London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Poison pens: leading writers call for overhaul of UK’s Society of Authors

Poison pens: leading writers call for overhaul of UK’s Society of Authors

Literary world riven by conflict as trade union is accused of inappropriately taking sides in culture war
It is a literary row that threatens to consume the very organisation set up to protect authors’ rights. And, in spite of the involvement of three prominent names in children’s books, it has already prompted outbursts of unmistakably adult fury.

Harry Potter creator, JK Rowling, Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, and the poet Kate Clanchy, are among the cast members of the drama that continues to rock the Society of Authors, not to mention Joanne Harris, author of the bestselling novel Chocolat, who chairs the society’s management committee.

This weekend, fresh claims have surfaced that the SoA, Britain’s largest trade union for published writers, illustrators and translators, is inappropriately taking sides in divisive cultural rows. Clanchy, an author who was heavily criticised last summer for language used in her memoir about her years as a teacher, is talking to a lawyer about her legal position, she has revealed to the Observer. She and her supporters, including publishing doyenne Carmen Callil, are also calling for an independent report into the society’s processes.

Clanchy argues she was personally targeted, both by the organisation and individually by Harris, as her publisher Picador withdrew backing for her Orwell prize-winning book. Her memoir, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me, has since been reissued by Swift Press in revised form. It had contained descriptions of some of the children in Clanchy’s classes that were later considered stereotypical or derogatory. Its tone was also described as condescending.

Clanchy apologised for any offence caused and amended her work. She has since talked of a period of mental ill health caused by the impact of the incident.

“Writers have always been vile to each other, but they used to be vile in dark corners. Now it appears everywhere,” said Clanchy this weekend. “I don’t believe the Society of Authors has followed its own guidelines recently. It is time for an independent review. It has to stop behaving like a gentleman’s club from the 1920s and start having proper, transparent complaints procedures.”

The society lost an illustrious president this year when Philip Pullman stepped down from the role after publicly decrying attempts to censor Clanchy’s book.

Clanchy also claims that, although she was not a member of the society, Harris contacted her directly, urging her to apologise for her memoir. The poet added that both she and Pullman regret his initial reference to the kind of censorship inflicted by the Taliban, in a tweet that ultimately led to his resignation in March.

Despite a call for unity from the Society of Authors this weekend, the battle over its leadership style looks likely to rage on. Last week, Harris was caught up in controversy when she appeared, in remarks she subsequently rewrote, to parody online comments made by Rowling in support of freedom of speech and Salman Rushdie, the victim of a knife attack during an event in New York.

On Friday, the SoA attempted to turn the page by avowing its commitment to free speech. “We again call on all authors to converse with dignity and respect and to unite to work together on the issues which affect us all,” a statement on its website reads. The detailed response also says that the society has investigated allegations it failed to support gender critical members but has found “no basis for complaint”.

But two rival letters have been circulating among members of the society since Harris’s Twitter post about literary death threats. An initial open letter, hosted on writer Julie Bindel’s Substack page, called on Harris to resign because the society had “failed to come to the defence” of threatened authors such as Gillian Philip, Rachel Rooney, Onjali Rauf, Bindel and Clanchy. A rival letter, released by the author Melinda Salisbury, defends Harris’s reputation as “a stalwart, fair, dedicated and passionate chair”.

On Thursday, Bindel’s Substack page carried a follow-up letter disputing the arguments of Harris’s defenders and repeating the claim that gender-critical writers do not receive enough support. Harris, it argued, has a right to her own views but should “separate those views from her role at the Society of Authors”.

Novelist Amanda Craig is one of the authors judged to have been failed by the SoA, according to its critics. Two years ago, Craig was dropped as a judge of the Mslexia writing competition because she had signed a letter supporting JK Rowling. Craig wrote to the competition organisers asking for her fee to be paid anyway and showed her letter to an SoA official before sending it.

According to those who challenge the SoA’s handling of freedom of speech issues, Craig received no support from Harris during the incident.

The SoA, however, says: “The allegations against Joanne Harris as chair seem to be that she has failed to engage with authors, has joined in smear campaigns against them and has been unwilling to represent their interests. This is not a fair representation of the engaged and passionate chair that the management committee and members see.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×