Authors 'need more support if renaissance is to go on'

Published on Monday 18 February 2008 23:34

SCOTTISH writers require more government funding if the country's literary renaissance is to continue, according to the award-winning author Janice Galloway.

She said the financial success of high-profile authors such as JK Rowling and Alexander McCall Smith has hidden the fact that the average Scottish author earns less than 8,000 a year.

Ms 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 Ms 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.

"The reason I'm so delighted about the writer's retreat is that it gives writers time and money to think. Scottish literature needs more investment if it is to continue to mature.

"To have this group of people that reflect the country back at itself is very important and it is necessary to support them. In the past it was possible to live in a garret and work – but not now."

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."