Help, advice and information

The Society of Authors has been serving the interests of professional writers for more than a century. Today it has more than 8,500 members writing in all areas of the profession.

Whatever your specialisation, from novelists to doctors, textbook writers to ghost writers, broadcasters to academics, illustrators to translators, you are eligible as soon as you have been offered a contract.

The staff are ready to help members with any query, however trivial or obscure, relating to the business of writing. Our services include the confidential, individual vetting of contracts, and help with professional disputes.

In addition, the Society holds meetings and seminars, publishes a quarterly journal, The Author, and maintains a database of members’ specialisations.

It administers a wide range of prizes, as well as the Authors’ Foundation, which is one of the very few bodies making grants to help with work in progress for established writers.

A year’s membership costs £90 (£64 for those aged under 35). Find out how to join.

The annual subscription includes the cost of specialist contract appraisals, and is tax deductible under Schedule D.

Emails to the Society

The Society's advisers always aim to reply to emails from members as soon as possible. If you have not heard from an adviser within a week, do email us again to follow up and make sure that we have received your initial enquiry.

If you experience difficulties sending/receiving emails to or from the Society, please contact the office for assistance.