dropped from 40 per cent in 2005 to 11.5 per cent in 2013. Moreover, the average incomes of professional authors had dropped over the same period, from £12,330 (or £15,450 in real terms) to £11,000.

This despite the fact that – according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation – in 2013 a single person in the UK needed to earn at least £16,850 before tax in order to achieve a minimum standard of living.

Given this reality, it is hardly surprising that the majority of Irish authors surveyed in the ICLA report – 63.1 per cent – had another job, with nearly two-thirds working full-time.

Indeed, the financial pressures on writers appear to be building. The amount of money in the Irish Public Lending Right Scheme, which pays authors for library loansspend our money," she said.

Jolene Saturnino, director of income security with the N.W.T.'s Education, Culture and Employment Department, said hamlet officials in Tuktoyaktuk had asked for the changes, which she said are a first for her department.

"There is a perception that funds were being spent on alcohol, on gambling," Saturnino said.

"There was a concern within the community that children were going hungry and coming to school hungry."

Bates said she did use her last $20 to play bingo recently, but she says she won $900 and feels insulted by the changes to the program.

"It's like residential school all over again, or authority telling us what to do. We don't like that," she said.

About 117 families receive income assistance in Tuktoyaktuk, an Arctic community of about 900 people, according to