# **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020** 

Registered Charity No. 213962 



## **The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Contents** 

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|Reference and administrative details|||||||1|2|
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||||||||24|to 25|
|Statement of Financial Activities|||||||26||
|Balance Sheet|||||||27||
|Statement of Cash Flow|||||||28||
|Notes to financial||statements|||||29|to 42|





**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Reference and Administrative Details** 

|**Registered charity number:**|213962|
|---|---|
|**Date of foundation:**|1820 (Royal Charter 1825, varied 2017)|
|**Address and contact details:**|Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA|
||info@rsliterature.org|
||020 7845 4679|
|**Trustees:**|**President:**|
||Dame Marina Warner FBA FRSL|
||**Chair:**|
||Lisa Appignanesi OBE (to December 2020)|
||Daljit Nagra (from January 2021)|
||**Vice-Chairs:**|
||Bernardine Evaristo OBE (to November 2020)|
||Irenosen Okojie MBE (from January 2021)|
||**Treasurer:**|
||Colin Chisholm|
||**Council Members:**|
||Simon Armitage CBE (to November 2020)|
||Imtiaz Dharker|
||Louise Doughty (from November 2020)|
||Inua Ellams|
||Sir Richard Eyre CBE|
||Abdulrazak Gurnah|
||Tessa Hadley|
||Derek Johns (to June 2020)|
||Jonathan Keates|
||Dame Hermione Lee FBA|
||Susheila Nasta MBE FRSA|
||Michèle Roberts|
||Ruth Scurr (from November 2020)|
||Boyd Tonkin (from November 2020)|
|**Honorary Officers:**|**Presidents Emeriti:**|
||Sir Michael Holroyd CBE|
||Colin Thubron CBE|
||**Vice-Presidents:**|
||Lisa Appignanesi OBE (from May 2021)|
||Simon Armitage CBE (from November 2020)|
||Mary Beard DBE FSA FBA (from November 2020)|
||Anne Chisholm OBE|
||Maureen Duffy|
||Bernardine Evaristo OBE FRSA FEA (from November 2020)|
||Maggie Gee OBE|
||The Hon Victoria Glendinning CBE|
||Jackie Kay CBE FRSE (from November 2020)|
||Dame Hilary Mantel CRSL|
||Blake Morrison (from November 2020)|
||Grace Nichols (from November 2020)|
||Sir Philip Pullman CBE CRSL|
||Elif Shafak (from November 2020)|
||Kamila Shamsie (from November 2020)|
||Colm Tóibín (from November 2020)|
||Claire Tomalin|





**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Reference and Administrative Details** 

|**Key Management:**|Molly Rosenberg (Director)|
|---|---|
||Martha Stenhouse (General Manager)|
|**Royal Patron:**|Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall|
|**Independent Auditor:**|Azets Audit Services, Chartered Accountants|
||2nd Floor, Regis House, 45 King William Street, London EC4R 9AN|
|**Bankers:**|Barclays Bank PLC|
|**Investment managers:**|Veritas Investment Management LLP|
||90 Long Acre, London WC2E 9RE|





**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

The Trustees present their report and the unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020. 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the Trust Deed, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK published on 16 July 2014 and update bulletin 1. 

## **Objectives and Activities** 

The aim of the Society under its Royal Charter is **the advancement of literature** . This aim is met through **three objectives** : 

- i) acting as a voice for the value of literature; ii) engaging people in literature; and iii) honouring and encouraging writers. 

- **public benefit** , 

aiming for literature to benefit the public in at least three areas: 

- intrinsic benefit the enriching experience of reading great literature from the past and present, and of writing to the highest standards; 

- social benefit for example, educational attainment, mental and emotional well-being, empathy and cross- cultural understanding; 

- economic benefit for example, fair remuneration for authors, and the contribution of literature to such industries as publishing, bookselling, broadcasting and theatre. 

These areas of benefit are related to the three kinds of value of culture identified in _The Culture White Paper_ (Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2016). 

## **COVID-19** 

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns across the UK, with suspension of public activities and widescale disruption to all sectors, including the arts. Over the course of 2020, the RSL adapted its activities to continue working in support of 

pandemic, the RSL developed a new strategy and plan for 2020 to 2025 with the RSL 200 festival. 

In 2020, the RSL responded to the changing circumstances of the pandemic while continuing all of its work for readers and writers. No RSL programme of activity was cancelled in 2020, projects instead moving online and new forms of outreach, publications, awards and other initiatives introduced. 

- -19 conditions has been to focus on **adapting activities** , **engaging with our** 

- **communities responsibly and sensitively** , and **responding creatively to changed circumstances** : 

   - **Adapting activities** including public events moving online, with event partners including the British Library, Hay Festival and Bocas Lit Fest. Adapted events also increase the work the RSL does with On The Same Page series of events instead run in partnership 

   - in-person events are possible again. Where events could not take place online, the RSL has adapted conversations to publish new writing online. 

   - **Engaging with our communities** the RSL focuses on continued engagement with all its communities, from writers in our Fellowship to young people who are part of our outreach programmes. This means prioritising the continuation of our work to support readers and writers of all backgrounds and experiences across the UK, from ensuring fair payment to all writers for events (whether online or in person) to creating new initiatives to bring literature to Members and Fellows who do not participate in digital events/programmes. 

   - **Responding creatively to changed circumstances** the RSL recognises the great difficulties introduced by the pandemic which will continue to have extreme impact on organisations and individ bicentenary celebration plans will not be possible. The RSL is committed to reimagining celebrations to extend the reach of literature, designing bold new initiatives that open the Society to new Fellows, partners and audiences, holding literary excellence at the heart of all we do. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **COVID-19 continued** 

circumstances, and onof readers and writers are supported in as many ways as possible. 

## **Achievements and Performance 2020:** 

## **RSL 200** 

In November 2020 the RSL celebrated its bicentenary with a number of announcements and new initiatives launched with the five-year festival, RSL 200, marking k established in 1820 and receiving its Royal Charter and Roll Book in 1825. 

Key elements of the November RSL 200 launch included: 

- **New programmes** , celebrating the great diversity of literary forms and writers in the UK and across the world with the RSL International Writers programme and the RSL Open Fellowship recruitment programme; 

- **New RSL appointments** UK including through electing new 29 new Fellows, 6 new Companions of Literature and 9 new VicePresidents; 

- **Awards to champion those who support literature** by means other than their own writing including the newly designed Benson Medal and 15 new Honorary Fellows; with the introduction of two new signing pens belonging to former 

- Fellows Jean Rhys and Andrea Levy. 

Within **Achievements and Performance 2020: (iii) honouring and encouraging great writers** these programmes are explored in further detail. 

The RSL 200 programme holds at its core three principles: 

1. **Access** literature should be accessible to people of all experiences and backgrounds. In the 21st century, this means a sophisticated digital programme, delivered across platforms, available to all people, as well as a live public programme of work with partners across the UK. 

2. **Representation and celebration** literature is at its most vigorous when it includes and celebrates the greatest diversity of voices and experiences. Writers from backgrounds that have not been represented or celebrated adequately in the last 200 years of British literary history will be particularly represented, encouraged, and celebrated throughout RSL 200. 

3. **Excellence, past and present** the RSL engages the best in British literature today and in past years. RSL 200 will work with the extraordinary diversity of literary excellence in the UK now to explore, question, and reinvigorate 200 years of British literature. 

impact literature has on society and the ways in which it can change an individual life (see **Future Plans** ). 

The RSL has continued in 2020 to work to its three key aims and overall objective of the advancement of literature with ongoing programmes alongside new initiatives: 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **(i) acting as a voice for the value of literature** 

flagship programmes, encompassing stimulus grants, outreach programmes, and public events, celebrating literature and its makers, and encouraging links between writers, readers, teachers, and students. 

- The **public events** in the Literature Matters series were launched with a lecture from RSL President five-year RSL 200 festival, the RSL launched the events series **Literature Matters: RSL 200** , featuring some of the best-known writers in the UK exploring the impact literature has had on their lives. While the Literature Matters: RSL 200 events series was originally planned for live public in-person events at 500+ capacity venues, the restrictions to public gatherings introduced in March 2020, and then again in the autumn and winter 2020, meant that live in-person events were postponed and then moved online. Literature Matters: RSL 200 conversations were held between: Stephen Fry and Shappi Khorsandi; David Mitchell and Brian Eno, chaired by Kieran Yates; Claudia 

- Rankine, Philippe Sands and Fatima Bhutto; and Ali Smith and Marina Warner, with a specially events, these 

- Literature Matters: RSL 200 conversations provided an opportunity to explore new event recording and broadcast formats, including live broadcast from a venue (Stephen Fry and Shappi Khorsandi at the Union Chapel in London), one-time digital events with artistic accompaniment (Marina Warner and Ali Smith pre-recorded with a new film from Sarah Wood, available for one day only), and recorded digital events bringing writers together across continents (Philippe Sands, Claudia Rankine and Fatima Bhutto). Using this experience, the RSL plans further digital events in 2021, including a conversation 

- **Literature Matters Awards** aim to reward and enable literary excellence and innovation. 

- These are stimulus grants, providing writers or other literary creators with financial support to Matters programme, the third year of Awards were made to support literary projects that help connect with audiences or topics outside the usual reach of literature and help generate public discussion about why literature matters. The RSL understands that the pandemic required adjustments and postponements to many projects. The Society remained in contact with grantees to support them in amending activities and extended the original terms and conditions of the Awards. The 2020 winners are listed under Achievements and Performance 2020 (iv) Honouring and Encouraging Great Writers, Awards and Prizes. 

- Following the school closures of 2020, the RSL devised a **new outreach programme** to support programme of digital writing workshops launched in 2020 brought Fellows together with their friends famous for work other than writing, to inspire young people to write creatively. The short write-along workshops were made available for free to all, and also hosted with our partners the National Literacy Trust online. Workshops were Nikesh Shukla with comedian Josie Long; Inua Ellams with broadcaster Gemma Cairney; and Neil Gaiman with actor Yetide Badaki. Planned for 2021 were the launch of Top Tips from RSL Fellows including Deborah Moggach, Catherine Johnson and Damian Barr. 

- To **support people in prisons** through the especially challenging conditions of the pandemic, with 23-hour lockdown and the closure of prison libraries, the RSL also introduced a new partnership with reading in prisons charity Give A Book. The RSL worked with Give A Book to solicit books from the UK. With increased need for books in languages other than English, the RSL worked with Give A Book to identify specific requirements and facilitate getting books to prisons. The programme uses #RSLGiveABook on social media to raise awareness of the impact of the pandemic on prisoners too, with RSL Fellows Sarah Waters, Tracy Chevalier, Cynan Jones and Ken Follett part of the initiative. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **(ii) engaging people in literature** 

The RSL encourages appreciation of literature through public events with a range of partners. In March 2020 all in-person events were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By moving to an entirely digital events and outreach programme, programmed in bi-monthly intervals rather than seasonally, RSL events continued to engage audiences in literature throughout 2020, despite in-person activity becoming impossible. Throughout this time, the RSL prioritised the safety of all event speakers, participants and audiences, and worked creatively to find new ways to communicate online and in print publications. 

Working digitally also presented an opportunity to develop overseas audiences and to feature far more writers based outside of the UK. During this period, the RSL developed closer partnerships with Bocas Lit Fest (Trinidad and Tobago) and Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, both of which will continue into future years. The global audiences developed through these partnerships, as well as several events featuring overseas writers, has inspired the Digital Events Pass (2021), a new means of subscription that allows audiences to access live streams of RSL events from all over the world. Presenting events digitally has also enabled the RSL to increase its national reach, working with partners throughout the UK, and with audiences who might not otherwise be able to attend events. This pilot initiative will run for 12 months, with a view to moving to a hybrid in-person/digital events model for all RSL events prioritising accessibility once we are able to return to live venues. 

Despite the challenging circumstances faced by all cultural organisations throughout 2020, the RSL continued to develop its events partnerships with UK venues and organisations including the British Library, Charleston, , English PE Banned Books Week, Write & Shine, London School of Economics, Union Chapel, Bookthe University of Liverpool. 

As the RSL approached its November 2020 bicentenary, it launched On the Same Page, a series of events Durham Book Festival (and New Writing North), Edinburgh Book Festival, Hay Festival, Bradford Literature Festival and Bare Lit. historic Roll Book together for conversations about their writing lives. Speakers included Anne Fine and Romesh Gunesekera, Daljit Nagra and Val McDermid, Tahmima Anam and Ian Rankin, and Nadifa Mohamed and Irenosen Okojie. 

During 2020 the RSL office team became extremely proficient in producing online events in various forms across a range of online platforms. Organisations including Arts Council Northern Ireland have sought the and Fellows have regularly expressed gratitude that the RSL activities continued throughout 2020, maintaining the sense of community created by public events. 

In 2020, the 29 events took place in London and online with almost 10,000 live attendees. With events broadcast online, recordings have seen a great growth in audiences, with over 100,000 views of RSL 2020 events on YouTube and other online players. 

Events that were rescheduled, modified or cancelled due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19 are also noted below in italics. 

