Writers Talk

Public Lending Right 30 Years On WRITERS TALK 1 WRITERS TALK // 2009 Public Lending Right // Public Lending Right is the right that authors have to be paid by the government for the use of their work through the nation’s public libraries. Every time you borrow a book from a public library, the writer and other contributors to the content receive a payment. The annual payment is calculated by dividing the PLR fund by the number of book loans. In 2009 writers received 5.98 pence per loan capped at a ceiling of £6,600 to ensure that the fund is equitably distributed amongst registered authors. Published by the Registrar of Public Lending Right Richard House, Sorbonne Close Stockton-on-Tees TS17 6DA www.plr.uk.com Public ISBN 978 0 9545792 3 4 Lending Design and Art Direction: Antman Photography: Jill Mead Right Printing and finishing: Sprint Print, Exeter Printed on Munchen Pure 120gsm Cover: Arctic the Volume 200gsm 2009 Set in Big Caslon PLR would like to thank all the staff and customers of Cardiff Central Library who contributed to this edition Writers Talk 30 Years of PLR With photographs from a series commissioned by PLR of Cardiff Central Library and its customers Foreword // Meg Davis Contributors // Jim Parker Joan Smith interviews Maureen Duffy Grace Kempster Editor // Becca Wyatt Contents // Foreword // Meg Davis reflects on PLR’s role in the writing economy v 30 Years of PLR // Jim Parker - Registrar 11 Maureen Duffy // Interviewed by Joan Smith 19 Looking Ahead // Grace Kempster 24 Public Lending Right // What it means to some past members of the Advisory Committee 38 Foreword Meg Davis reflects on PLR’s role in the writing economy It’s a privilege to introduce the third issue of Writers Talk, and - in this 30th anniversary year of PLR - to salute its Registrar, Jim Parker and his team, in their inspired and efficient work. In this issue, I find myself in esteemed company. The pages ahead include Joan Smith’s interview with Maureen Duffy who has dedicated a large part of her life to campaign for authors’ rights, including the initiation of PLR; Grace Kempster, Head of Northamptonshire’s Library Service speculates on what and how libraries will be in 10 years time; Jim Parker, PLR’s Registrar takes us on a whirlwind tour of the past, present and future of the scheme that has earned respect nationally and internationally; and some of the UK’s greatest writers, Simon Brett, Tracy Chevalier and Michael Holroyd to name a few, reflect on aspects of PLR that mean so much to them. I’ve been asked to reflect on the writing economy, the economics of being a writer and the role that PLR plays in this. I therefore find myself revisiting some fundamental questions about PLR. Why is it paid and what does it ‘buy’ for the nation? Firstly, by supporting writers with badly needed cash, PLR helps to bring money into the UK economy. For a comparatively small publishing industry, Britain punches well above its weight. It’s tempting to think that JK Rowling practically qualifies for a Queen’s Award for Export – taking into account the number of copies of books sold globally, not forgetting the additional revenue from the films, which have broken box office records for admissions around the world, from the merchandising and so forth. This all adds up to a lot of dollars, euros, shekels and yen being converted into pounds sterling. v MEG DAVIS // FOREWORD // Everyone knows about JK Rowling but what people may not be aware of is a few more books. The best way to build a lasting career is the hard way: the number of lesser-known UK writers who reliably bring in money from gradually and with a lot of hard work. abroad year after year. An example is Anne Perry, a Victorian crime novelist. She is reasonably successful here in her homeland, but for some time has Ten years is a long time to spend working towards becoming a ‘brand’. been a New York Times bestseller and at number one in France. Her books Most authors I know work part-time and have an understanding spouse. are also big sellers in several other territories. It’s not unusual for a British In other words, their household gets by on half a salary. Add to this what writer to sell more books abroad than in the UK – particularly now, when they probably receive in those years from the sales of their books, and they’re UK publishers are arguably more risk-averse than their counterparts in the probably up to about two-thirds of a low salary. (If they’re working part-time, US and Europe, and where booksellers have lost ground to supermarkets that’s almost certain to be a low-paid job. There aren’t many part-time jobs at, and Amazon. say, upper management level.) You could estimate the income from this part- time work at perhaps £15,000, thinking generously. Add to this the current Why would these big international successes need PLR? annual average income for a writer of £6,600 and you still don’t come up with anything like a comfortable wage. Speaking in the crassest possible terms (I’m a literary agent, after all), a writer can be seen as a ‘brand’. Any brand takes time to build. So what writers receive from PLR is crucial. It literally means bread on the table and clothes for the kids. It takes about ten years for a writer to start to be successful. There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence, including interviews with writers who are Don’t forget that almost all authors start their careers in their thirties and understandably irritable at being called an overnight success, after ten forties. A writer in their twenties is too young to have the necessary stamina years of being published. Maeve Binchy and Joanna Trollope are, I believe, and life experience. That means that some have given up a well-paid career, examples. I (and other agents I’ve talked to about this) have noticed a sharp and many have never embarked on one, for the sake of being a writer. Few rise in sales at the ten year mark, which can’t be explained by an increase professions demand this. in marketing or other external factor. It seems to take that long to build a certain critical mass. Besides being a welcome cash injection, PLR also provides a shot in the arm for a writer’s morale. An author spends months alone with a keyboard, then There are notable exceptions to this, of course. Some writers such as Sarah occasionally is catapulted in front of audiences for speaking engagements Waters and Tracy Chevalier come to prominence with their first novel. (if they’re lucky and their book is actually being marketed). In other words, However, there are many more for whom early success spells failure after there are long stretches of time where it feels there’s nobody out there. The vi vii MEG DAVIS // rest of us, who work in offices or shops, get companionship and constant feedback. It makes all the difference to a writer to be reminded, with the PLR statement, that readers have been borrowing their books from libraries throughout the year. Anyone who is motivated puts out better work. That’s true of writers, too. Returning to the good news of the revenue writers bring into the UK, they also make a huge impact around the world as one of our most important cultural exports. Zadie Smith, Monica Ali, Ian McEwan, Sebastian Faulks, Jacqueline Wilson and many others take British life to the world. No modern literature course in the Western world could be taught without including British authors – let alone the definitive foundation our classic authors have laid down. There can be no underestimating the respect that UK writers command around the globe. Ambassadors, spokesmen, and entrepreneurs, writers are often the unsung heroes of our economy, as well as a success story for our culture. In other words, PLR is actually an investment in the writing economy - and a relatively small one that sees a substantial return. MEG Davis Meg Davis is a book and media agent with MBA Literary Agents Ltd. She has served on the council of the Association of Authors’ Agents, and – after seven years as co-Chair of the Dramatists’ section of the PMA, a trade association for media agents – is currently on their council. She is also a member of the management board of PLR. viii Jim Parker // 30 years of PLR: what have been the main achievements? 2009 marks PLR’s 30th anniversary. The 1979 PLR Act gave authors a new legal right, separate from copyright, to receive payment for the free lending out of their books by public libraries. Funding was to come from central government and payment would be based on how often authors’ books were lent out. The new right would be managed by a government-appointed Registrar based on rules to be set out in a PLR Scheme. The Scheme received parliamentary assent three years later in 1982. The PLR Act is a landmark in the history of authors’ rights in this country. It was passed only after three decades of campaigning by authors in the teeth of opposition from many quarters. The Writers Action Group, led by authors Maureen Duffy and Brigid Brophy, spearheaded the final campaign that achieved success with the passing of the Act in March 1979. Today PLR is a fixture in the country’s literary landscape and the benefits it provides to authors are widely recognised.

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