Live Literature conditions of funding

The programme

Live Literature is a national programme of events, funded by Creative Scotland, connecting authors and communities across Scotland. Authors are paid a fee plus expenses (within set guidelines) per session.

Scottish Book Trust hosts a directory of hundreds of writers, poets, storytellers, playwrights, screenwriters, illustrators, graphic novelists and spoken word artists who meet set criteria. These authors and creators carry out Live Literature events.

Scottish Book Trust hosts the directory on its website and distributes funding for events each year.

As the named contact on a Live Literature application made to Scottish Book Trust, I confirm that I have read and can agree to the following conditions on behalf of my organisation.

A. Background

• Scottish Book Trust champions the rights of authors and advocates for the value of their work. These conditions ensure the high quality of Live Literature events and the good reputation of all hosting organisations, as well as the reputation of Scottish Book Trust.
• Authors listed on the directory must adhere to a Code of Conduct when carrying out Live Literature events. This only applies to work taken on through the programme. These conditions are the equivalent for organisations carrying out events supported by the programme.
• The Code of Conduct applies to anyone who works on your behalf while organising or facilitating Live Literature events or who represents your organisation in communications with Scottish Book Trust or authors, e.g. a direct report, colleague, volunteer. We will contact you directly if we receive reports of their misconduct.
• As an organisation receiving funding from Scottish Book Trust, you agree that we can contact you about the programme or events at any time.

B. Expected standards of behaviour

• The conduct of those representing or employed by organisations outside of funded events is normally of no concern to Scottish Book Trust. However, we reserve the right to revoke this offer of funding at our discretion if:

a. an organisation's activities present a risk of future harm to audiences or authors

b. an organisation's activities are likely to damage the reputation of Scottish Book Trust or the Live Literature Programme.

• When carrying out events funded by Live Literature, we expect event organisers to act with integrity and good faith when communicating with authors and Scottish Book Trust about the programme.
• Event organisers must respect audiences and authors. They should act in a way that is professional, respectful and appropriate. We ask that authors treat event organisers with the same respect and professionalism.
• Scottish Book Trust supports equality, diversity and inclusion and does not tolerate bullying or harassment of any kind. We expect that event organisers will act in a way that upholds these standards when delivering events funded by Live Literature.
• Event organisers must respect confidential information gained in the course of professional practice, e.g. communicating with authors, unless the wellbeing of an individual requires disclosure to Scottish Book Trust.

C. Safeguarding and child protection

• For the safety of both the organisation and the author/creator, authors and creators should never be left alone with audiences. It is your responsibility as the event organiser to make sure that the event is appropriately supervised and supported.
• It is your responsibility to ensure that children and vulnerable adults are protected at online events as they would be in-person. Please refer to our Child Protection Policy and Digital Child Protection Policy. You can also consult the NSPCC(this link will open in a new window) guidelines on Schools Visitors and Safeguarding(this link will open in a new window).
• Authors and creators do not always hold a disclosure/PVG membership.
• PVG Scheme Membership is required for instances where an author has regular and repeated contact with a group of young people or vulnerable adults, such as a Live Literature funded residency or when funded for a series of 5 or more sessions.
• It is the responsibility of the host organisation to work with the author to put in place steps to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults, especially in situations where an author is embedded for a prolonged period of time or when covering sensitive subject matter. If costs associated with PVG Scheme Membership or Scheme updates is a barrier to participation, Scottish Book Trust can offer support. If you are unsure and want further guidance on safeguarding children and young people please contact live.literature@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window).
• If you have concerns, or if you would like to contact us about misconduct by a visiting author or creator, please email live.literature@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window).
• If you think a child is in immediate danger, don't delay – call the police on 999 or call NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, straight away.

D. Social media

We really appreciate your support in spreading the power and joy of books, reading and writing, and we hope you will enjoy delivering events through Live Literature.

Please be aware that our Code of Conduct applies to both online and offline behaviour. More details are included in our social media guidelines. You can also review our digital child protection policy for additional guidance.