- 20 January Telling Histories with Aida Edemariam, Sara Collins and Will Eaves Venue: British Library Knowledge Centre 

- 17 February Remaking the Remarkable with Sian Cain, Max Porter and Inua Ellams Venue: British Library Knowledge Centre 

- 19 February Writers Rebel with Dr. Rebecca Elliot, Dr. Ganga Shreedhar, A.L. Kennedy, Chloe Aridjis and Daljit Nagra Venue: London School of Economics 

- 16 March What's So Great About... E.M Forster? with Shahidha Bari, Deborah Levy and Laurence Scott 

- Venue: British Library Knowledge Centre 

- _Cancelled: 26 March Keepers of the Flam Hollinghurst, Hermione Lee and Mark Ford. Venue: Bodleian Library, Oxford_ 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Public Events (continued)** 

   - _Rescheduled: 16 April Stephen Fry and Meera Syal Venue: Union Chapel_ 

   - _Public event rescheduled became BBC R3 broadcast 11 May Monstrous Women with Shahidha Bari, Nimco Ali, Maggie Gee and Laurie Penny_ 

   - _Public event cancelled recommissioned as an article for RSL Review - 22 May Dressing Up with Shahidha Bari, Amrou Al-Kadhi and Tom Rasmussen Venue: National Portrait Gallery_ 

- _Cancelled: 9 June - A Perfect Language with Ted Chiang and Francesca Wade_ 

- _Venue: Cogx Festival_ 

   - 17 June Dalloway Day Write & Shine workshop Hosted on Zoom (online platform) 

   - 17 June Dalloway Day virtual walking tour with SI Martin Hosted on Google Earth and Soundcloud 

   - 17 June Dalloway Day The Common Reader in Uncommon Times with Sinéad Gleeson and Mona Eltahawy and Susannah Stevenson Hosted on Crowdcast (online platform) 

   - 17 June Dalloway Day The Pleasure of the Everyday presented with Literary Hub, with Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, Kate Young and Emily Temple Hosted on Crowdcast 17 June Dalloway Day Queer Bloomsbury with Paul Mendez, Francesca Wade and Shahidha Bari Broadcast by BBC Radio 3 17 September Forgotten Women with Zing Tsjeng, Sonia Purnell, Professor Elleke Boehmer and Colin Grant 

   - Hosted on Crowdcast 28 September Whose Voices Are Still Being Censored? with Claire Malcolm, Aki Schilz and Adam Freudenheim 30 September Resisting Self-Censorship with Elif Shafak, Jacqueline Woodson, Rachel Long and Urvashi Butalia Hosted on the British Library Player (online) in partnership with the British Library, INDEX on Censorship and English PEN 

   - 1 October Stephen Fry and Shappi Khorsandi Hosted on the British Library Player in partnership with the British Library and Union Chapel 8 October Brian Eno and David Mitchell in conversation with Keiran Yates Hosted on the British Library Player, in partnership with the British Library 14 October Writers, Isolation and Inspiration with Molly Rosenberg, Josh Cohen, Otegha Uwagba and Louise Doughty Hosted on Crowdcast 

   - 14 October On the Same Page with Val McDermid and Daljit Nagra Broadcast by BBC Radio 3 in partnership with Durham Book Festival 28 October Ships at a Distance: A Celebration of Zora Neale Hurston with Jackie Kay, Salena Godden, Natalie Carter and Melissa Cummings-Quarry (Black Girl's Book Club) Hosted on the British Library 

   - November 30 Ali Smith and Marina Warner (film directed by Sarah Wood) Hosted on Vimeo 

   - 19 November What's So Great About... Jean Rhys? with Linda Grant, Shivanee Ramlochan, Shahidha Bari and Lauren Elkin Hosted on the British Library Player in partnership with the British Library Player 7 December Writing and Justice with Claudia Rankine, Philippe Sands and Fatima Bhutto Hosted on the British Library Player in partnership with the British Library 

   - 9 December Careers in Literature with Jessica Allee, Alycia Pirmohamed, Edmund Gordon, Helen Stanton and Tom MacAndrew 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Book Clubs** 

Alongside digital events, the RSL moved its book clubs online to continue supporting its community of Members and bringing people together to appreciate great writing. The RSL convened a special summer series to celebrate the winning books of the RSL spring/summer Awards and Prizes season: 

- 29 July RSL Ondaatje Prize Book Club _A Portable Paradise_ by Roger Robinson, hosted by Molly Rosenberg and Pascale Petit (judge) on Zoom in partnership with Peepal Tree Press 

- 26 August RSL Christopher Bland Prize Book Club _Clean: A Story of Addiction, Recovery and the Removal of Stubborn Stains_ by Michele Kirsch, hosted by Molly Rosenberg and Sara Collins (judge) on Zoom in partnership with Pages of Hackney 

- 9 September Encore Award Book Club _Throw Me To The Wolves_ by Patrick McGuinness, hosted by Molly Rosenberg and Nikita Lalwani (judge) on Zoom in partnership with Book-ish 

Other RSL book clubs included: 

- 17 June Dalloway Day _Mrs Dalloway_ hosted by Molly Rosenberg and Lit Hub Managing Editor Emily Temple, in partnership with Lit Hub 

- 27 October RSL Book Club on Zora Neale Hurston _Hitting A Straight Lick With A Crooked Stick_ , hosted by Molly Rosenberg and Natalie Carter and Melissa Cummings-Quarry, on Zoom in partnership 

## **Outreach** 

celebrating the best of 

British literature, past and present for young people and schools, through writing workshops, writing competitions, and discussions with RSL Fellows. In 2020, the RSL also began creating outreach materials for adults, through a series of online workshops, and with prisoners through a partnership with Give a Book, a charity dedicated to promoting books and the pleasure of reading in the hardest places. 

