Ganley takes over from Solomon as SoA c.e.o.
The Society of Authors’ (SoA) c.o.o. Anna Ganley will take over the running of the organisation following Nicola Solomon’s retirement in April.
In her new role, Ganley will work with the management committee (the SoA’s board of directors), comprised of authors elected by and from the membership, to agree the association’s priorities and goals, and to negotiate the strategy and delivery.
Ganley began working at the SoA in 2005 as maternity cover, and has worked as office manager, events manager, website manager and head of staff before becoming c.o.o. in 2022.
She is also the current coordinator of the Authors’ Living with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses (ADCI) Network and, on behalf of the SoA, she works as part of Creative UK’s Diversity Leaders’ Forum and Camden Council’s Inclusive Business Network.
Ganley said: “Working with Nicola over the last 12 years has been energising and inspiring for me personally, and together with the staff team and members we’ve transformed the SoA into the modern organisation it is today.”
She told The Bookseller of her goals for leading the SoA: “I’ll build a strong relationship with our new chair of the management committee, elected later this month, and work with our fellows on the election of the next Society of Authors’ president.
“As a membership organisation, our current five-year strategy comes to an end in 2025, so I look forward to laying the foundations for our next strategy. We’ll continue to advocate on behalf of members, nurture industry partnerships and empower authors to help them earn a sustainable living in an increasingly difficult publishing economy.”
She described how her experience, including her coordination of the (ADCI) Network, will inform her leadership come April: “Equity and diversity and inclusion are very important to me personally. During my 18 years at the Society of Authors I’ve led projects to help make authors feel seen and heard, including setting up our Carers’ Network which was our first online peer support network, and I now work closely with our members living with disabilities and chronic illnesses via the ADCI Network (Authors Living with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses).
"Under my tenure I will seek to enable and empower more of our members, and I will look to initiate more projects to drive this.”
Solomon, who announced that she was leaving the role in October 2023 after 13 years, said: “I am thrilled to hear that Anna Ganley is to be my successor as c.e.o. of the Society of Authors.
“From the first time I met Anna, her passion for the SoA and its members shone through, together with her intelligence, competence, compassion and vision. I said to a colleague at that time Anna is fabulous; it’s just a shame we can’t clone her. And I’ve seen no reason to change that opinion.
“We have worked together on modernising the SoA and providing a better experience for members and empowering all authors. Anna has worked with great versatility and success in several roles as the SoA’s needs changed and I’m sure she’ll be a brilliant c.e.o., so I look forward to watching the SoA go from strength to strength under her leadership.”
Commenting on the announcement, management committee chair Joanne Harris said: “Anna’s drive, empathy, enthusiasm, and commitment to authors’ rights have been at the heart of the organisation for years. She will make a tremendous c.e.o.”
