The median earnings of authors in the UK has fallen below the minimum wage, according to a survey of 2,500 writers, published by researchers at Queen Mary University of London.
The Business of Being an Author, commissioned by the Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS), found “huge inequality” in authors’ earnings, with the top five per cent of earners accounting for 42 per cent of total authors’ income
The study found that just one in ten authors can afford to work solely as a writer, compared with 40 per cent in 2005.In real terms, the researchers found that authors’ earning have declined by eight per cent since 2005.
The report also found that:
The research was carried out by Professor Johanna Gibson, Queen Mary University of London; Professor Philip Johnson, Cardiff University, and Dr Gaetano Dimita, Queen Mary University of London.
Image credit: Furcifer pardalis
For media information, contact: