The Bookseller.com

12th October 2008

Arts Council cuts publisher support

19.12.07 Tom Tivnan

A fresh raft of proposed funding cuts from Arts Council England means that subsidised publishers across the country are facing drastic reductions in their financial support.

Letters were mailed out to 27 annually funded publishers on 14th December, saying they could expect either a complete cut-off or a reduction in public money. Publishers receiving the letters will have until 15th January to appeal against the decision, which covers the period between April 2008 and March 2011.

Among the publishers facing a total cut is Cambridgeshire-based fiction in translation specialist Dedalus Books, which has been receiving ACE support since 1991. In its letter to Dedalus, ACE said it made the decision based on concerns about "business planning, inconsistent marketing and building new audiences".

Eric Lane, Dedalus publisher, believes the loss of the nearly £25,000 stipend will "just about do us". He said: "What we do is take chances on translated titles and books that aren't getting published anywhere else. What is the point of an arts funding body that doesn't support a pub-lisher like us?"

Arcadia Books, which this year will receive £42,230, is set to get an inflation-based rise next year, then see its funding slashed by 25% for the subsequent two years—owing, ACE said, to its success. M.d. Gary Pulsifer said he "wasn't bitter and twisted" at the cuts, as Arcadia had received "a fair whack over the years". He added: "It leaves us in a catch-22 situation. We want to continue to do things like publish fiction in translation successfully. But maybe we shouldn't do it too well or [ACE] might take away everything."

ACE admitted the Christmas timing was "difficult", but would not comment on -specific funding decisions until the appeal process has concluded. Emma Russell, ACE spokesperson, said: "The positive side to the funding decisions is that most regularly funded organisations will actually receive an increase, and overall we will be adding more than 80 organisations."

ACE currently supports 990 organisations with regular funding, of which 194 received the letters. The literature department makes up 5% to 6% of the funding body's nearly £1bn budget. ACE has been going through a period of funding restructure, with instructions from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to "build audiences, artistic excellence and innovation".

tom tivnan publishers Arts Council

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