During the Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference in August 2012, a number of participating writers met in a closed session to discuss aspects of the publishing industry and the influences on literature and writers of recent market changes, not least as to ebooks and the internet. It was agreed to develop a statement of principles that could then be further developed and refined by the upcoming Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference events throughout the coming 12 months.
Thus, we, the undersigned writers, suggest the following ‘Statement of Principle and Intent‘ agreed at the Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference in August 2012:
- That all writers have a right to a fair share of the profits generated by their work; taking into account a) the tendency for mega-scale publishing and internet conglomerates to increasingly pressure the income of writers; and b) that copyright which has historically been the basis for writers’ income is increasingly being infringed, (something which threatens both the income generated by the individual literary work and its artistic integrity). In this regard, we take note of and laud the German “We are the Authors!” initiative – and recommend that this statement be translated into English and endorsed by writers and publishers all over the world to form an international movement.
- In the context of a rapidly changing global market, we urge national writers’ associations to set up a portal with reliable information on national and international market conditions, accessible to all writers for ongoing discussion with an aim to supporting each other and thus continuously improving writers’ working conditions.
- That writers working in majority languages actively support writers working in minority languages to ensure fair and equal access to the global market. Any information portal (see 2) for writers should be open also to literary translators who are crucial in sustaining the cultural richness of the book industry.
- That a robust debate on all aspects of the above should be initiated, maintained and developed at subsequent sessions of the Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference and through other available channels – with a particular focus on the current threats to copyrights.
Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference Edinburgh participants:
- Alan Bissett
- Theresa Breslin
- Melvin Burgess
- John Burnside
- Sophie Cooke
- Junot Díaz
- Carlos Gamerro
- Alan Gibbons
- Keith Gray
- Xiaolu Guo
- Manu Joseph
- Kapka Kassabova
- Nick Laird
- Yiyun Li
- Aonghas MacNeacail
- Denise Mina
- Nicola Morgan
- Ewan Morrison
- Ben Okri
- Matthias Politycki
- Ian Rankin
- James Robertson
- Preeta Samarasan
- Elif Shafak
- Kamila Shamsie
- Owen Sheers
- Ahdaf Soueif
- Janne Teller
- Kim Thúy
- Chika Unigwe
- Irvine Welsh
Other Writers:
- Michael Allaby
- Lin Anderson
- Jayne Baldwin
- Andrew M Bell
- Mark Billingham
- Gwen Berwick
- Daniele Bourdais
- Paul Broda
- Ann Burnett
- Miller Caldwell
- Jana Valeska Chantelau
- Gwen Chessell
- Regi Claire
- Amanda Davidson
- Jude Dibia
- Fabienne Durand-Bogaert
- David Edgar
- Andreas Englhart
- Jan Eriksen
- John Evans
- Claire Feeney
- Gordon Ferris
- Sue Finnie
- Cathy Forde
- Linda Gillard
- Alex Gray
- Clio Gray
- Millie Gray
- Jenny Harper
- A.F. Harrold
- Mairi Hedderwick
- Diana Hendry
- Joanna Hickson
- Tendai Huchu
- Eghosa Imasuen
- Peter James
- Jamie Jauncey
- Stephanie Johnson
- Fiona Joseph
- Philip Kane
- Rafiq Kathwari
- Julie Kennedy
- Bill Kirton
- Nick Klepper
- Tamar Levi
- Joan Lingard
- Lorrie Mack
- Nicholas Maclean-Bristol
- Susie Maguire
- David Manderson
- Mary McCabe
- James McCarthy
- Margery Palmer McCulloch
- Oisin McGann
- Hazel McHaffie
- Ian McLoughlin
- Niq Mhlongo
- Ian Mitchell
- Carey Morning
- Pat Mosel
- Mphuthumi Ntabeni
- Frank Muir
- Helen & Morna Mulgray
- Moira Munro
- Aly Munroe
- Emma Neale
- Edwin Eriata Oribhabor
- John Parker
- Gilliam Philip
- Stephen Potts
- Ray Prowse
- Sheenagh Pugh
- Jo Ann Hansen Rasch
- Antonia Reeve
- Jane Ridder-Patrick
- Malcolm Ritchie
- Dirk Robertson
- Revd Eamonn Rodgers
- Hilda Ross Rodger
- Eike Schönfeld
- Alastair Scott
- Sue Reid Sexton
- Emman Usman Shehu
- Sara Sheridan
- Nikesh Shukla
- Volker Skierka
- Adela Stockton
- Barbara Strathdee
- Sheila Szatkowski
- Graeme K Talboys
- Kiru Taye
- Dr Philip Temple
- Chris Townsend
- Binyerem Ukonu
- Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike
- Millie Vignor
- Zukiswa Wanner
- Julie Watt
- Ian Waugh
- Richard Webster
- Jude Welton
- Marianne Wheelaghan
- Olga Wojtas