The Write Stuff by Nick Yapp is a history of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain
The Write Stuff - A History of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain
Guild member Nick Yapp has researched and written an illustrated 50-year history of the Guild, from 10th October 1956 when a small group of writers met in the basement of a doctor's surgery through to the present day.
The book is now available at £12 plus £2.50 postage & packing - but for a limited period Guild members can order a copy at the special discount price of £10 (postage paid). If you would like to purchase a copy, please send a cheque for £10 to the Guild office at: 40 Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4RX
An interview with Nick Yapp
You’re a long-standing member of the Guild yourself – how did you first come to join?
I was a teacher for 27 years but always wanted to be a writer. Finally, when I became a headteacher and really wasn’t happy, I sent Radio 4 what I thought were some terrific comedy scripts. They weren’t quite as keen on them as I was, but they did invite me to attend some Weekending script meetings. I got a few things broadcast and quite soon was recruited to the Guild – just about all the writers on the show were members. Being a union sort of person I jumped at the chance.
And this was back in the 1980s?
1984. I then went on to write short stories for Morning Story on Radio 4 and for women’s magazines, I wrote three children’s books and... I became a tart. Basically I wrote anything for anyone, including Prince Charles and Sarah Ferguson.
No shame in that!
I ended up working in TV writing first for Jasper Carrott and then Phil Cool, Russ Abbot and, briefly, Frankie Howerd. More recently I’ve written a number of popular factual history books which is probably why the Guild commissioned me for this project.
What was the brief?
To write a proper history for the Guild’s 50th anniversary – and to make it interesting. The biggest challenge from the start was that the sheer scale of the Guild’s archive. I went down into the cellar in Britannia Street to be confronted with 200 large boxes, each with at least 2,000 pieces of paper in them. Fortunately they had been labelled but if any kind sponsor would like to pay for us to have it all properly indexed that would be much appreciated. Weirdly, the very first thing I took from the very first box I opened was a copy of a letter sent to me when I was Chair of the Books Committee. I took that to be a good omen.
So how did you proceed?
Once I’d got my bearings I opened the box labelled The Early Days and worked my way through chronologically as best I could. At the same time I started contacting people who were involved at various stages of the Guild’s history, including a number of those who helped set it up back in 1959. Everyone responded tremendously positively and it was a great privilege to meet so many wonderful people and hear about their involvement in the Guild.
What do you feel have been the Guild’s greatest achievements?
Firstly, to have survived. We live in an anti-union age, and simply to carry on doing the work it does for writers is a huge achievement. And the real fruits of all this work, without doubt, are the negotiated agreements. The Guild signed the first ever minimum terms agreements with the film industry and there have been landmark agreements with publishers, in TV, theatre and radio. These were hard won, thanks to the work of Guild staff and the time and effort put in by Guild members. The organisation has been lucky to have so many brilliant negotiators over the years, people who have been able to do deals with some of the toughest people in the business.
Another great achievement has been to maintain these agreements. They don’t just look after themselves, they have to be monitored, protected, updated and improved. It’s a huge task but the Guild has always known that it can never relax. The fight will go on forever.
What about the biggest threats the Guild has faced?
There have been various threats to the union’s independence but they have always been strongly resisted. The most divisive issues, I think, both came in 1968. An official trip to Moscow caused huge controversy, as did a debate about what action to take towards the apartheid government in South Africa.
And did you get an overall impression of the Guild as an organisation?
About 40 years ago someone said that the Guild needed a full-time staff of about ten people. Since then the workload has increased hugely as new areas of work have opened up, but the staffing has never been anywhere near ten. It’s a tribute to the staff and to the volunteer efforts of members that the work has always continued.
I feel quite passionately about this. Just imagine if there hadn’t been a Guild. Imagine if there were no minimum terms agreements. Back in the 1950s one TV executive was dismissive of the Guild: “You people can’t pull any plugs,” he said. “Go back to your garrets and starve.” But we have shown that we can stick up for writers’ rights and every member who has contributed, or even just paid their subs, should be proud of what has been achieved.
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