Yes. And, in my limited experience, they do.

Backlisted always pays guests.

Should authors be paid for appearing on high-profile podcasts? You'd rightly expect payment from a festival.

Thanks. This is the rallying call of Kenehan. Just what we need right now.

one for writers

Last week we co-launched Brave New World? alongside other creator organisations. This groundbreaking new report reveals the stark impact of GenAI on creators’ livelihoods.

I wonder how other authors and critics have solved the 'reading becoming a chore' problem. Like Sathnam S, I turn to fiction for pleasure. But if you're a novelist...?

"Sometimes you even find yourself on stage, in front of actual audiences, with actual chairs who have barely skimmed the book they are being paid to discuss."

So much self-deprecation he could almost be English. "How a major national newspaper will carry on without someone on staff to summarize the plots of midlist literary novels is beyond me."

Authors, join SoA Fellow Sarah McIntyre and create your own reel to show the creator behind the book. Use the #JusticeForCreators and #TheWriterBehindTheWords and tag us to show your support.

The guy who owns Amazon shutting down the books section of the Washington Post is beyond parody

"For this open call out, Embla will be trialling the use of Storywise – an AI platfrom connecting writers to publishers – to support in the administration side of handling open submissions. All submissions will then be reviewed by Embla’s editorial team."

I should point out that not all the poems in my book are this rude

Join us online to launch 'Dirt Rich' by Graeme Richardson on Tuesday 3 February at 7pm BST! 💻📖 The event will be hosted by Jermey Noel-Tod and will feature reading and discussion, alongside time for audience questions. More information and tickets here:🎟️ www.carcanet.co.uk/events/dirt-...

Good advice too: 'The ratio of reading poems to writing one should be about 50:1.'

'I started as the poetry critic for The Sunday Times in January 2022. “Your main qualification,” the books editor said, offering me the role, “is that you have no friends.” Reviewing poetry for four years, I’ve even fewer friends now.' Love this opener from @ravoon.bsky.social.

"writing books for many is not financially rewarding and often pursued to establish a brand to allow writers to make money from something else. The question then becomes: what is that thing?"

I suggested that misogyny might be a factor behind the violence of the Salt Path backlash, for the Sunday Times. It was a passing point. An extraordinary number of (male) readers are taking issue with it. www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

Oh, Penguin

If you're a creative and you want government lobbied, consider joining one of the orgs behind this: @ism-music.bsky.social, @equityuk.bsky.social, @societyofauthors.bsky.social, and Association of Illustrators and @assocphoto.bsky.social

Lisa Nandy seems to get it. More than most of than the 10 ministers who've sat in the post since, say, John Whittingdale in 2015. And 17 Secretaries of State since Jowell's stint ended in 2007!

To those Times readers commenting 'luddites!' and 'get on your bike!', I'd just say - so was it a good thing that the UK destroyed its manufacturing industries? And do you like reading, music or good telly?

And every time you use ChatGPT, an artist dies a little.

'the UK creative industries — which contributed £125 billion to the economy in 2024 and supported 2.4 million jobs — are being destroyed by an AI sector that... contributed just £11 billion in the same year and supported only 85,000 jobs." www.thetimes.com/culture/film...

Chapter title of the decade?

Oh yeah and this: 'It doesn’t help that on the same page there is a howler. Beowulf is not “Danes v Grunewald”. The foundational villain of English literature, as anyone writing about literature should know, was Grendel. And in any case the bigger baddie was Grendel’s mum.'

'The acknowledgments reveal that the screenwriter Russell T Davies — he of Doctor Who — told Yorke: “It’s all bullshit, John!” I’m afraid I agree.'

I reviewed John Yorke's latest for the Sunday Times. I did not like it: "as if Robert McKee’s classic screenwriting manual, Story, had been infected with the grandiose and reductive spirit of the world-history guru Yuval Noah Harari." www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

am I right in thinking that 'however' in a new sentence should contrast/quarrel with the main verb, specifically, of the previous one?

The expression 'hit bedrock'. What does it mean? Is it finally reaching a stable platform for, say, pilings (positive) or arriving at a depth that becomes impossible to further excavate/mine (negative). It feels different to 'hit rock bottom'.

This, I would suggest, is a golden ticket.

I told a man I reviewed books this week. 'Aren't you worried that AI will do you out of a job?' Er, no. Because I'm not writing a summary, and AI cannot experience reading a book or offer a meaningful opinion on its quality. Or indeed on anything. AI has no stance. No angle. No insight.

Again, it's worth pointing out that I don't believe the editors and contracts staff are pro-AI or keen to screw anyone over, the issue is more remote and board-level where creatives are just useful tools to the senior staff, corporate lawyers and shareholders.

Here's award-winning children's author and SoA member Rashmi Sirdeshpande sharing a beautiful opportunity to get involved with the National Year of Reading. #GoAllIn #NationalYearOfReading2026 buff.ly/4JqYO8K

To be fair "It may also have contributed to Euripides leaving Athens."

Great story. (Myself, I've never yet climbed over a table to escape an aggrieved author's relatives.)

Carbide helmet lamps - it's been decades since I went caving with one - do they hiss when working - I seem to remember they did but I'm suspicious of the memory.

Love our annual list of the year’s best book covers? Then you’ll go wild over the best book covers of the decade. lithub.com/the-best-boo...

An excellent step, and one lots of publishers should emulate.

Letter in Times today

We have made the decision to formally close our X social media account. Once a vibrant platform to promote the interests of authors, we feel X is no longer a trusted place for balance, community support, and reliable information.

Will the steam train scald the man's arm before the wrong-species bird crashes into the weird-bladed turbine? And what has any of this to do with Glasgow?

Talking about your author brand may feel "icky" but in a competitive market it's crucial to stand out. In an article first published in our quarterly journal, The Author, Rishi Dastidar makes the case for the value of branding. buff.ly/6Mr3g0Y

wise words for any author. love the image too.

The cavil wasn't Pinkham's startling stat – that Russia has more trees than there are stars in the Milky Way. I even did a bit of kitchen-table calculation to check (afforested hectares, average trees per hectare). It's true

I reviewed Sophie Pinkham's the Oak and the Larch for The Sunday Times. Excellent book, though I had one cavil. www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

Ugly business: I reviewed Nicolas Niarchos's Elements of Power for The Times: www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

'Whipsmart'. What an awful word.

credit to ALCS for sustained, focused engagement with government here