Royal Society of Literature

The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elected from among the best writers in any genre currently at work. 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. The society is a cultural tenant at London's Somerset House. The RSL is an independent charity and relies on the support of its Members, Patrons, Fellows and friends to continue its work.

The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) was founded in 1820, with the patronage of George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent",^[1] 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.^[2] From 2018, the RSL's patron has been Queen Camilla, who took over in the role from Elizabeth II.^[3][4]

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.^[2] 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.^[5]

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.^[6] 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,^[7] or (as of 2018) George Eliot's pen,^[8] with pens belonging to Jean Rhys and Andrea Levy being additional choices from 2020.^[9][10]

In 2018, the RSL launched the initiative "40 Under 40", which saw the election of 40 new fellows aged under 40.^[11] 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".^[12][13] Initiatives included RSL Open (electing new Fellows from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture),^[14] and RSL International Writers (recognising the contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English).^[13] RSL 200 resulted in more than 60 new fellows and honorary fellows being elected annually between 2021 and 2024.^[6][15] There are now more than 800 FRSLs.^[16]

From 2023, the RSL began to be criticized over the new diversity of fellowship^[17] and for not taking a strong enough stance about the stabbing of Salman Rushdie and the cancellation of Kate Clanchy.^[18] 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."^[19][20] In reply, Rushdie commented on X: "Just wondering if the Royal Society of Literature is 'impartial' about attempted murder?"^[21] Publication of the RSL's annual magazine was delayed in connection with an article mentioning Israel.^[22][23] 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".^[24][25]

In January 2025, Director Molly Rosenberg and Chair Daljit Nagra stepped down from their positions,^[15][26] 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.^[27]

The society publishes an annual magazine, the RSL Review, which includes features, interviews and essays.^[28]

In 2000, the RSL published a volume that provides a description and history of the society, written by one of its fellows, Isabel Quigly.^[2]

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.^[29]

In 2021, the RSL launched "Literature Matters: Reading Together", a project aiming to make recreational reading accessible to young people across the UK.^[30]

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.^[31]
• Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards awarded to British writers of colour at the beginnings of their careers.^[32]
• Entente Littéraire Prize^[33] 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.^[34]

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.^[35]

Patron

Queen Camilla

President

Bernardine Evaristo

Presidents Emeriti

Sir Michael Holroyd

Colin Thubron

Marina Warner

Acting Chair of Council

Ruth Scurr

Vice-Presidents

Council

• 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: Marina Warner
• 2022–present: Bernardine Evaristo

The * before the name denotes an Honorary Fellow. The list is online at the RSL website.^[38][39]

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.^[40]

Year	Writer	Country	Language(s)	Genre(s)	Panel of Nominators
2021[40]	Don Mee Choi (b. 1962)	South Korea  United States	Korean and English	poetry, translation	Chair: Daniel Hahn Members: Lisa Appignanesi Syima Aslam Bibi Bakare-Yusuf Sophie Collins Sasha Dugdale Max Porter Philippe Sands Elif Shafak Boyd Tonkin
Annie Ernaux (b. 1940)	France	French	novel, memoir, autobiography
David Grossman (b. 1954)	Israel	Hebrew	novel, essays
Jamaica Kincaid (b. 1949)	Antigua and Barbuda  United States	English	novel, essays, short story
Yan Lianke (b. 1958)	China	Mandarin	novel, short story
Amin Maalouf (b. 1949)	Lebanon  France	French	novel, essays
Alain Mabanckou (b. 1966)	Republic of Congo  France	French	novel, poetry, essays
Javier Marías (1951–2022)	Spain	Spanish	novel, short story, essays, translation
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (b. 1938)	Kenya	English and Kikuyu	novel, drama, short story, essays
Claudia Rankine (b. 1963)	United States	English	poetry, essays, drama
Olga Tokarczuk (b. 1962)	Poland	Polish	novel, short story, poetry, essay, screenplay
Dubravka Ugrešić (1949–2023)	Croatia	Croatian	novel, essays
2022[41]	Anne Carson (b. 1950)	Canada	English	poetry, essays	Chair: Daniel Hahn Members: Mojisola Adebayo Nick Barley Sharmilla Beezmohun Maureen Freely Nell Leyshon Nadifa Mohamed Daljit Nagra Katherine Rundell
Maryse Condé (1937–2024)	France	French	novel, drama, essays
Tsitsi Dangarembga (b. 1959)	Zimbabwe	English	novel, drama, essays, screenplay
Cornelia Funke (b. 1958)	Germany	German	novel
Mary Gaitskill (b. 1954)	United States	English	novel, short story, essays
Faïza Guène (b. 1985)	France	French	novel
Saidiya Hartman (b. 1960)	United States	English	essays
Kim Hyesoon (b. 1955)	South Korea	Korean	poetry, essays
Yōko Ogawa (b. 1962)	Japan	Japanese	novel, short story, essays
Raja Shehadeh (b. 1951)	Palestine	Arabic	memoirs, essays
Juan Gabriel Vásquez (b. 1973)	Colombia	Spanish	novel, short story, essays
Samar Yazbek (b. 1970)	Syria	Arabic	novel, short story, essays
2023[42]	Tony Birch (born c. 1957)	Australia	English	novel, short story, essays	Chair: Maureen Freely Members: Sandra Agard Kit Fan Daniel Hahn Margaret Jull Costa Hannah Khalil Musa Okwonga Gaby Wood
Yussef El Guindi (b. 1960)	Egypt  United States	English	drama
Lorna Goodison (b. 1947)	Jamaica	English	poetry, essays, memoir
Yaa Gyasi (b. 1989)	Ghana  United States	English	novel
Han Kang (b. 1970)	South Korea	Korean	novel
Yiyun Li (b. 1972)	China  United States	English	short story, novel
Attica Locke (b. 1974)	United States	English	novel
Valeria Luiselli (b. 1983)	Mexico	Spanish and English	essays, novel
Anne Michaels (b. 1958)	Canada	English	poetry, novel
Scholastique Mukasonga (b. 1956)	Rwanda  France	French	short story, novel
Maria Stepanova (b. 1972)	Russia	Russian	poetry, novel, journalism
Gao Xingjian (b. 1940)	China  France	Chinese	novel, drama
2024[43][44]
Jo Ann Beard (b. 1955)	United States	English	essays	Chair: Kit Fan Members: Moniza Alvi Kwame Anthony Appiah Chloe Aridjis Homi K. Bhabha Margaret Busby Maureen Freely Deirdre Osborne Nathalie Teitler
Nuruddin Farah (b. 1945)	Somalia	Somali and English	novel, short story, essays, drama
Carolyn Forché (b. 1950)	United States	English	poetry, essays, translation
Georgi Gospodinov (b. 1956)	Bulgaria	Bulgarian	novel, poetry, drama
Witi Ihimaera (b. 1944)	New Zealand	Māori and English	novel, short story, memoir, drama, essays
Marlon James (b. 1970)	Jamaica	English and Jamaican Patois	novel
Haruki Murakami (b. 1949)	Japan	Japanese	novel, short story, essays
Suzan-Lori Parks (b. 1963)	United States	English	drama, screenplay
Judith Schalansky (b. 1980)	Germany	German	novel, essays
Samanta Schweblin (b. 1978)	Argentina	Spanish	novel, short story
Kim Scott (b. 1957)	Australia	English	novel, short story, essays
Olive Senior (b. 1941)	Jamaica	English and Jamaican Patois	poetry, short story, novel, essays

• The Royal Society of Literature website
• RSL Review magazine (archived at Wayback Machine)
• RSL literary prizes and awards Archived 30 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Current RSL Fellows Archived 5 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
• Roy Jenkins & The Royal Society of Literature – UK Parliament Living Heritage