:Royal Society of Literature

The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) was founded in 1820, with the patronage of George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent",{{cite web|url=https://rsliterature.org/about-us/history/|title=History|publisher=The Royal Society of Literature|access-date=14 December 2020|archive-date=5 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305005722/https://rsliterature.org/about-us/history/|url-status=unfit}} and its first president was Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St David's (who was later translated as Bishop of Salisbury). From the beginning of the 21st century, Presidents have served four year terms and the RSL has employed a professional director to oversee its membership and outreach programmes. From 2018, the RSL's patron has been Queen Camilla, who took over in the role from Elizabeth II.{{cite web|url=https://rsliterature.org/rsl-welcomes-hrh-the-duchess-of-cornwall-as-new-royal-patron/|title=RSL welcomes HRH The Duchess of Cornwall as new Royal Patron|website=Royal Society of Literature|access-date=13 July 2023}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|url=https://www.royal.uk/clarencehouse/speech/speech-hrh-duchess-cornwall-delivered-royal-society-literature-reception-london|title=A speech by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall delivered at a Royal Society of Literature Reception, London|website=The Royal Household|date=27 June 2018}}

File:RSL crest.svg

Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature: are elected annually and accorded the privilege of using the post-nominal letters FRSL. Traditionally around 14 new fellows per year were elected, with a total number of about 500 being maintained. To be nominated for fellowship, a writer must have published two works of literary merit, and nominations must be seconded by an RSL fellow. All nominations are presented to members of the Council of the Royal Society of Literature, who vote biannually to elect new fellows. Newly elected fellows are introduced at the Society's annual general meeting and summer party. While the President reads a citation for each, they are invited to sign their names in the roll book which dates back to 1820, Additionally, Honorary Fellows are chosen from those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of literature, including publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers or producers, or who have rendered special service to the RSL.{{cite web |title=Fellows |url=https://rsliterature.org/fellows/fellows/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108022033/https://rsliterature.org/fellows/fellows/ |archive-date=8 January 2021 |access-date=14 December 2020 |publisher=The Royal Society of Literature}}

Past fellows include Samuel Taylor Coleridge, J. R. R. Tolkien, W. B. Yeats, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, George Bernard Shaw, Arthur Koestler, Chinua Achebe, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Robert Ardrey, Sybille Bedford, Muriel Spark, P. J. Kavanagh, Hilary Mantel, and Sir Roger Scruton. Present Fellows include Margaret Atwood, Bernardine Evaristo, David Hare, Kazuo Ishiguro, Andrew Motion, Paul Muldoon, Zadie Smith, Nadeem Aslam, Sarah Waters, J. K. Rowling, and Nick Cave.{{Cite news |last1=Shaffi |first1=Sarah |last2=Knight |first2=Lucy |date=2022-07-12 |title=Adjoa Andoh, Russell T Davies and Michaela Coel elected to Royal Society of Literature |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jul/12/adjoa-andoh-russell-t-davies-and-michaela-coel-elected-to-royal-society-of-literature |access-date=2023-06-23 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} A newly created fellow inscribes his or her name on the society's official roll using either Byron's pen, T. S. Eliot's fountain pen, which replaced Dickens's quill in 2013,{{Cite web |title=Royal Society of Literature » History |url=http://rsliterature.org/about-us/history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305005722/http://rsliterature.org/about-us/history/ |archive-date=5 March 2015 |access-date=3 June 2016 |website=rsliterature.org}} or (as of 2018) George Eliot's pen,[https://rsliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/RSL-elects-40-new-Fellows-under-40.pdf "The RSL elects 40 new Fellows under the age of 40"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308035041/https://rsliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/RSL-elects-40-new-Fellows-under-40.pdf|date=8 March 2021}}, The Royal Society of Literature press release, June 2018. with pens belonging to Jean Rhys and Andrea Levy being additional choices from 2020.{{cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=30 November 2020 |title=Royal Society of Literature reveals historic changes to improve diversity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/30/royal-society-of-literature-reveals-historic-changes-to-improve-diversity |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315165722/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/30/royal-society-of-literature-reveals-historic-changes-to-improve-diversity |archive-date=15 March 2023 |access-date=16 March 2023 |newspaper=The Guardian}}{{cite magazine |last=Bayley |first=Sian |date=12 July 2022 |title=Cave, Coel and Sissay appointed Royal Society of Literature fellows |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/cave-coel-and-sissay-appointed-royal-society-of-literature-fellows |access-date=18 March 2023 |magazine=The Bookseller}}

In 2018, the RSL launched the initiative "40 Under 40", which saw the election of 40 new fellows aged under 40.{{cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=28 June 2018 |title=Royal Society of Literature admits 40 new fellows to address historical biases |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/28/royal-society-of-literature-40-under-40-fellows |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402131559/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/28/royal-society-of-literature-40-under-40-fellows |archive-date=2 April 2019 |access-date=3 July 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian}} In 2020, the RSL celebrated its 200th anniversary with the announcement of RSL 200, "a five-year festival launched with a series of major new initiatives and 60 new appointments championing the great diversity of writing and writers in the UK".{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=2020-11-30 |title=Royal Society of Literature reveals historic changes to improve diversity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/30/royal-society-of-literature-reveals-historic-changes-to-improve-diversity |access-date=2025-01-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{cite web|url=https://rsliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ROYAL-SOCIETY-OF-LITERATURE-LAUNCH-RSL-200-FINAL-PRESS-RELEASE-27.11.20-.pdf|title=Royal Society of Literature celebrates 200th birthday with 60 appointments and five-year festival (Press release)|publisher=The Royal Society of Literature|date=30 November 2020|access-date=14 December 2020|archive-date=25 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625141305/https://rsliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ROYAL-SOCIETY-OF-LITERATURE-LAUNCH-RSL-200-FINAL-PRESS-RELEASE-27.11.20-.pdf|url-status=live}} Initiatives included RSL Open (electing new Fellows from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture),{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=2023-07-12 |title=Royal Society of Literature aims to broaden representation as it announces 62 new fellows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/12/royal-society-of-literature-aims-to-broaden-representation-as-it-announces-62-new-fellows |access-date=2025-01-27 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} and RSL International Writers (recognising the contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English). RSL 200 resulted in more than 60 new fellows and honorary fellows being elected annually between 2021 and 2024.{{cite news |last1=Creamer |first1=Ella |date=7 January 2025 |title=Royal Society of Literature rocked by departures of director and chair |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jan/07/royal-society-of-literature-rocked-by-departures-of-director-and-chair |access-date=18 January 2025 |newspaper=The Guardian}} There are now more than 800 FRSLs.{{cite web |title=Fellows |url=https://rsliterature.org/about-us/fellows/filter/pagenum/20/ |access-date=18 January 2025 |website=Royal Society of Literature}}

From 2023, the RSL began to be criticized over the new diversity of fellowship{{Cite news |last=Thorpe |first=Vanessa |last2= |first2= |last3= |first3= |date=27 January 2024 |title=‘Radical moves’ at Royal Society of Literature prompt rebellion |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/27/radical-moves-at-royal-society-of-literature-prompt-rebellion |access-date=2025-02-16 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712 |quote=“radical moves” heralded by Evaristo, designed to make the RSL more relevant and more diverse, have prompted a rebellion"}} and for not taking a strong enough stance about the stabbing of Salman Rushdie and the cancellation of Kate Clanchy.{{Cite web |last=Sanderson |first=David |date=2024-02-02 |title=Inside the row tearing the Royal Society of Literature apart |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/inside-the-row-tearing-the-royal-society-of-literature-apart-d3z2zr7cl |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=The Times |language=en}} In February 2024, President Bernardine Evaristo defended the RSL in The Guardian over the changes to fellowship and issues of freedom of speech, and stated that the RSL "cannot take sides in writers' controversies and issues, but must remain impartial."{{Cite news |last=Evaristo |first=Bernardine |date=2024-02-08 |title=I will defend the Royal Society of Literature against all attacks. It is more alive than ever |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/08/royal-society-of-literature-books-bernardine-evaristo |access-date=2025-01-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{cite web |last=Leith |first=Sam |author-link=Sam Leith |date=17 February 2024 |title=The feud tearing apart the Royal Society of Literature |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-feuding-tearing-apart-the-royal-society-of-literature/ |access-date=27 January 2025 |website=The Spectator}} In reply, Rushdie commented on X: "Just wondering if the Royal Society of Literature is 'impartial' about attempted murder?"{{Cite web |last=Marnham |first=Patrick |date=2024-02-17 |title=Salman Rushdie, Bernardine Evaristo and the Royal Society of Literature at war |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/royal-literature-society-culture-wars-censorship-25wrsl9xn |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}} Publication of the RSL's annual magazine was delayed in connection with an article mentioning Israel.{{Cite web |last=Marnham |first=Patrick |date=January–February 2025 |title="How the Royal Society of Literature Lost the Plot" |url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/68696/how-the-royal-society-of-literature-lost-the-plot |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.prospectmagazine.co.uk |language=en |quote="the changed election procedures [and] the high-handed sacking of Maggie Fergusson"}}{{cite web |last=M.C. |date=2 February 2024 |title=Cultured wars |url=https://www.the-tls.co.uk/regular-features/nb/cultured-wars |access-date=27 January 2025 |website=The TLS |quote=" a newish fellow wrote about visiting the Palestine Festival of Literature”. The issue was “cancelled”, "}} In February 2024 the RSL referred itself to the Charity Commission in response to what it described as a "sustained campaign of misinformation being made against it".{{Cite news |last=Knight |first=Lucy |date=2024-02-19 |title=Royal Society of Literature refers itself to Charity Commission as authors pen petition |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/19/royal-society-of-literature-refers-itself-to-charity-commission-after-author-petition |access-date=2025-01-27 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/royal-society-of-literature-refers-itself-to-charity-commission|title=Royal Society of Literature refers itself to Charity Commission|magazine=The Bookseller|date=20 February 2024|access-date=27 January 2025}}

