Royal Society of Literature

Rowan Williams - Wednesday 20 June 2012

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:03:07 Europe/Berlin

Details will be available soon.

MASTERCLASS: Crossover fiction - David Almond - Saturday 26 May 2012

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:24:30 Europe/Berlin

This is the second class in the RSL/Booker Masterclass series.

David Almond is a childrens writer and playwright who has written several critically-acclaimed novels. His first novel, Skellig (1998), won the Whitbread Children's Book Award and the Carnegie Medal. His second, Kits Wilderness (1999), won the Smarties Award Silver Medal, was Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal, and shortlisted for the Guardian Award. The Fire-Eaters (2003) won the Whitbread, the Smarties Gold Award and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. His latest children's novel is My Name is Mina (2010), a prequel to Skellig. In 2011 his first adult novel was published - The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean. His work is translated into more than 20 languages.

Classes are for a maximum of fourteen people and six places in each class will be reserved for Fellows and Members of the RSL. Classes cost £30.

Booking Details: Applicants should email their names to Rachel Page, rachel@rslit.org / 020 7845 4677, before the closing date, after which selection of places will be made by ballot. The closing date for applications is Friday 2 March at 6pm.

Angela Carter - Bidisha & Caryl Phillips - Monday 23 April 2012

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:20:28 Europe/Berlin

Details will be available soon.

Venue: Kenneth Clark Lecture Theatre, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House

MASTERCLASS: The art of writing fiction - Hanif Kureishi - Saturday 14 April 2012

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:25:55 Europe/Berlin

This is the first class in the RSL/Booker Masterclass series.

Hanif Kureishi is a playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, novelist and short story writer. His well-known works include the play Outskirts (1983), the screenplay My Beautiful Laundrette (1986) and the semi-autobiographical The Buddah of Suburbia (1990). His latest works are the play Venus (2007) and the novel Something to Tell You (2008). In 2009, his own stage adaptation of his novel The Black Album (2009) premiered at the National Theatre. He became a CBE in 2007, in recognition of his services to literature and drama.

Classes are for a maximum of fourteen people and six places in each class will be reserved for Fellows and Members of the RSL. Classes cost £30.

Titanic voyagers - Richard Davenport-Hines & Frances Wilson - Monday 19 March 2012

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:19:33 Europe/Berlin

THE ROY JENKINS MEMORIAL MEETING

One hundred years ago this spring, RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York and sank with the loss of more than 1,500 lives. The tragedy caused the greatest media stir since Jack the Ripper. In Titanic Lives: migrants, millionaires, conmen and crew, Richard Davenport-Hines tells the stories of those who sailed on the Titanic, and through them examines Edwardian society. Frances Wilson, in How to Survive the Titanic, or the Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay, considers the life of the chairman of the White Star Line, who never lived down the shame of slipping into a lifeboat as his ship went down. In a conversation chaired by Susan Hitch, broadcaster and former fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, they talk about why the calamity made such an impact, and why it has such enduring interest; what it tells us about both the beauty of the human spirit and the squalor of human motive; and which stories have continued to resonate for them since completing their books. And they ask whether it is a good thing that publishers are so obsessed with anniversaries.

Venue: The Kenneth Clark Lecture Theatre, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House

Fellows and Members: book your seats online or by ringing Hazel on 020 7845 4676. Seats for guests (one per meeting) must also be booked in advance.

A limited number of tickets will be sold on the door, from 6pm, on a first come, first served basis (£8/£5 conc).

What is Religion? - Karen Armstrong - Monday 5 March 2012

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:15:57 Europe/Berlin

Karen Armstrong first came to public attention with Through the Narrow Gate (1982), her highly praised memoir of seven years as a Roman Catholic nun. Since then, she has established herself as one of the most lucid, compelling and respected writers and speakers on the major world religions. In 2009, she published a Charter for Compassion, whose signatories include Queen Noor of Jordan, the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Paul Simon. In response to escalating religious fundamentalism and division, she argues that religion has more to do with behaviour than belief, and urges us to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarised world.

We are grateful to The Bloomsbury Hotel for sponsoring this event.

Venue: Hall One, Kings Place, 90 York Way

Tickets cost £9.50, and sixty of the best seats are reserved for RSL Fellows and Members. Book via the Kings Place box office on 020 7520 1490, quoting Fellowship/Membership number.

Charles Dickens: the best of men, the worst of men - Claire Tomalin & John Carey - Friday 2 March 2012

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:02:31 Europe/Berlin

Claire Tomalin's biography of Charles Dickens, published to mark the bicentenary of his birth this spring, has been acclaimed by critics. It is, as A. N. Wilson wrote in the New Statesman, 'a book that goes to the heart of the mystery of Dickens as a writer', and it conjures up a man with as many different selves as a Russian doll. 'The inimitable', as Dickens called himself, was a performer of rock-star charisma, who, before the invention of the microphone, mesmerised audiences of thousands; a social reformer far ahead of his time; a sentimental lover; a cruel husband. He could be vivacious, charming and selfless, but also imperious, vindictive and egotistical. Claire Tomalin discusses his life and work with literary critic and cultural commentator John Carey.

This event is part of the LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival: Relating Cultures, taking place from Wednesday 29 February Saturday 3 March

Venue: London School of Economics and Political Science, Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, Lincoln's Inn Fields, WC2A 3LJ

This event is free and open to all, but a ticket is required.

Book via the LSE website, www.lse.ac.uk/spaceforthought, from Monday 6 February.

Being a poet - Lavinia Greenlaw, David Harsent, Emma Jones & Ahren Warner - Monday 20 February 2012

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:03:18 Europe/Berlin

THE T.S. ELIOT MEMORIAL MEETING

T.S. Eliot once said that he could understand wanting to write poetry, but not wanting to be a poet. With this observation in mind, two well established poets, David Harsent and Lavinia Greenlaw, introduce two of the younger poets they most admire. Emma Jones grew up in Sydney, and her first book, The Striped World (Faber, 2009), won the Forward Prize for First Collection and the Queensland Premiers Literary Award. Ahren Warners first collection, Confer (Bloodaxe, 2011), was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and was a Poetry Book Society recommendation. In an evening combining reading and discussion, they reflect on who and what first drew them to poetry, and whether their work relies more on discipline or inspiration. And they ask tough, practical questions: how does a young poet go about getting work published? How important is it to have an agent? What are the pros and cons of self-publishing? And is it possible to make a living from poetry?

Venue: Kenneth Clark Lecture Theatre, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House

Fellows and Members: book your seats online or by ringing Hazel on 020 7845 4676. Seats for guests (one per meeting) must also be booked in advance.

A limited number of tickets will be sold on the door, from 6pm, on a first come, first served basis (£8/£5 conc).

Society news

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:58:05 Europe/Berlin

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