, with Christian Kracht 's Eurotrash.

Meet Jolyon, our newest member of the team and Front of House. We've let him have Christmas off, but not before he gave us his reading recommendations. He's chosen Ursula K. Le Guin's The Earthsea Cycle and, when we asked him to narrow it down, he plumped for Tehanu.

While our offices are closed for the next two weeks, it's an ideal time to catch up on our reading pile. Emma Boniwell, our Head of Membership and Author Communities, has been enjoying The Art of Community by @charlesvogl, and we can't wait to hear what she's learnt after the festive break.

Our offices are now closed, and we're all at home with a good book. Anna Ganley, our Chief Executive, will be curling up with her copy of Beth Kempton's Calm Christmas to relax after a hectic year. What's on your Christmas reading list this year? #SoAChristmas #CalmChristmas

Season's Greetings from the Society of Authors. Our Bedford Row office will be closed from Monday 22 December to Monday 5 January. We hope you have a restful festive break and look forward to working with you in 2026.

Policy and Campaigns are a key part of our work and this year we have been very busy promoting the interests of authors across a range of issues. Here’s a snapshot:

Our final in-person event of the year was our SoA Lates, when we welcomed Sarah Waters and @sita.brahmachari to our Bedford Row event space. We are proud of all of our events, but nothing beats getting together in person.

We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Joanna Trollope, one of our much-loved and admired Fellows. She was one of the UK’s best-known and most cherished novelists and will be greatly missed by us all. Our thoughts are with her loved ones.

Our Contracts and Advice team provide expert support for members at every stage of their author career. This year we have:

As we prepare for the Winter edition of The Author to land on our doorsteps, we celebrate another year of our wonderful magazine. A huge thank you to James, Steve, Kate and all the team for their hard work this year. 🧵

Thank you for your kind words. We are always happy to help.

Day 6 of #ALCSAdvent! In April, we joined @societyofauthors.bsky.social outside Meta's offices to protest the use of pirated works to train their AI models. We'll continue working with our partners to ensure creators' voices are heard in the year ahead!

We're always looking for new ways to make our members' lives easier. As a member of the SoA, you can now pre-book parking at Q-Park car parks with a 30% discount. Whether you're a visiting author or simply doing some Christmas shopping, you can save.

We love this window! Great to have you there and thanks for your support @alcs.co.uk

Join author-illustrator Yiting Lee for an interactive workshop on character design for picture books. No prior experience required. You'll need: ✏️ Pencils 📖 Paper 🎨 Coloured pencils or watercolours 💭 Your imagination! buff.ly/0bKCc1E #SoAatHome

Thank you to the Women's Prize Trust for a lovely article which helps to spread the word about how we champion and support creative professionals. Gett in touch if you'd like to find out more about joining us.

BONUS EPISODE To coincide with the launch of our guide to Making Tax Digital, here's a bonus episode of our podcast. Theo visited the offices of specialist accountant @hwfisheruk to discuss MTD, the biggest change to the freelance tax regime since the introduction of self-assessment.

If you're thinking about retirement you won't want to miss our session on pension retirement options. This is the final event in a series of three. Register now via the link. If you missed the first two sessions, SoA members can access the recordings on our Resources page. buff.ly/J9vOX1S #SoAatHome

"The shortlist isn’t only a credit to these individual translators, but the power and importance of translation to shake us up and make us think.” Judge Dea Birkett.

“The shortlist captures the range and vitality of contemporary literature from the Spanish-speaking world – from poetry & erotic fiction, to genre-defying collections – while showcasing the remarkable skill of the translators who have brought these books to international readers." Judge Luiza Sauma.

“Reading the nominations side by side reaffirmed the multiplicity of voices to be found in Japanese literature, and the promise that translation carries to allow those voices to travel." Judge Dr Victoria Young.

“All the books on the shortlist illuminate, in one way or another, something of what it means to be European. These books are therefore timely and important, showing us some of the ways in which we are all connected despite differences in origin or language." Judge Kerri Andrews.

"Our sometimes-converging, sometimes-unified perspectives proved invaluable as we trawled through to create our shortlist. We also realised this: even if you have a checklist of what you want to see in a winning rendition, it’s often the intangibles that make one in particular stand out.” Judges

"Together, these books remind us of translation’s power to renew the human spirit by connecting imaginations across the barrier of different languages.” Judge Adam Hamdy.

“Memory, identity, freedom and repression are common themes (among many more) whereas style-wise each work is unique, creating its own special literary aesthetic." Judging panel.

"Together, these stories demonstrate the power and the glory of world literature, and the importance of translation in reenergising English prose writing.” Judge Anthony McGowan.

