Live Literature fee change 2023

The Live Literature author fee has increased to £190 per session for any session awarded from August 2023 onwards. Sessions funded before this date, which may be scheduled to take place up until March 2024, will remain at the previous rate of £175.

Why we've changed our fee

We recently celebrated 50 years of Live Literature and heard many stories about the impact the programme has for authors and readers across the country. Much of this success is down to the hard work of the organisers and authors who help create wonderful events. 

Many of the authors on the Live Literature directory make their living primarily from writing and are facing extremely difficult times. Scottish Book Trust believes that writers, storytellers and illustrators should be paid fairly for the important work that they do and we want to support them as much as we are able. We are raising our author fee and covering the difference for events funded in the 2023/24 period. 

If you have any questions at all, please do get in touch at live.literature@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window).

What the fee change means for authors 

• Live Literature sessions awarded from August 2023 onwards will be paid at £190 and the process won’t change at all. Scottish Book Trust will continue to also pay reasonable expenses. 
• The change in fee does not affect sessions awarded before August 2023, which will be paid at the previous rate of £175 per session. During this transition period, authors who are unsure which rate they will be paid at can ask their organisations when the session was funded. 
• While the Live Literature fee is not a recommended fee, we recognise that many see it as a benchmark. As many organisations will have set budgets at the start of their financial year, we encourage authors to understand that they may not be able to pay more at this time. 

What the fee change means for organisations awarded Live Literature sessions

• Organisations awarded Live Literature funding in 2023/24 will be invoiced at the same £175 rate and Scottish Book Trust will make up the rest of the increased £190 fee. 
• There will be no change to the process and organisations will continue to pay £75 per session/£90 per session including VAT (some organisations can reclaim VAT).
• The fee for 2024/25 is under review, and we may increase the amount that organisations are asked to pay towards Live Literature sessions accordingly. We will try to make any increase proportionate, with affordability and accessibility for organisations carefully considered. 

Why isn't the fee change higher?

We strongly believe that authors should be paid fairly for their time and realise that while this is an increase, it is a relatively modest one. Our budget and the current financial landscape, which has also impacted on the number of sessions we are able to fund this year, mean we’re unable to raise it further for the 2023/24 period. This change to fees reflects our ability to absorb the extra cost of raising the fee, without passing the cost on to the organisations booking authors.

The Live Literature fee going forward

This increase will allow us to provide funding for a reasonable number of Live Literature sessions until March 2024. We will continue to review the fees on a regular basis and any decisions made will be communicated ahead of time.