As with public events, all outreach work moved online as it was not possible to conduct in-person activity. Funding was sought to support this migration to digital outreach programmes these funding streams are listed below. As in 2019, the RSL continued to draw outreach activity closer to the rest of the society's work including public events, publications, awards, prizes, and campaigns. These were: 

## **Tall Tales, Short Stories** 

- Funded by ALCS and The Thistle Trust, _Tall Tales, Short Stories_ is a short story competition for 14-to-18year-olds, celebrating 20 years of the V.S Pritchett Prize. An anthology featuring the first 500 words of previous V.S. Pritchett Prize-winning stories was created and entrants were invited to finish one of the stories with an ending of their own. The winners of the prize were announced in June 2020 First Prize Comprehensive School, Swansea; and Third Prize to Manon Heard from Colyton Grammar School, Devon. 

## **Give A Book - coordinating donations of books to prisoners** 

- By developing a partnership with UK charity Give a Book, the RSL was able to extend its outreach activity to begin working with adults in prisons throughout the UK. With prison visitations postponed throughout 2020, most libraries closed, and no access to the internet, prisoners were facing significant hardship with extremely limited contact with their networks of support. The RSL continues to publicise this initiative widely and coordinate multiple donations of books to prisons. This partnership has also allowed the RSL to work with individuals who do not read English, through the donation of foreign language texts for prisons with large population of non-English speakers. This campaign is inspiring the RSL to work more closely with prisoners across outreach programmes, including working with the prisons newspaper Inside Time for the Write Across London poetry project. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Outreach (continued)** 

## **Literature Matters Online - digital writing workshops and top tips** 

- The RSL would usually conduct authors visits and workshops in schools throughout the year. In order to move this programme online, the Society sought funding from the Arts Council England Cultural Recovery Fund. Funding supported two programme strands; Literature Matters Top Tips; and Literature Matters Fellows and Friends. Both programmes have been shared via RSL channels as well as the National Literacy Trust learning hub _Words for Life_ supporting students through home learning during school closures. Although aimed at young people between the ages of 14-16 _,_ all resources are free and aspiring writers of all ages are encouraged to use them. 

- in various forms. RSL Fellows featured include: Peter Frankopan, Salena Godden, Deborah Moggach, Damian Barr and Vinay Patel. 

- Literature Matters Fellows and Friends videos are 20-minute workshops led by a prominent RSL Fellow and delivered with their friend who is famous for a reason other than their writing. These workshops have featured Neil Gaiman and Yetide Badaki; Inua Ellams and Gemma Cairney; and Nikesh Shukla and Josie Long. Due to its success, this programme will continue into 2021 with workshops led by David Baddiel, Lucy Prebble and Kerry Hudson. 

## **Write Across London** 

- support the creativity of Londoners and celebrate the power of poetry to bring us together during times of significant isolation. The project particularly encourages the creativity from those disproportionately affected by the pandemic including people of colour, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, older people, disabled people and those with pre-existing medical conditions. 

- Write Across London is an open-call programme inviting Londoners to share their experience of lockdown in London. 

- collaboratively about their own experiences. The ambassadors are; Chair of the RSL Daljit Nagra and Jamie Hale; Raymond Antrobus and Cecilia Knapp; Jeremiah 'Sugar J' Brown and Imtiaz Dharker, Inua Ellams and Natalie Linh Bolderstone; and Mimi Khalvati and Theresa Lola. 

- The programme will focus on 7 target boroughs; Brent; Barking & Dagenham; Hammersmith; Harrow; Lewisham, Southwark; and Waltham Forest, working closely with Spread the Word to access stakeholders in each borough. In 2021, the RSL will launch an interactive poetry map of London which will become part of the RSL archive and provide a snapshot of London at an historic moment. 

## **Membership** 

Membership of the Society is open to all for an initial annual fee of £60 or £40 for under 30s (reducing to £50 ts include exclusive events, free and reduced-price tickets to public events and a free subscription to the annual magazine _RSL Review_ . With reducing take-up of Membership over the last 10 years, the RSL plans to review Membership benefits and recruitment in 2021. In 2020, as a result of the pandemic, we had to particularly consider Members who did not wish to attend online events: 

- In October, we published the first of a new quarterly newspaper _Our Mutual Friend_ , which gave highlights from recent events, aimed to engage those who were not able to take part in virtual events. 

