Royal Society of Literature

History

The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) was founded in 1820, with the patronage of George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent", 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 Queen Elizabeth II.

Fellowship

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. An example of an Honorary Fellow is Sarah Hosking (arts administrator) who set up the Hosking Houses Trust in order to provide a quiet space with financial uplift for mature and overworked women writers.

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. 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, or (as of 2018) George Eliot's pen, with pens belonging to Jean Rhys and Andrea Levy being additional choices from 2020.

In 2018, the RSL launched the initiative "40 Under 40", which saw the election of 40 new fellows aged under 40. 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". Initiatives included RSL Open (electing new Fellows from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture), 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. There are now more than 800 FRSLs.

From 2023, the RSL began to be criticized over the new diversity of fellowship and for not taking a strong enough stance about the stabbing of Salman Rushdie and the cancellation of Kate Clanchy. 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." In reply, Rushdie commented on X: "Just wondering if the Royal Society of Literature is 'impartial' about attempted murder?" In response to this, Evaristo posted evidence of her support of Rushdie when he was stabbed on X which was published at the time in the Independent newspaper. Publication of the RSL's annual magazine was delayed in connection with an article mentioning Israel. 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".

In January 2025, Director Molly Rosenberg and Chair Daljit Nagra stepped down from their positions, 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.

Publications

The society publishes an annual magazine, the RSL Review, which includes features, interviews and essays.

In 2000, the RSL published a volume that provides a description and history of the society, written by one of its fellows, Isabel Quigly.

Membership

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.

Outreach

In 2021, the RSL launched "Literature Matters: Reading Together", a project aiming to make recreational reading accessible to young people across the UK.

Awards and prizes

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.
• Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards awarded to British writers of colour at the beginnings of their careers.
• Entente Littéraire Prize 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.
• The RSL Pioneer Award, founded in 2025 by Bernardine Evaristo, to honour female writers over 60 years of age who have been pioneers in their field.

Council and presidents

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.

; Patron : Queen Camilla

; President : Bernardine Evaristo

; Presidents Emeriti : Michael Holroyd : Colin Thubron : Marina Warner

; Acting Chair of Council : Ruth Scurr

; Vice-Presidents : Lisa Appignanesi : Simon Armitage : Mary Beard : Maureen Duffy : Maggie Gee : Victoria Glendinning : Jackie Kay : Blake Morrison : Grace Nichols : Philip Pullman : Elif Shafak : Kamila Shamsie : Colm Tóibín : Claire Tomalin : Jenny Uglow

;Council : Louise Doughty : Inua Ellams : Maureen Freely : Daisy Hay : Catherine Johnson : Joanna Kavenna : Helen Mort : Susheila Nasta : Patrick McGuinness : Roger Robinson : Ruth Scurr

List of presidents

• 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: Roy Jenkins
• 2003–2008: Sir Michael Holroyd
• 2008–2017: Colin Thubron
• 2017–2021: Dame Marina Warner
• 2022–present: Bernardine Evaristo

Current fellows

The * before the name denotes an Honorary Fellow. The list is online at the RSL website.

RSL International Writers

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.

References

References

1. "History". The Royal Society of Literature.
2. (February 2024). "RSL welcomes HRH The Duchess of Cornwall as new Royal Patron".
3. (27 June 2018). "A speech by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall delivered at a Royal Society of Literature Reception, London".
4. "Fellows". The Royal Society of Literature.
5. "Stratford Herald January 2022 – Hosking Houses Trust".
6. (2022-07-12). "Adjoa Andoh, Russell T Davies and Michaela Coel elected to Royal Society of Literature". The Guardian.
7. "Royal Society of Literature » History".
8. [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. link. (8 March 2021, The Royal Society of Literature press release, June 2018.)
9. Flood, Alison. (30 November 2020). "Royal Society of Literature reveals historic changes to improve diversity". The Guardian.
10. Bayley, Sian. (12 July 2022). "Cave, Coel and Sissay appointed Royal Society of Literature fellows".
11. Flood, Alison. (28 June 2018). "Royal Society of Literature admits 40 new fellows to address historical biases". The Guardian.
12. (30 November 2020). "Royal Society of Literature celebrates 200th birthday with 60 appointments and five-year festival (Press release)". The Royal Society of Literature.
13. Creamer, Ella. (2023-07-12). "Royal Society of Literature aims to broaden representation as it announces 62 new fellows". The Guardian.
14. (7 January 2025). "Royal Society of Literature rocked by departures of director and chair". The Guardian.
15. "Fellows".
16. Thorpe, Vanessa. (27 January 2024). "'Radical moves' at Royal Society of Literature prompt rebellion". The Observer.
17. Sanderson, David. (2024-02-02). "Inside the row tearing the Royal Society of Literature apart".
18. Evaristo, Bernardine. (2024-02-08). "I will defend the Royal Society of Literature against all attacks. It is more alive than ever". The Guardian.
19. Leith, Sam. (17 February 2024). "The feud tearing apart the Royal Society of Literature".
20. Marnham, Patrick. (2024-02-17). "Salman Rushdie, Bernardine Evaristo and the Royal Society of Literature at war".
21. "x.com".
22. (2022-08-15). "Sir Salman Rushdie off ventilator and talking following stabbing in US".
23. Marnham, Patrick. (January–February 2025). ""How the Royal Society of Literature Lost the Plot"".
24. M.C.. (2 February 2024). "Cultured wars".
25. Knight, Lucy. (2024-02-19). "Royal Society of Literature refers itself to Charity Commission as authors pen petition". The Guardian.
26. (20 February 2024). "Royal Society of Literature refers itself to Charity Commission".
27. Sanderson, Arts, David. (2025-01-07). "Royal Society of Literature chiefs quit as diversity drive implodes".
28. Sanderson, David. (2025-01-18). "Royal Society of Literature moves on from diversity and censorship row".
29. "Royal Society of Literature » Magazine selections".
30. Quigly, Isabel. (2000). "The Royal Society of Literature: a portrait". Royal Society of Literature.
31. "Royal Society of Literature » Membership".
32. (6 July 2021). "Press Release". The Royal Society of Literature.
33. RSL, Website. (2023-09-05). "RSL Literature Matters Awards - Royal Society of Literature".
34. (29 January 2021). "Sky Arts Ambassadors". Sky Community.
35. Stenhouse, Martha. (2023-11-30). "Entente Littéraire Prize - Royal Society of Literature".
36. "Companions of Literature". Royal Society of Literature.
37. "RSL Pioneer Prize". Royal Society of Literature.
38. "About Us – Council". The Royal Society of Literature.
39. [http://www.english.ox.ac.uk/about-faculty/faculty-members/victorian-period/douglas-fairhurst-dr-robert Dr Robert Douglas-Fairhurst], University of Oxford. {{webarchive. link. (11 September 2015 .)
40. "Our People {{!}} Peter Kemp". Kellogg College, University of Oxford.
41. "Fellows". The Royal Society of Literature.
42. "Fellows {{!}} Search for Fellow". The Royal Society of Literature.
43. (30 November 2021). "Inaugural RSL International Writers Announced".
44. (30 November 2022). "Second group of RSL International Writers announced".
45. (30 November 2022). "2023 International Writers".
46. (December 2024). "RSL 204th Birthday Announcements".
47. (10 December 2024). "Royal Society of Literature International Writers 2024".
48. (17 December 2025). "2025 Prize".