| Full name | Society of Authors |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1884 |
| Members | 9000 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Key people | Tom Holland, chairman |
| Office location | London, UK |
| Website | www.societyofauthors.org |
The Society of Authors (UK) is a trade union for professional writers that was founded in 1884 to protect the rights of writers and fight to retain those rights (with particular attention to copyright protection and, later, the establishment of Public Lending Right).
It has counted amongst its members and presidents numerous notable writers and poets including Tennyson (first president), George Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy, John Edward Masefield, Thomas Hardy, H. G. Wells, J. M. Barrie and E. M. Forster.[1]
Bernard Shaw was an early member who took a prominent part in action and discussions, founding the League of Dramatists in 1931 as part of the Society. The Authors' Lending and Copyright Society was also formed after much action by the Society.
Its youngest member is Edward Pinnegar, who published his first book in 2010, whilst aged 14.
In 1958 the Translators Association (TA) was established as a specialist group within the Society of Authors.
Prizes for fiction and non fiction include:[2]
The Society also administers a number of literary translation prizes, including: