Royal Society of Literature
| Royal Society of Literature | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Royal Charter |
| founding | 1820 |
| founder | George IV |
| Seat | London , UK |
| Website | www.rslit.org |
The Royal Society of Literature is a British literary society based in Somerset House in London . Its aim is to promote British literature.
History and tasks
The society was founded in 1820 by King George IV to “recognize literary merits and stimulate literary talent”. To this end, it organizes public readings , lectures and debates , campaigns for the support and recognition of writers, for the maintenance of public libraries and awards prizes to young and established authors. Creative writing courses are also occasionally offered.
The patron of the society is Queen Elizabeth II , the president is Marina Warner .
President
- 1820–1832: Thomas Burgess (1756–1837)
- 1832–1833: George Agar-Ellis (1797–1833)
- 1834–1845: Frederick Robinson (1782–1859)
- 1845–1849: Henry Hallam (1777–1859)
- 1849-1851: Spencer Compton (1790-1851)
- 1851–1856: George Howard (1802–1864)
- 1856–1875: Connop Thirlwall (1797–1875)
- 1876–1884: Prince Leopold (1853–1884)
- 1885-1893: Patrick Colquhoun (1815-1891)
- 1893–1920: Hardinge Giffard (1823–1921)
- 1921–1945: Robert Crewe-Milnes (1858–1945)
- 1946–1947: Victor Bulwer-Lytton (1876–1947)
- 1947–1982: Rab Butler (1902–1982)
- 1982–1988: Angus Wilson (1913–1991)
- 1988-2003: Roy Jenkins (1920-2003)
- 2003-2008: Michael Holroyd (* 1935)
- 2010–2017: Colin Thubron (* 1939)
- since 2017: Marina Warner (* 1946)
membership
The members (MRSL) include numerous important authors. An application is open to everyone.
Fellow (FRSL) can only be who has published at least two books, proposed by two or more current Fellows and from all nominees by the President, the Vice President and the Council of the Society is elected. Every year around 15 people are elected to the district or, more rarely, are accepted on an honorary basis. The society has about 500 fellows; in addition to writers, there are also historians, biographers, literary critics and screenwriters, all of whom write in English, but are not necessarily British. Current fellows include: a. Amitav Ghosh , Tom Stoppard , Philip Pullman , Ben Okri , Carol Ann Duffy , Vikram Seth , Hilary Spurling , Donald Adamson , Zadie Smith and Prince Charles .
In order to face the criticism of an aging population, the society accepted forty under forty year olds in 2018.
Prizes and awards
The Royal Society of Literature awards the annual Ondaatje Prize for a work of poetry, fiction or non-fiction that evokes the spirit of a place in a particularly outstanding way. Together with the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, three Jerwood Awards are presented annually for first works in the field of non-fiction. Since 2016, the Encore Award for outstanding second novels , which has existed since 1990, has been organized by the RSL. The VS Pritchett Memorial Prize is awarded each year to an unpublished short story. The Benson Medal is awarded to authors for their life's work. Until 2003, the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize was awarded for the best regional novel of the year.
In addition, since 1961 the Society has appointed authors as Companions of Literature; up to ten authors hold this title at the same time. The following were appointed as companions:
- 1961: Winston Churchill (1874-1965); EM Forster (1879-1970); John Masefield (1878-1967); William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965); George Macaulay Trevelyan (1876–1962)
- 1962: Edmund Blunden (1896-1974); Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)
- 1963: Edith Sitwell (1887-1964); Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966)
- 1964: Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973); Cecil Day-Lewis (1904–1972)
- 1967: Osbert Sitwell (1892–1969)
- 1968: John Betjeman (1906-1984); Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884-1969); Compton Mackenzie (1883-1972); Rebecca West (1892-1983)
- 1972: David Cecil (1902-1986); Cyril Connolly (1903-1974); Leslie Poles Hartley (1895-1972); Angus Wilson (1913-1991)
- 1974: Ruth Pitter (1897-1992); Kenneth Clark (1903-1983); Arthur Koestler (1905-1983)
- 1978: Philip Larkin (1922-1985); David Garnett (1892-1981); Stephen Spender (1909-1995)
- 1983: Samuel Beckett (1906-1989); William Golding (1911-1993); Graham Greene (1904-1991)
- 1987: Rosamond Lehmann (1901-1990); Iris Murdoch (1919-1999); VS Pritchett (1900-1997); Steven Runciman (1903-2000)
- 1991: Anthony Burgess (1917-1993); Seamus Heaney (1939-2013); Patrick Leigh Fermor (1915-2011); Muriel Spark (1918-2006)
- 1994: Sybille Bedford (1911-2006); VS Naipaul (1932-2018); William Trevor (1928-2016)
- 1998: Dennis Joseph Enright (1920-2002); Harold Pinter (1930-2008)
- 2001: Charles Causley (1917-2003); Doris Lessing (1919-2013)
- 2004: Michael Holroyd (* 1935); Tom Stoppard (born 1937)
- 2007: Michael Frayn (* 1933); Peter Porter (1929-2010)
- 2012: Brian Friel (1929-2015); Margaret Atwood (born 1939); Alice Munro (* 1931)
publication
The Royal Society of Literature publishes quarterly:
- RSL - Royal Society of Literature Review
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ History , homepage of the society; accessed October 23, 2016.
- ^ Alison Flood: Royal Society of Literature admits 40 new fellows to address historical biases , in: The Guardian, June 28, 2018