- We planned to launch a new subscription level in 2021 for those who wished to only watch virtual events, as these will continue to be streamed online once we return to in-person events and this would make it possible for people to watch from all over the world. 

- basic, so that all resources are easily available in one place and the overall look is improved. 

- move online. In 2020 they focused on _Hitting A Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston Clean_ by Michele Kirsch, _Throw me to the Wolves_ by Patrick McGuinness _, A Portable Paradise_ Roger Robinson and _Mrs Dalloway_ by Virginia Woolf (see **Achievements and Performance 2020: (ii) engaging people in literature, Book Clubs** ). 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## _**Our Mutual Friend**_ **quarterly newspaper** 

To retain contact with and support of those Fellows and Members who do not have easy access to the internet, the RSL launched a new quarterly print newspaper. The first issue was sent out in November and included the following features and extracts from events: 

- Shappi Khorsandi and Stephen Fry at their RSL 200 event broadcast live from the Union Chapel in October. 

- Irenosen Okojie and Nadifa Mohamed in conversation for Bare Lit festival. 

- Val McDermid at Durham Book Festival with Shahidha Bari. 

- places and lockdown gardening. 

## _**RSL Review**_ **annual magazine** 

The magazine includes features on a wide range of literary topics, reports on RSL activities, and a leader article 

Highlights for the bumper 200[th] birthday edition included: 

- A celebration of Prison Reading Groups in their 21[st] year. 

- Daniel Hahn championing translated literature. 

- Salena Godden noting Zora 

- Michael Palin, Sigrid Rausing and Marina Salandy-Brown on surviving lockdown. 

- Welcoming two new writers' pens (Jean Rhys and Andrea Levy) that new Fellows can use to sign the Roll Book. 

- A stroll around queer Bloomsbury. 

- 

- Melanie Abrahams discussing the need for greater diversity in the arts. 

## **Online Communication and Press** 

Social media follow 

- Followers on **Facebook** grew by 8% (from 10,367 followers in January to 11,189 in December). 

- Followers on **Twitter** rose by 30% (from 31,163 in January to 40,511 in December). 

- Followers on **Instagram** increased by 108% (from 1955 in January to 4068 in December). 

**e newsletter** during 2020 rose by 31% (from 3147 in 

January to 4,137 in December). 

The RSL **website** attracted an average of 22,114 page views per month, an increase of 11% from 19,917 in 2019. 

**Press** coverage increased in 2020 and included a wide range of online and print publications. Print included _The Telegraph_ , _The Guardian_ and online included _The Bookseller, BookBrunch_ , _Prospect, The TLS_ and _BBC Radio._ Particular highlights included: coverage of o _Today_ programme. We began working with PR company The Corner Shop (now called Bread and Butter) who supported our RSL 200 announcements and secured a reading from Harriet Walter, in celebration of our 200[th] _Newsnight_ (BBC 2 weekly reach in late November 2020 ~30,000). 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **(iii) honouring and encouraging great writers** 

## **Fellowship** 

Election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature is a uniquely prestigious honour because the decision is made by other distinguished writers. To be elected, a writer must: 

(i) have published at least two works of notable literary merit (in any literary form); (ii) be nominated by at least two existing Fellows of the RSL; and (iii) -Presidents. 

In past years, the RSL Council has ordinarily elected approximately 15 new Fellows a year, but from 2018 increased this intake to boost the Fellowship one of which belonged to Byron, one to T.S. Eliot and one to George Eliot (introduced in 2018). As part of our 200[th] birthday celebrations, we **welcomed two pens of much-loved Fellows in 2020** th birthday year  birthday year 2022 when the Society hopes to be able to hold in-person celebrations ag were commissioned. Actors included: Juliet Stevenson, Simon Callow, Richard Armitage, Natalie Simpson and Adjoa Andoh. 

th birthday year  birthday year were commissioned. Actors included: 

In 2020, with the restrictions placed on public gatherings, the RSL celebrated its new Fellows and Honorary Fellows exclusively online and through broadcast. The RSL commissioned 45 videos celebrating new Fellows and Honorary Fellows, introducing them and sharing reflections on the importance of literature to society, the  writers who mean released online as a day of bicentenary celebrations on 30 November 2020. 

