Royal Society of Literature

Who we are

The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) celebrates and supports writing of all kinds. We are a charity for writers and readers throughout their literary lives.

We’re led by writers and we believe that all literature matters. We work with schools and prisons because everyone should have access to books. We celebrate the achievements of authors. We provide writers at all stages of their careers with the tools and resources they need to write. And we give readers access to the best writers from around the world.

Our vision is of a world in which everyone has access to literature in its many and various forms; everyone can feel that literature is ‘for them’. Our mission is to widen engagement with, and access to, literature through innovative programmes, supporting readers and encouraging writers at all stages of their journey.

Our culture and values

The RSL team is led by an ethos of respect and compassion for each other and the communities we work with, and these values are reflected in everything we do. We believe literature is for everyone, people of all ethnicities, gender identities, disabilities, cultures, religions/beliefs, sexual orientations or ages. We are a queer and female-led team that is dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. We are committed to being a welcoming and inclusive organisation and as such, we encourage applications from people under-represented in the creative industries, particularly candidates from the global majority, and disabled candidates.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

The Royal Society of Literature believes that literature is for everyone and is committed to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce and activities, and eliminating unlawful discrimination.

The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative of all sections of society and our audiences, and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best.

The RSL recognises the real and significant benefits of having a diverse and inclusive community of staff, volunteers, Council, audiences and stakeholders, and, to this end, is working towards building and maintaining an environment in which the values of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) are intrinsic to, and shared across, the organisation.

The RSL believes in the principles of social justice, acknowledges that discrimination affects people in complex ways and is committed to challenging all forms of inequality with an intersectional approach.