LONDON, July 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
The All Party Writers Group (APWG) held its annual Summer Reception on the Terrace of the House of Commons yesterday, hosted by newly appointed Chair, Pete Wishart MP.
Following on from the shock findings of the recent research commissioned by the Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) into authors' earnings: What Are Words Worth Now?; showing that the median income of professional authors has dropped 29% in real terms since 2005, and the aims of the All Party Writers Group to ensure that authors receive a fair level of recognition and reward for their contributions to the economy and society as a whole, the focus of the reception was raising awareness of the need for fair and equitable contracts for authors.
Keynote speaker, John Whittingdale OBE MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and previous Chair of the APWG, stated the importance of UK writers in the creative industries, illustrating the continued success of our publishing industry, which according to recent statistics from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport is now worth £9.9bn per annum.
Other speakers at the event included Nicola Solomon, Chief Executive of the Society of Authors who appealed to parliamentarians present to help develop legislation giving fairer contracts for authors and writer and journalist Alexandra Heminsley, who spoke of her personal experience and the struggles facing writers to make a living. She highlighted the considerable risk authors undertake to pursue their vocation and the weakened position writers are put in when negotiating contracts with large corporates.
Chair of the Board of ALCS, Adam Singer, closed the event stressing the need for more action, using the example of singer Taylor Swift's recent "big win for copyright" with Apple when she made the case for all creators: It is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing.
Barbara Hayes, Deputy CEO of ALCS and Administrator of the All Party Writers Group said of the event: " It is encouraging that we have a Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport who understands the creative industries, recognizes that it is their spectacular growth and success that is fuelling the economic recovery of the United Kingdom and acknowledges that writers are at the heart of this."
About All Party Groups
All Party Groups provide an opportunity for Members of Parliament to help keep the Government and Opposition informed of opinion both inside and outside Parliament on policy issues.
http://www.allpartywritersgroup.co.uk
