An angry backlash has erupted among UK authors who are increasingly frustrated at being asked to provide their time for nothing, whether writing, reading at literary events or judging book prizes.
Frustration spilled out on Facebook after a University of Cambridge professor of modern German and comparative culture, Andrew Webber, branded the acclaimed literary novelist Philip Hensher "priggish and ungracious" for refusing to write an introduction to the academic's forthcoming guide to Berlin literature for free.
Hensher said: "He's written a [previous] book about writers in Berlin during the 20th century, but how does he think that today's writers make a living? It shows a total lack of support for how writers can live. I'm not just saying it for my sake: we're creating a world where we're making it impossible for writers to make a living."
