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Scottish writers need more funding

19.02.08

Scottish writers require more government funding if the country's literary renaissance is to continue, according to the award-winning author Janice Galloway, reports the Scotsman. Galloway said the financial success of high-profile authors such as J K Rowling and Alexander McCall Smith has hidden the fact that the average Scottish author earns less than £8,000 a year.

Galloway was speaking at the launch of the Jura Malt Whisky Writer Retreat, which will see three authors receiving a bursary and a month's accommodation at the distillery's luxury lodge on the island where George Orwell wrote 1984.

Last year's recipients included Galloway, Will Self and the US journalist and author Philip Gourevitch. The author of Clara said she earned just £6,500 last year from her writing and that it was important that the nation's authors were given greater assistance.

She added: "Scottish literature needs more investment if it is to continue to mature."

According to the Scotsman, Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust, described literature as the "poor sister" in terms of arts funding. He said: "Seventy per cent of writers live below the poverty line . . . which is why it's so important to work with sponsors such as Jura whisky to create different opportunities." 

The Scotsman

Scotland Janice Galloway

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