40 Under 40

As a special initiative for 2018, our governing Council elected 40 writers aged under 40 to become Fellows of the RSL. For the first time in our history, we asked publishers, literary agents, literature organisations and writers to recommend the best young writers for nomination. Here are the elected 40 Under 40 Fellows.

RSL Fellowship is a unique lifetime literary honour, which also confers the right to contribute to the governance of the RSL. Fellows must be writers of at least two works of outstanding literary merit or the equivalent in any literary genre. They must be nominated by two existing Fellows, and be elected at a secret ballot of our Vice-Presidents and Council. Every new Fellow is then invited to sign the RSL’s historic roll book, using either Byron’s pen or T S Eliot’s pen.

The average age of Fellows in 2018 was 70. Only three were aged under 40; none aged under 30.

With the 40 under 40 initiative, we aim to welcome a new generation of writers into the RSL, and to celebrate the talent and diversity of Britain’s younger writers. In future, we may develop similar initiatives for other groups of writers under-represented in our Fellowship.

The 40 Under 40s were added in addition to our usual annual election of new Fellows of all ages – which in 2018 was increased to 30 writers.

Recommendations of writers for 40 under 40 were assessed by a specially convened panel of our Fellows, chaired by novelist Kamila Shamsie. The panel will make the 40 nominations to the Council and Vice-Presidents for election.  The results were announced in late Spring 2018.

‘As someone who became an RSL Fellow a couple of years shy of my 40th birthday I know what a boost the Fellowship affords to younger writers. There is nothing quite like being recognised by other writers and asked to join their ranks.’

Kamila Shamsie FRSL, Chair of Panel

Read our Press Releases: launching the initiative and announcing of the 40 Under 40 panel.