In 2020, the following writers were made Fellows of the RSL: 

|Raymond Antrobus|Diana Evans|Michael Palin|
|---|---|---|
|Chloe Aridjis|Peter Frankopan|Sandeep Parmar|
|Damian Barr|Salena Godden|Winsome Pinnock|
|Cressida Connolly|Colin Grant|Max Porter|
|Susan Cooper|Kirsty Gunn|Sigrid Rausing|
|Jill Dawson|Daniel Hahn|Roger Robinson|
|April De Angelis|Kerry Hudson|Katherine Rundell|
|Jane Draycott|Andrew McMillan|Philippe Sands|
|Sasha Dugdale|James Meek|Jack Thorne|
|Yvette Edwards|Kate Mosse||



The RSL has also been awarding Honorary Fellowships since its foundation in 1820, in relatively small numbers. In 2017, with the revision of its Constitution and Byelaws, the Society clarified that Honorary Fellowships were to celebrate individuals who, though they may also be writers, had made a significant contribution to literature by facilitating the writing of others, for example as agents, producers, publishers or booksellers. 

In 2020, the following were elected as Honorary Fellows: 

|Melanie Abrahams|David Godwin|Marina Salandy-Brown|
|---|---|---|
|Linda Anderson|Lennie Goodings|Sarah Sanders|
|Mair Bosworth|Andrew Holgate|Tom Sutcliffe|
|Tony Brown|Shirley May|Boyd Tonkin|
|Kate Gavron|Ursula Owen|Lola Young|





**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

The following Fellows and Honorary Fellows died during 2020: 

Sir Ronald Harwood CBE Fiona MacCarthy OBE Jill Paton Walsh Ursula Holden Douglas Matthews MBE FCLIP Professor Sir Roger Scruton FBA Emyr Humphreys Derwent May Val Warner Brendan Lehane Jan Morris CBE Charles Wood 

## **Honours** 

appointments were made. Six new Companions of Literature joined current CRSLs Sir Michael Holroyd, Sir Tom Stoppard, Michael Frayn, Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro. Those welcomed in 2020 are the first writers to be inaugurated in 1961 and is the highest honour the Society can bestow. It can only be held by a maximum of 12 writers at any one time. The six new Companions of Literature were as follows: 

Anita Desai Hilary Mantel Philip Pullman Kazuo Ishiguro Colin Thubron 

Nine new Vice-Presidents were also appointed, celebrating the great diversity of literary writers and forms in the honour bestowed on RSL Fellows by the RSL Council which provides them with lifetime voting rights in the Fellowship elections. They are elected for their service to both the advancement of literature and to the Society. They joined current Vice-Presidents Anne Chisholm OBE, Maureen Duffy, Maggie Gee OBE, The Hon Victoria Glendinning CBE, Dame Hilary Mantel, Sir Philip Pullman CBE, Claire Tomalin and Jenny Uglow OBE. The nine new Vice-Presidents were as follows: 

Simon Armitage Jackie Kay Elif Shafak Mary Beard Blake Morrison Kamila Shamsie Bernardine Evaristo Grace Nichols Colm Tóibín 

## **RSL Open** 

In 2020, as part of its bicentenary celebrations, the RSL launched a two-year Fellowship initiative RSL Open. On th birthday, the Society asked for public recommendations of excellent writers from communities underof writers aged 40 and under, this is only the second time that recommendations have been accepted from the public. 

Each year in 2021 and 2022 public recommendations of writers will be considered by a panel of RSL Fellows, in its first year chaired by Bernardine Evaristo and including Jay Bernard, Vahni Capildeo, Ian Duhig, Cynan Jones, Val McDermid, Sinéad Morrissey, Daljit Nagra, Nikesh Shukla, Ali Smith, Jack Thorne, Colm Tóibín, and Eley Williams. The selected 30 writers each year will be elected by the RSL Council as FRSL. They will sign the historic 

At the heart of the RSL is its Fellowship, which encompasses around 600 of the most eminent authors working in the English language in the UK; the new FRS convey the multiinform all that we do from judging prizes to writing new work for ou speaking at events to leading new initiatives to bring literature to the greatest possible number of people across the UK. 

The Fellows elected through RSL Open will be announced in 2022 and 2023. Each year, they will be invited to sign Eliot, Lord Byron, T. S. Eliot, or new for 2020 Jean Rhys or Andrea Levy. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Bicentenary Party** 

To open the year of celebrations for the bicentenary in 2020, on Tuesday 14 January the RSL held a party for the venue of the first ever meeting of the RSL in 1820. President Marina Warner welcomed all attendees and Chair Lisa Appignanesi gave an update on plans for the programmes to 

## **Awards and Prizes** 

The RSL offers a number of awards and prizes to recognise literary merit and encourage writers at all stages of their careers. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no awards ceremonies were held and instead videos 

- **The RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction** , funded by the legacy left by The Honourable Giles St Aubyn LVO FRSL, provide financial reward and support for two writers to complete their first published works of non-fiction. The judges for the 2020 Awards were Damian Le Bas, Ramita Navai and Fiona St Aubyn. The £10,000 prize was awarded to Doreen Cunningham for _Soundings: A Journey with Whales_ , the £5,000 prize was awarded to Alice Sherwood for _The Authenticity Playbook_ and **for the first time in 2020, a third prize of £2,500** was awarded to Danny Lavelle for _Down and Out: A Journey Through Homelessness_ ire, 2022). The winners were announced on Thursday 3 December with a series of online videos, including animations from Josh Saunders. 

