This event will be held in the British Library Conference Centre.  The Conference Centre bar will be open for drinks before and after the event.

In a digital age, does it matter whether British literary manuscripts
remain in this country or not?
Should more be done to keep the papers of writers in their
home region?
How proactive should libraries be in acquiring the papers of
living writers?
What do writers look for in deciding where to sell their archives?

The Royal Society of Literature and the UK Literary Heritage
Working Group are hosting this public event to tackle the most pressing questions that affect and influence contemporary writers when they donate or sell their literary archives to collecting institutions in the UK and beyond.

The event will be chaired by biographer, novelist, critic, broadcaster,
and RSL Fellow, Victoria Glendinning, with speakers to include
Andrew Motion FRSL, critic and literary biographer, Andrew Lycett FRSL, and author, playwright and screenwriter, Ronald Harwood FRSL.

They will be joined by Joan Winterkorn, a director of Quaritch Rare
Books and Manuscripts who leads the company’s valuation and
related work on archives and manuscript collections, to form a
discussion panel. The panel will debate issues raised by the main
speakers and questions will be invited from the audience.

We are grateful to the Royal Literary Fund for sponsoring this discussion.

This event is free of charge, but booking is essential.  Please visit www.bl.uk for details.