In January 2025, Director Molly Rosenberg and Chair Daljit Nagra stepped down from their positions,{{Cite web |first=David |last=Sanderson, Arts |date=2025-01-07 |title=Royal Society of Literature chiefs quit as diversity drive implodes |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/arts/article/writers-charity-chiefs-quit-as-diversity-drive-implodes-jflbrvcsg |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}} and, following an annual general meeting, it was announced that the RSL would be implementing a governance review under the new leadership of Ruth Scurr.{{Cite web |first=David |last=Sanderson |date=2025-01-18 |title=Royal Society of Literature moves on from diversity and censorship row |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/arts/article/royal-literature-society-moves-on-from-diversity-and-censorship-row-l0vz56hdt |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}

The society publishes an annual magazine, the RSL Review, which includes features, interviews and essays.{{cite web|url=http://rsliterature.org/library/rsl-review/|title=Royal Society of Literature » Magazine selections|access-date=23 July 2015|archive-date=29 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029032321/http://rsliterature.org/library/rsl-review|url-status=live}}

In 2000, the RSL published a volume that provides a description and history of the society, written by one of its fellows, Isabel Quigly.{{cite book |last=Quigly |first=Isabel |author-link=Isabel Quigly |title=The Royal Society of Literature: a portrait |year=2000 |publisher=Royal Society of Literature |location=London |isbn=0-902205-57-9}}

From 2012, the RSL established a membership programme offering a variety of events to members and the general public. Membership of the RSL is open to all.{{cite web|url=http://rsliterature.org/join-support/membership/|title=Royal Society of Literature » Membership|access-date=14 April 2016|archive-date=29 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729112901/https://rsliterature.org/join-support/membership/|url-status=live}}

In 2021, the RSL launched "Literature Matters: Reading Together", a project aiming to make recreational reading accessible to young people across the UK.{{cite web |date=6 July 2021 |title=Press Release |url=https://225475-687350-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/PRESS-RELEASE-Fellowship-and-Reading-Together-02.07.21.docx.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202141456/https://225475-687350-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/PRESS-RELEASE-Fellowship-and-Reading-Together-02.07.21.docx.pdf |archive-date=2 December 2021 |access-date=9 July 2021 |publisher=The Royal Society of Literature}}

Through its prize programmes, the RSL supports new and established contemporary writers.

• The RSL Christopher Bland Prize – £10,000 for debut prose writers aged 50 or over.
• The Encore Awards – £10,000 for best second novel of the year. The RSL took over the administration of this award in 2016.
• The RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction – annual awards, currently one of £10,000 and one of £5,000 and one of £2,500, to authors engaged on their first commissioned works of non-fiction (replaced the Jerwood Award in 2017).
• The RSL Ondaatje Prize – an annual award of £10,000 for a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, evoking the spirit of a place.
• The V. S. Pritchett Memorial Prize – an annual prize of £1,000 for the best unpublished short story of the year.
• The Benson Medal – awarded to those who have done sustained and outstanding service to literature.
• The RSL Literature Matters Awards for projects which connect with audiences or topics outside the usual reach of literature.{{Cite web |last=RSL |first=Website |date=2023-09-05 |title=RSL Literature Matters Awards - Royal Society of Literature |url=https://rsliterature.org/rsl-literature-matters-awards/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |language=en-GB}}
• Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards awarded to British writers of colour at the beginnings of their careers.{{cite web |date=29 January 2021 |title=Sky Arts Ambassadors |url=https://community.sky.com/t5/What-s-On/Sky-Arts-Ambassadors/td-p/3594624 |publisher=Sky Community}}
• Entente Littéraire Prize{{Cite web |last=Stenhouse |first=Martha |date=2023-11-30 |title=Entente Littéraire Prize - Royal Society of Literature |url=https://rsliterature.org/entente-litteraire-prize/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |language=en-GB}} for writing and translation from France and the UK. Two books, one English and one French, receive a prize of €8,000 shared between the author and the translator.
• Companion of Literature – the highest honour that the society can bestow upon a writer; inaugurated in 1961, it is held by up to 12 writers at any one time.{{cite web|url=https://rsliterature.org/companions-of-literature/|title=Companions of Literature|publisher=Royal Society of Literature|access-date=27 January 2025}}

