Philip Pullman has resigned as patron of the Oxford literary festival, complaining that authors appearing at the event “are expected to work for nothing”.

The award-winning author of the His Dark Materials trilogy made the announcement on Twitter on Wednesday, saying that “because of the Oxford Literary Festival’s attitude to paying speakers (they don’t) I can’t remain as a patron any longer. I’ve resigned”.

The Oxford festival, which has been running for 20 years, is set to feature writers including Jacqueline Wilson, Richard Dawkins and Simon Sebag Montefiore at this year’s event in April.

But Pullman said this morning that his position as patron of the festival “sat rather awkwardly” with his role as president of the Society of Authors, which has been campaigning for authors to receive fair payment at literary festivals. “Over the years”, he said, he had been urging the Oxford festival to pay its speakers, and it had not done so, “so I thought it was time I resigned as a patron of the OLF”.

Because of the Oxford Literary Festival's attitude to paying speakers (they don't) I can't remain as a Patron any longer. I've resigned. — Philip Pullman (@PhilipPullman) January 13, 2016

“The principle is very simple: a festival pays the people who supply the marquees, it pays the printers who print the brochure, it pays the rent for the lecture halls and other places, it pays the people who run the administration and the publicity, it pays for the electricity it uses, it pays for the drinks and dinners it lays on: why is it that the authors, the very people at the centre of the whole thing, the only reason customers come along and buy their tickets in the first place, are the only ones who are expected to work for nothing?” said Pullman.

“The ‘publicity’ argument doesn’t work. Well-known authors don’t need it, and the less well-known will never sell enough books to cover the costs of being away from the work that does pay (and not very well at that). Expecting authors to work (because it is work) for nothing is iniquitous, it always has been, and I’ve had enough of it.”

The director of Oxford literary festival, Sally Dunsmore, said it was “very sad” Pullman had resigned and organisers were “grateful for the support he has given over the years, and for his many appearances at the festival.

“The Oxford literary festival is a registered charity. Each year, for the festival to take place, substantial sponsorship and donations have to be raised,” she said.

“We have over 500 speakers each year. If we were to change our policy, we could not put on a festival as large and diverse as Oxford’s, which supports and promotes the work of both bestselling authors, and of those at the outset of their writing careers or with a smaller following,” said Dunsmore.

The Society of Authors wrote to literary festival organisers around Britain last May, saying that while it appreciated “that festivals are wonderful public showcases for books and literature, and that many authors actively enjoy speaking at festivals and are very pleased to be invited”, too many events, “including some which make a clear profit and have wealthy sponsors”, did not pay their speakers. The Oxford festival counts FT Weekend, HSBC and Blackwell’s among its partners and sponsors.



In December, the society wrote to the Oxford festival about payments to authors, saying that it was “concerned to hear reports that Oxford does not pay fees to authors”.

“We understand the constraints you face but other festivals do manage to pay authors in these circumstances,” wrote chief executive Nicola Solomon to the festival, pointing to a study carried out by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society last year that found the average earnings of a professional full-time author were only £11,000 per year.

“Authors earn their living as freelances,” wrote Solomon. “An event involves time and preparation and authors deserve to be paid just as much as every other professional who contributes to the event, particularly if people are paying to see them. We are asking all festivals to review the fees paid to authors. We know that festival economics are complex and of course the negotiation of fees is a matter for individuals. However, all festivals – especially those with commercial sponsors, and any festival where the public pays for tickets – should offer reasonable fees as a matter of course.”

Solomon said on Wednesday morning that she has yet to receive a reply to her letter. A survey by the Society of Authors of literary festivals found that, of the 17 who replied, 12 paid all their authors, with fees mostly within the range of £150 to £200.

“What was really interesting is that size was absolutely no guarantee of who pays – some of the smaller ones pay,” said Solomon, citing festivals including Edinburgh, Cambridge, Marlborough, Aye Write, Ilkley, Wigtown, Bloody Scotland and the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing festival as events that pay writers.

“We think paying authors should be a basic bit of festivals’ budgets – you wouldn’t ask a band to play at a festival and not pay them,” she said. “If we want authors to make a living and write books people want to read, they need to be paid for their appearances. So we’re pleased to see that things are beginning to improve, but there is more that can be done.”