Zawe Ashton is an actor, director, producer, playwright and novelist. Her portrayal of Vod in Channel 4’s FRESH MEAT won her a cult following, and the diversity of her work across television, film, and stage has attracted numerous accolades and awards. Recent credits include the BBC/Netflix TV series WANDERLUST and the Netflix feature film VELVET BUZZSAW, in which she starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Toni Colette, and Rene Russo. Zawe was most recently seen starring on Broadway, with Tom Hiddleston and Charlie Cox, in the Jamie Lloyd production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayl, for which she had previously been nominated for a What’sOnStage Award. Zawe made her debut as a playwright in both New York and London with her play, for all the women who thought they were Mad. She was the youngest winner of the London Poetry Slam Championship in 2000, was nominated for a Verity Bargate Award in 2007 for her debut play Harm’s Way and was nominated for Best British Short at the Raindance Film Festival in 2014 for her directorial debut Happy Toys. Her first novel, Character Breakdown was published by Chatto and Windus.
Fellows are nominated by peers and elected by our Council of writers – our governing Board. Being elected a Fellow of the RSL is a lifetime honour. This role gives them the opportunity to support other writers, readers and the future of literature. The RSL connects writers in the Fellowship to one another, and to a wider readership.