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WRITERS who become successful after receiving public grants could be forced to pay them back under proposals being considered by the Scottish Arts Council (SAC).
The idea, which has the support of major authors and publishers, is being examined as a way of ploughing extra funds into the industry to nurture writing talent. Under the proposal, grants to writers would be viewed effectively as loans, with the SAC given the power to claw back a proportion of the artists' royalties.
Although most are against making the repayment system retrospective, some writers, including novelist Ian Rankin, have suggested the scheme could be backdated.
Authors such as Harry Potter creator JK Rowling...