On the Same Page – StAnza

March 6, 2020

With Jay Bernard, Sophie Collins and Sabrina Mahfouz

Three Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature reflect on writing in Britain 200 years after the society was founded

What’s So Great About E.M. Forster?

March 16, 2020

With Deborah Levy, Laurence Scott, Preti Taneja, Shahidha Bari

50 years after E.M. Forster’s death, we celebrate one of Britain’s most esteemed novelists with writers influenced by his work.

Members’ Book Group – Maurice by E.M. Forster

March 16, 2020

With Molly Rosenberg

Keepers of the Flame

March 26, 2020

With Mark Ford, Alan Hollinghurst, Hermione Lee

Alan Hollinghurst and Mark Ford remember their close friend, the poet Mick Imlah who died in 2009. They discuss the things that writers leave behind, and the things that shape their work from the first.

Literature Matters: RSL 200 – Stephen Fry and Meera Syal

April 14, 2020

With Stephen Fry and Meera Syal

In the first Literature Matters: RSL 200 event, RSL Fellows Stephen Fry and Meera Syal will discuss their writing across forms – from sketch comedy to poetry, independently and in collaboration, written and performed – that has elevated them each to the status of national treasure.

Monstrous Women

May 11, 2020

With Nimco Ali, Maggie Gee, Laurie Penny, Shahidha Bari

Three writers explore what happens when women fail to meet the expectations of society, and how literature can confront monstrosity in woman’s form.

Members’ Book Group – Blood by Maggie Gee

May 11, 2020

With Molly Rosenberg

Dressing Up

May 22, 2020

With Amrou Al-Kadhi, Tom Rasmussen, Shahidha Bari

Marking the National Portrait Gallery’s major ‘Bright Young Things’ exhibition of Cecil Beaton’s work, two contemporary writers and drag performers consider dressing up, self-portraiture and autobiographical writing, and the shifting grounds for queer expression over the last 100 years.