"Translation creates a new republic of books that transcends boundaries and translators are often the unsung heroines/heroes. Our inaugural John Calder Translation Prize shortlist honours the art of translation and world literature." Judge Fiona Sze-Lorrain

"A new republic of books that transcends boundaries" - today we're announcing the shortlists for our Translation Prizes 2025. Nine prizes will be awarded at the ceremony in February next year, including the inaugural John Calder Translation Prize.

We were saddened to learn of the death of Sir Tom Stoppard, one of our much-loved and respected Fellows. A truly remarkable playwright with over six decades of brilliant work, he leaves behind an extraordinary legacy. Our thoughts are with his loved ones. (Photo: Matt Humphrey)

To coincide with Grief Awareness Week, we're hosting a lunchtime session normalising grief and encouraging open and frank conversation that encourages us to both look for and offer support. We hope you'll join us. Follow the link to book your place. buff.ly/cySQYyY #GriefAwarenessWeek #SoAatHome

Just a few days to go until we announce the shortlist for our Translation Prizes. Gaby Sambuccetti, one of our judging panel for the Premio Valle Inclan Prize, talks about the prize and why it is important. The shortlist will be announced on Monday, 1 December, so stay tuned. #TranslationPrize

Join us to meet and mingle with SoA staff and fellow members, and to hear a few words from SoA Fellows Sita Brahmachari and Sarah Waters. Places are limited and subject to availability, so book now to secure your spot. buff.ly/g9FpO0A #SoAinPerson

Don't forget to book your place. Join Maame Blue as she leads this taster workshop, exploring writing about family from different angles. The workshop is aimed at emerging writers and those with a work in progress, whether you're telling a fictional or nonfiction story. buff.ly/PlR8z9P

We are delighted to welcome bestselling novelist Kit de Waal (@kitdewaal.com ), literary translator Vineet Lal, pioneering writer Maggie Gee and literary biographer and head of Persephone Books Nicola Beauman, to the SoA’s honorary body of 56 existing Fellows. buff.ly/zeYJ4fC

Did you know that we’re one of the few organisations to award grants to writers for works-in-progress? Daniel Rachel received an Authors' Foundation grant from us to help fund research for his work-in-progress, This Ain't Rock and Roll, which has now been published by White Rabbit Books.

Just a few days left to get your entries in for the @writersandartists.bsky.social Working Class Writers' Prize.

Have you seen - the #EBRDLiteraturePrize2026 is open for submissions 👇

A quick message from our Chair, Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin (also known as @samblakebooks.bsky.social) who hopes to see you at our AGM online member social this Wednesday (19 November) from 11am to 12. Book online to register your place. buff.ly/4Ektjxb

This week we’re staying up to listen to BBC Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime, which explores the relationship between two authors whose estates we represent. Virginia and Katherine, by Alison MacLeod, is on every night this week at 10:45. The full series is also available on BBC Sounds. buff.ly/uF9qgyr

Thank you to Alwyn Marriage for sharing these words about her enjoyable and productive time on the Poetry and Spoken Word Group (PSWG) committee. As Alwyn’s term on the committee comes to an end we are looking to recruit four new members. Find out more on our website buff.ly/CKAo9Ga

Members, what are you doing this time tomorrow? We hope you'll be joining us for our pre-AGM online social. Whilst we can’t promise drinks and nibbles, we’ll make every effort to ensure you meet new people and have meaningful conversations with fellow members, SoA staff, and Committee members.

Last chance to join us for our webinar tomorrow at 6pm, answering your questions on the action brought by a number of authors in the U.S. against Anthropic? What does the settlement mean for UK authors?

While we wait for the shortlist announcement for our Translation Awards, we asked our judges what being a judge means to them, and why translation is so important. Professor Clare Finburgh Delijani is one of our judges for the Scott Moncrieff Prize.

Are you earning income from your writing? Making Tax Digital is a government initiative designed to make calculating Income Tax more straightforward, with admin spread across the year rather than filing a single return. It will be rolled out from April 2026, depending on your income level.

We were delighted to welcome SoA Fellow @tracychevalierwriter to our office yesterday for our Winter Coffee and Chat, where Tracy shared 8 top tips for authors. Keep an eye on our website for future in person and online events. buff.ly/d01SSVP

If you are in #publishing & work with #disabled, #ChronicallyIll or #neurodivergent #authors you need to know about access forms & how they make life easier for everyone, including you. Sign up to the virtual @societyofauthors.bsky.social panel on what they are and how they work. bit.ly/48Bmxxb