The Curious Case of the Society of Authors & The SBT Code of Conduct
Did the Society of Authors Approve Morality Code?
A disturbing article in The Sunday Telegraph on the 6th November entitled, ‘Book Charity Asks Authors to Sign Morality Contract’ appears to signal the Scottish Book Trust’s intent to create a blocklist of authors who refuse to sign its revised code-of-conduct.
The vaguely-worded code includes the apparent policing of activities ‘not committed on SBT time,’ and an insistence that signees avoid behaviour cited as ‘bigotry’ without further definition, even in everyday life outside SBT events.
In late October, a Society of Authors spokesperson told The Bookseller that the SoA had ‘…commented at length about our approach to freedom of expression…This is quite aside from our ongoing work working against morality clauses and ‘strategic lawsuits against public participation’ (SLAPPs), as well as supporting the wider campaigns of free expression organisations such as English PEN.’
However, despite this statement, it seems that the Scottish Book Trust Code was, in fact, reviewed by the Society of Authors. See this email from SBT chief executive Marc Lambert, and an excerpt from another email from him in response to an open letter regarding authors’ concerns:
A spokesperson for a group of writers who have challenged the SoA to examine their approach to Freedom of Speech said: ‘We call on the SoA to explain to its members what form its review into the Code took, whether it approved the Code and - if not - why it didn’t warn its authors not to sign it. If the SoA did approve the code, such action would be a massive change of policy that members should have been informed about and would not be in keeping with the statement from the Society of Authors spokesperson.
We call on the SoA - and in particular the Chair of the Management Committee - to issue a statement utterly condemning such blocklisting practices as this compelled morality code which the Scottish Book Trust wishes to impose and to assure authors it will now proactively work to ensure the SBT rethinks the imposition of such a compelled code, which also appears to go beyond the spirit and intent of the Equality Act 2010.
The Society has a long and commendable history of opposing compulsory morality contracts, normally behind the scenes through advice to authors. Indeed, some of their behind-the-scenes efforts in the late 1940s may have helped to prevent a British “blacklist” targeting communist sympathisers from taking hold like it did in Hollywood during the McCarthy era. We look forward to the SoA staff and Chair continuing to actively oppose the imposition of compulsory morality clauses in all cases.
The right to dissent and to hold different political views as well as to engage in political debate which can include uninhibited, robust and wide-open speech is a well-established right in any functioning democracy, but it is often the right which is first to go when a nation stumbles down the road to totalitarianism. To paraphrase one of the original “blacklisted” screenwriters James Dalton Trumbo: “We are all Spartacus” in this.’
Background:
Resolution Seven for the Society of Authors states: That in the light of disturbing recent press coverage about the Society, that the Society urgently reviews how to pursue its stated aim “to protect free speech” and puts in place a robust framework to do so, including a member and Management Committee working group that looks at how best to protect the fundamental right of all authors to express themselves freely within the law, and to uphold the impartiality expected of the Society, including all who govern and work for it. This should include a sub-committee of the Management Committee.
Link to the SBT’s Code of Conduct: https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/about/policies/code-of-conduct
Link to the SoA’s stated views on morality clauses: https://www.societyofauthors.org/News/Blogs/Before-you-Sign/July-2017/Advisor-Highlight-Morality-Clauses
Link to The Authors Guild’s opposition to Morality Clauses: https://authorsguild.org/news/why-we-oppose-morals-clauses-in-book-contracts/
More information on the Hollywood Blacklist which started in 1947 can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_blacklist
More information on James Dalton Trumbo who wrote Spartacus and was famously one of the Hollywood 10 https://www.biography.com/writer/dalton-trumbo
More information on John Henry Faulk, the man who wrested control of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists from officers who were pro-AWARE, an anti-communist checking company and ended the Hollywood blacklist can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/10/obituaries/john-henry-faulk-76-dies-humorist-who-challenged-blacklist.html