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Author Tim Tate has resigned from his role on the Society of Authors’ management committee.
His resignation letter, published online, said he stepped down because of the way complaints from five individuals about SoA chair Joanne Harris and chief executive Nicola Solomon had been handled.
In his letter, dated 18th November, Tate said he was “deeply saddened” to give up his post, which he’d hoped to use to “serve members”, but that his “fears for the integrity of the SoA” meant he had no choice but to resign.
He described a “chaotic week” before last week’s a.g.m., of proposals and counter-proposals, resolutions and votes by email on complaints that had been received, some of which he alleged were “offensive” to colleagues and pre-judged the complaints being made. He described a vote taken on whether he and another board member, Charles Harris, should stay on the sub-committee looking into the complaints, and which saw them then removed from the sub-committee, as “a vote of no confidence.”
On 21st November the SoA made an official rebuttal of the claims made in Tate’s publicly shared resignation letter. It read: “We were saddened and disappointed to receive a letter from Tim Tate tendering his resignation ... Tim served a year of his three-year term, during which time SoA staff and fellow directors appreciated his knowledge and expertise.
“At 7 p.m. on Friday, Tim chose to publish his letter of resignation on social media and on his website, within minutes of sending it to the SoA. Many of our board members had not yet read it. While we embrace Tim’s right to share the news of his resignation — and we are always open to comments, criticisms and feedback that will help us improve our processes — publishing this letter with many details of a confidential process is not consistent with a director’s fiduciary responsibilities and has exposed named colleagues to attack. Nor is it helpful to the complainants or the subjects of the complaints, or to the SoA’s wider membership."
The statement said after Tate raised concerns about the way complaints were being dealt with, the management committee arranged “an urgent meeting” to consider the concerns about the process and to discuss who should continue the investigation.
“Tim’s letter describes the management committee’s decision as a vote of no confidence in him. It was not intended as such, but Tim took the decision to step down despite requests from the management committee that he reconsider and stay. We regret that Tim feels he can no longer work with the management committee because of disagreement over a single area of work.
"The management committee’s duty is to ensure that the confidential process he was involved with continues without further delay to ensure the SoA can perform its duty to complainants and members. We are keen to ensure the process is clear so that the committee can proceed to consider the substance of the complaints. We have already taken legal advice on our complaints process and will continue to involve lawyers as necessary to ensure that correct processes are followed.”
Tate’s’ full letter can be read here, and the SoA’s statement can be read in full here.