THE ROYAL Society of Literature (RSL), the charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, has today announced 44 appointments.
I am so deeply honoured to be elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Sharmaine Lovegrove
Twenty-nine new Fellows have been announced. To be nominated, a writer must have published two works of outstanding literary merit, and nominations must be seconded by an RSL Fellow or Honorary Fellow.
Maggie O’Farrell said: ‘It’s an absolute joy to be a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. It was such a thrill to receive the invitation.
“I think the key word for me is that it’s a Society, it’s a fellowship. Being a writer is quite a solitary life: for the most part, it’s just you and your characters, or you and your page, or you and your computer.
“So, the idea that there’s this fellowship, a group of people who are all joining together with one purpose – to promote and cultivate literary excellence – is wonderful. It’s a really lovely counterbalance to the solitude of being a writer.”
Fifteen new Honorary Fellows are announced:esteemed literary agents Clare Alexander and Jenny Brown and Gill Coleridge; critic and academic Jon Cook; CEO of the National Literacy Trust Jonathan Douglas; renowned publishers Kadija Sesay, Christopher MacLehose, Alistair Niven, Ruthie Petrie, Simon Prosser and Sharmaine Lovegrove; founder and Executive Director of Give A Book Victoria Gray; founder of the Hosking Houses Trust Sarah Hosking; journalist and literary editor Fiammetta Rocco and Director of the Booker Prize Foundation Gaby Wood.
Lovegrove said: “I am so deeply honoured to be elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
“It means that there is a true understanding of the work I’ve been doing over the past not just four years as a publisher but twenty years throughout my career in the publishing industry, where I’ve focussed on championing under-represented voices and great literature, and those things are really important to the RSL so it’s just an amazing honour to be part of that.”
Lovegrove is the Publisher of Dialogue Books, an inclusive imprint, part of Hachette UK.
She was the recipient of the Future Book Publishing Person of the Year 2018 and has worked in PR, bookselling, events management, and TV scouting. Formerly the literary editor of ELLE Lovegrove founded her own bookshop and creative agency when living in Berlin.
She serves on the board of The Black Cultural Archives, Bookshop.org and is a founding organiser of The Black Writers Guild.
Founded in 1916 by scholar, author and RSL Fellow A.C. Benson, the Benson Medal honours service to literature across a whole career. This year the Benson Medal has been awarded to Alastair Niven. Born in Edinburgh, Alastair has held academic positions at the Universities of Ghana, Leeds, Stirling, Aarhus, London and Oxford.
He was Director General of the Africa Centre for six years. Uniquely he was Director of Literature at the Arts Council of Great Britain, Arts Council England and the British Council. For twelve years he was Principal of Cumberland Lodge, Windsor.
Dame Marina Warner, President of the RSL said: “There is cause for celebration in spite of the horrors of the last year: 44 new Fellows and Honorary Fellows have been elected to join us in 2021.
“As President and on behalf of the whole Fellowship, I congratulate and welcome them all very warmly indeed. Everyone in the RSL is delighted by the range and brilliance of their work, and looks forward to saluting them in person as soon as we can.
“During lockdown and its aftermath, books – in every format across media – have proved a lifeline for thousands of readers and, in spite of the difficulties for many of us, public awareness has grown about how much literature really matters.”
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