Royal Society of Literature

The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a Learned society in the United KingdomI. It was founded in 1820 by King George IV. He created it "to reward people with literary merit and excite literary talent".^[1] It has been established as a charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK. The RSL has about 600 Fellows. They are elected from the best writers in any genre currently at work.^[2][3][4]

Royal Society of Literature

The current president, Bernardine Evaristo
Abbreviation	RSL
Formation	1820; 205 years ago (1820)
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	Somerset House, London, England, United Kingdom
President	Dame Marina Warner DBE
Patron	Camilla, Queen Consort
Website	rsliterature.org

List of presidents

Date	Name
1820–1832	Bishop Thomas Burgess
1832–1833	The Lord Dover
1834–1845	The Earl of Ripon
1845–1849	Henry Hallam
1849–1851	The Marquess of Northampton
1851–1856	The 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	The Earl of Halsbury
1921–1945	The Marquess of Crewe
1946–1947	The Earl of Lytton
1947–1982	The Lord Butler of Saffron Walden
1982–1988	Sir Angus Wilson
1988–2003	The Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
2003–2008	Sir Michael Holroyd
2008–2017	Colin Thubron
2017–2021	Marina Warner
2022-present	Bernardine Evaristo