Arts quango ‘ dysfunctional’ claims editor after funding turned down

The editor of t he S cottish Review of Books has condemned Creative Scotland as “dysfunctional” after it rejecte d a f u n d i n g a p p l i c a t i o n which forced the magazine to suspend print publication.

Alan Taylor accused t he body of hindering Scottish culture “in the most destructive manner”.

His attack i s t he l atest of widespread criticism of the quango, which has l e d t o a Holyro o d i nquir y b ei ng launched into the future of arts funding.

The Edinburgh- based magazine said it would continue online and hoped to find alternative funding to resume print publication.

Mr Taylor s ai d i t s l at est annual application for some £ 45,000 to part fund the cost of around 70,000 free copies of the magazine had been turned down after being approved for the last 15 years.

Copies of the magazine, published four times a year, are distributed via bookshops, libraries and book festivals.

Mr Taylor said: “I am deeply distressed and angered by this latest turn of events and utterly dismayed by Creative Scotland’s decision which was made in camera and with the names of those who took it redacted.

“It really does beggar belief. This is a dysfunctional organisation which professes to support Scottish cultural when what it actually does is hinder it in the most destructive manner.

The magazine’s board chair, Jan Rutherford, said it encouraged the very best of critical and creative writing and was the only platform for the long form essay on literature in Scotland.

She said: “In the end, the board unanimously agreed that their ask was just too big and the future funding too uncertain – we would still need to apply every 15 months.”

The Scottish Parliament’s culture committee published a damning report on Creative Scotland last year, saying its system for allocating longterm funding had fallen “well below” the standard expected of a public body.

A Creative Scotland spokesperson said: “Creative Scotland appreciates that reviews and criticism ser ve a vital function within the literature and publishing ecosystem.

“O u r L i t e r a t u r e S e c t o r Review of 2015 stated t hat ‘ more literar y reviews and criticism should be supported, representing a diversity of content’.

“Scottish Review of Books has been supported on mult i p l e o c c a s i o n s t h r o u g h Cr e a t i ve S c o t l a n d ’s Op e n Project Fund, and we have worked with the organisation to support the development and delivery of the Emerging Critics programme, which is also supported by our funding.

“The Open Project Fund is highly competitive and a recent application by Scottish Review of Books was unsuccessful in this context.”