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Indies and Literature Wales slam 'alarming' 10.5% proposed cut to Welsh arts funding
Publishers have responded to the “alarming” 10.5% proposed cut for the Books Council of Wales and Arts Council of Wales in the Welsh government budget, fearing it will lead to job losses and the "collapse" of the country’s literature industry.
The draft budget was published this week, setting out revenue and capital spending plans over the 2023-24 period. ACW had expected approximately £33.9m in funding, but will now receive £30.4m.
The Labour-led Welsh government announced that its budget would be redirected to prioritise "the most-valued" frontline services, including schools, social care and the NHS.
Literature Wales told The Bookseller it was “alarmed at the scale of cuts facing the arts sector and publishing industries in Wales”. The charity said: “Funding for both the Books Council of Wales and the Arts Council of Wales (Literature Wales’ primary funder) is to be cut by a significant 10.5%. They are currently in the process of considering the implications and will face difficult decisions on where savings can be made.
“Following the Arts Council’s Investment Review this year, we received a conditional offer of standstill funding. Due to rising costs... we have needed to curtail our ambition towards a Wales where literature empowers, improves and brightens lives.
“Any further cut to our funding will mean reduced freelance opportunities for writers, and likely cutbacks to our staff team. This will have a severe impact on our work across Wales which supports writers from under-represented backgrounds to develop, brings the joy of creative writing to young people and community groups and champions our Welsh language and literature. Safe to say, we are deeply concerned about the future of literature and publishing in Wales.”
Penny Thomas, publisher at indie Firefly Press, told The Bookseller: “I very much understand the budget pressures on the health service and elsewhere in Wales. But the arts and books give a vital contribution to the health and wellbeing of the nation too, now and for future generations. We know research shows that reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a child’s future success, which means more success in schools, work and health, not to mention the growth of empathy from reading the stories of others [...] and the importance of seeing yourself reflected in books.
“Obviously Welsh publishing is supported by the Welsh Books Council and not the Arts Council of Wales, but if the same level of cuts is seen across the board, it’s hard to see the way forward for publishers and writers here.”
Thomas described how Welsh authors such as Caryl Lewis, Zillah Bethell, Owen Sheers had began their writing journey through Welsh publishing but that “this funding pot is very small, and has been standstill for more than a decade”.
She added: “The publishing industry in Wales exists on an absolute shoestring already, yet the country continues to send out these wonderful books and writers. It would be a terrible, terrible shame to see an industry, which works so hard with so little, collapse through a further reduction in support.”
Matthew Howard, publishing director, and Peter Gill, m.d., at fellow Welsh indie Graffeg Publishing, echoed these concerns. Howard said: “Given our cultural heritage, Wales should be a natural home for the arts and a leading player in arts provision globally. Indeed, recent times have seen Welsh government prioritising support for Creative Arts as it recognised the industry to be a strong contributor to economic growth. However, with news of these cuts breaking, all that work is in danger of being undone.”
Gill commented: “The arts are a soft target, and cutting public funding is a very short sighted approach to developing a healthy and balanced economy. It’s putting the importance of arts and culture way down the list of human essentials. For some arts organisation, budget cuts will mean the end. The knock-on effect will mean closures to theatres, reduced school events, and the loss of jobs and opportunities for individuals.
“In publishing it means we are less able to take risks with young writers and illustrators who we would otherwise work with. These are the next generation of storytellers - the grassroots of children’s books, literature, television, films and digital - publishing is where new ideas for content are developed for an ever changing media landscape.
“The outcome of cuts will be to deny some new authors and illustrators the chance to work in publishing - to build a life in storytelling.”
In a statement posted online responding to the Welsh government budget, Arts Council of Wales’ c.e.o. Dafydd Rhys wrote: “Our current budget is lower than it was in 2010 which means that we have already lost a third of our real-terms funding since then. This significant new cut of 10.5% will make it even more challenging to ensure that high quality arts activity is available across Wales for all our communities.
“The invaluable work that we support in arts and health, education, the Welsh language and our work in widening engagement will be affected - all of which are government priorities. In fact, this provisional budget of £30.429m for 2024/25 is the lowest since 2007/08.”