E. Free events

Live Literature exists to bring authors into communities across Scotland and to advocate for authors to be paid for the work that they do. It is contrary to the aims of the programme to underpay authors or seek free events from authors in a way that undermines these aims. Where Scottish Book Trust is aware of this, it will be taken into account when prioritising applications at the funding panel. For more about free events, see our guidance page.(this link will open in a new window)

F. Session responsibilities

• We have outlined what you can expect in a session and from authors on our website. An in-person session is around one hour long. The maximum session length is 90 minutes, and you should decide the length of the event with your author (for more information on session usage please click the link above). Remote event timing may vary to account for the additional planning and setup involved in activities such as practicing with software for a live stream; recording short videos; editing or contributing to resources.
• We understand that you want to celebrate your event. When doing so, please consider the risks involved when sharing images and screenshots of workshops that include people's homes in the background. Sharing should not be done without explicit permission to photograph from attendees and authors, just as at an in- person event, and you should never do this when participants are young people or vulnerable adults.

We expect that you will:

• Prepare for and deliver the event/s to the best of your abilities and in line with the conduct expectations above.
• Use all sessions allocated within the funding period specified in your confirmation email. By agreeing to this code, you understand that sessions can only be carried forward into the next period under exceptional circumstances and that Scottish Book Trust must grant permission for any extensions in advance.
• Agree to inform Scottish Book Trust as soon as possible if you cannot use any or all of the sessions so that these can be used by others.
• Agree to send details of all sessions (the date and the author booked), once confirmed, to live.literature@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window).
• Understand that only authors listed on the Scottish Book Trust directory are eligible to carry out session/s supported by Live Literature. You agree to use eligible author/s. Please check the current author directory before booking your author. If you'd like to work with someone you've carried out a Live Literature event with before but they aren't listed now, please let us know as soon as you can.
• Where applicable, always use a permission to film and photograph form for authors and audiences for a digital event. A template can be downloaded here. Authors can decline permission to record an event.
• Communicate clearly with any authors booked to deliver a funded event, and ensure they are supported throughout.
• Where applicable, agree that any work produced by an author as part of their session will not be shared for longer than is reasonable i.e. the close of a festival programme; end of the academic year. Individual authors can specify a shorter initial period of use or negotiate additional fees with organisations for repeated use of their work.
• Agree that if you book in more sessions than you were granted, or select authors who are not on the directory, then Scottish Book Trust may not be able to fund the session(s).
• Agree that funding is awarded to an organisation, not an individual.
• Agree to notify Scottish Book Trust and the author if an event is cancelled within a week's notice. We will need to contact the author about their fee and expenses.
• Agree that no pupils will be charged to attend these event/s. You understand that it is a condition of sessions awarded to schools and organisations collaborating with schools that you do not charge pupils a cost to attend any Live Literature session. This applies to events held in, or organised by, a school or that pupils attend as part of their time in education.
• Agree that any event with a charge will cost a maximum of £5 per ticket to cover costs.
• Agree to fill in an evaluation survey after your final session/s within two weeks of the final session in your allocation.

G. Expenses and payment

Authors can claim expenses for travel, accommodation and subsistence within our guidelines.(this link will open in a new window) Fees are paid within 30 days of Scottish Book Trust receiving the author’s claim form. You can read an outline of our payment process.

Where in-person activity is taking place, this should always be discussed with the author in advance to ensure the safety of all participants. While we will cover reasonable travel and accommodation costs, we encourage all organisations to adhere to local guidance around social distancing and in-person events. Please note that if an author is travelling between local authorities there may be different rules in place. Only proceed with in-person events if it is safe to do so and in adherence with the latest official advice.

It is your responsibility to provide a claim form to the author with the first half filled out; it is the author’s responsibility to submit the claim form. Please let us know if you have any difficulties.

H. Process for investigating misconduct

The vast majority of Live Literature events are a positive, rewarding experience for the author, the organisation and the audience. Where problems arise, Scottish Book Trust will do its best to resolve issues between organisations and authors. We may ask to see emails or other written communication about the event.

Scottish Book Trust will look into all reports of misconduct and involve both the host organisation and the author as appropriate. The full process is detailed in our code of conduct.

You agree to meet these conditions as part of submitting your Live Literature application. You understand that if you cannot meet these conditions, any application you make at the next two deadlines will not be prioritised.

If you cannot meet the above conditions, please contact Scottish Book Trust as soon as possible, and before booking any authors.

Alan Lynch

Writing Communities Co-ordinator (Live Literature) live.literature@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window)

0131 524 0160

Scottish Book Trust, Sandeman House, Trunk’s Close, 55 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SR