RENOWNED author Philip Pullman has praised the Oxford Literary Festival for reversing its decision not to pay authors who speak at the annual event.

The decision came after Mr Pullman, who wrote the acclaimed His Dark Materials trilogy, quit as patron of the festival in protest at authors not being paid to speak.

Now the festival has agreed authors who are speaking will be paid a fee of £150.

Mr Pullman, who lives near Oxford and is working on a sequel to His Dark Materials called The Book of Dust, said: “I am very pleased on behalf of all authors that Oxford Literary Festival has agreed to pay the fee.

“Most literary festivals have decided to pay their authors and I think that’s a good thing.

“The proportion of income an author can make from selling books has gone down quite considerably because of the massive discounts offered online and in supermarkets.”

Mr Pullman added that he hoped the festival would also cover authors’ travel costs and VAT.

Martin Reed, a spokesman for the Society of Authors, said: “Oxford has said that it will be paying £150 - we would hope that it will pay VAT and expenses on top.”

Oxford Literary Festival said earlier it would pay an author fee of £150 to all authors from 2017 onwards.