H.E. Bates Companion

Bates addresses some of his concerns about the life of a professional author, including income taxes, publishers, booksellers, charitable handouts, and the absence of remuneration to authors for use of their books in libraries. He also bemoans the inability of authors to organize and advocate for their interests. The piece is a response to an article by Michael Holroyd called "Oh Lord, Miss Lee, how long?" concerning the Public Lending Right scheme to pay author royalties for library uses (Times's "Saturday Review," February 15, 1969, p. 17), and in it, Bates also refers to his letter to the Times of February 21 ("Library Book Royalties: Easing An Author's Financial Problems."). In The Times (London, "Saturday Review" section, March 22, 1969, pp. 17, 21).