The Council of the Royal Society of Literature is central to the election of new fellows, and directs the RSL's activities through its monthly meetings. Council members serve for a fixed term of four years, with new members being elected by Council when members retire.{{cite web|url=https://rsliterature.org/about-us/council/|title=About Us – Council|publisher=The Royal Society of Literature|access-date=14 December 2020|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127173531/https://rsliterature.org/about-us/council/|url-status=live}}

; Patron

: Queen Camilla

; President

: Bernardine Evaristo

; Presidents Emeriti

: Michael Holroyd

: Colin Thubron

: Marina Warner

; Acting Chair of Council

: Ruth Scurr

; Vice-Presidents

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}

: Lisa Appignanesi

: Simon Armitage

: Mary Beard

: Anne Chisholm

: Maureen Duffy

: Maggie Gee

: Victoria Glendinning

: Jackie Kay

: Blake Morrison

: Grace Nichols

: Philip Pullman

: Elif Shafak

: Kamila Shamsie

: Colm Tóibín

: Claire Tomalin

: Jenny Uglow

{{div col end}}

;Council

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}

: Reza Vishka, Hon. Treasurer

: Louise Doughty

: Inua Ellams

: Maureen Freely

: Daisy Hay

: Catherine Johnson

: Joanna Kavenna

: Helen Mort

: Susheila Nasta

: Patrick McGuinness

: Roger Robinson

: Ruth Scurr

{{div col end}}

• 1820–1832: Bishop Thomas Burgess
• 1832–1833: George Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover
• 1834–1845: F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich
• 1845–1849: Henry Hallam
• 1849–1851: Spencer Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton
• 1851–1856: George Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle
• 1856–1876: The Rt Rev. Connop Thirlwall (Bishop of St David's until 1874)
• 1876–1884: The Prince Leopold (Duke of Albany from 1881)
• 1885–1893: Sir Patrick Colquhoun
• 1893–1920: Hardinge Giffard, 1st Earl of Halsbury
• 1921–1945: Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe
• 1946–1947: Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton
• 1947–1982: Lord Butler of Saffron Walden
• 1982–1988: Sir Angus Wilson
• 1988–2003: Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
• 2003–2008: Sir Michael Holroyd
• 2008–2017: Colin Thubron
• 2017–2021: Dame Marina Warner
• 2022–present: Bernardine Evaristo

The * before the name denotes an Honorary Fellow. The list is online at the RSL website.{{cite web | url=https://rsliterature.org/fellows/fellows/ | title=Fellows | publisher=The Royal Society of Literature | access-date=7 August 2022 | archive-date=15 August 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815062731/https://rsliterature.org/fellows/fellows/ | url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://rsliterature.org/who-we-are/fellows/|title=Fellows {{!}} Search for Fellow|publisher=The Royal Society of Literature|access-date=18 July 2023}}

The RSL International Writers programme is a new life-long honour and award recognizing the contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English, and the power of literature to transcend borders in bringing people together, the inaugural list of recipients being announced in 2021.{{cite web|url=https://rsliterature.org/2021/11/inaugural-rsl-international-writers-announced/|title=Inaugural RSL International Writers Announced|website=Royal Society of Literature|date=30 November 2021|access-date=25 December 2021|archive-date=25 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225151044/https://rsliterature.org/2021/11/inaugural-rsl-international-writers-announced/|url-status=live}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://rsliterature.org/ The Royal Society of Literature website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20220615025401/https://rsliterature.org/library/rsl-review/ RSL Review magazine] (archived at Wayback Machine)
• [http://rsliterature.org/awards-prizes/ RSL literary prizes and awards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230101011/http://rsliterature.org/awards-prizes/ |date=30 December 2016 }}
• [https://rsliterature.org/fellows/current-fellows/ Current RSL Fellows] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305005958/https://rsliterature.org/fellows/current-fellows/ |date=5 March 2015 }}
• [https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/houseoflords/house-of-lords-reform/from-the-collections/from-the-parliamentary-collections-lords-reform/the-work-of-the-life-peers/royjenkins1920-2003/ Roy Jenkins & The Royal Society of Literature – UK Parliament Living Heritage]

{{Authority control}}

Category:1820 establishments in the United Kingdom

Category:British literature

Category:Learned societies of the United Kingdom

Category:Organizations established in 1820

Category:Organisations based in London with royal patronage