- **The RSL Ondaatje Prize** for a new work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that best evokes the spirit of a place was won in 2020 by Roger Robinson for _A Portable Paradise_ . The judges were RSL Fellows Peter Frankopan, Pascale Petit and Evie Wyld. The RSL is grateful to Prize sponsor Sir Christopher Ondaatje CBE Hon FRSL for making it possible to commission animations from Liang Hsin Huang, to celebrate each of the shortlisted books as well as the winner the winner in person. The films introducing the winner were shared on Monday 4 May. 

- **The V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize** was judged by Kate Clanchy FRSL, Barbara Jenkins and Derek Owusu. 17 stories were initially longlisted, with six making the shortlist. Kate Lockwood Jefford was story was published in _Prospect_ magazine and will be featured in the 2021 _RSL Review_ magazine _._ 

- **The Encore Award** was first presented in 1990 to celebrate the achievement of outstanding second novels. The RSL took over administration of the award in 2016. In 2020, the Award was judged by RSL Fellows Edmund Gordon, Nikita Lalwani and Eley Williams. The £10,000 Award went to Patrick McGuinness for _Throw Me to the Wolves_ , announced as the winner on Thursday 25 June. From 2020, th year, all shortlisted writers receive a prize of £500. 

- Presented for the first time in 2018, the **RSL Literature Matters Awards** aim to enable literary excellence and innovation, providing writers with financial support to undertake a new literary project. Judged by RSL Fellows Tessa Hadley, David Morley and Roy Williams, seven Awards were announced on Wednesday 15 April: 

   - £3,000 Charlotte Ansell and Janett Plummer Chosen. 

   - Writing workshops, performance and pamphlet for Generation Z adopted young people. 

   - £3,000 Alison Armstrong The Lost Voices of Morecambe Winter Gardens. A play based on the real and fictional voices of characters that have worked and performed at Morecambe Winter Gardens. To be performed at the semi-derelict theatre. 

   - £2,000 Zillah Bowes and Jonathan Edwards Night Riders Documenting the experiences of passengers on the Ebbw Vale to Cardiff train line in a series of poems. 

   - £3,800 Judith Bryan and Carol Russell Raised Voices 

   - A series of public script-in-hand play-readings at the Young Vic, showcasing new writing by black women playwrights over 45. 

   - £2,700 Eva Edo 

   - A play project inspired by the testimonials of mothers whose sons have been victims, perpetrators and survivors of youth violent crime and incarceration, and what it means raise sons of colour in British society today. 

   - £2,500 Jennifer Johnstone and Annie MacDonald Radical Mountain Women A podcast series exploring the beauty, strength and resilience of the relationship between women and the environment in rural Scotland. It will be published on the established podcast Stories of Scotland. 

   - £3,000 Rebecca Sharp Rough currency: the poetics of oil and the imagination A hybrid poetic text for publication, exploring the imaginative properties of crude oil and its role in the world of ideas. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Awards and Prizes (continued)** 

- Launched in 2018, the **RSL Christopher Bland Prize** , was awarded for the first time in 2019. Sir Christopher Bland was made an Honorary Fellow of the Society in 2016 and after his death in 2017, Lady Jennie and her family established this Prize in his memory to support older writers. The Prize is awarded to a debut work of fiction or non-fiction, published when the author is aged 50 or over. The winner was Michele Kirsch, for her memoir _Clean_ , announced on Thursday 2 July. 

- Most years, the RSL Council also awards the **Benson Medal** , usually for someone who has made an outstanding contribution to literature through means other than their own writing. In honour of its 200th anniversary the RSL unveiled a new iteration of the Benson Medal, designed by Linda  Crook. Founded  in  1916  by  scholar,  author  and  RSL  Fellow  A.C. Benson, the Benson Medal honours service to literature across a whole career. A specially convened committee of RSL Fellows commissioned the new design of the Medal. The committee included RSL President Marina Warner, Chair Lisa Appignanesi, Vice-President Jenny Uglow, Council member Inua Ellams, and Fellow Alexandra Harris. Previous recipients of the Medal include  Philip  Larkin,  J.R.R. Tolkien, Wole Soyinka, Diana Athill, Margaret Busby and Susheila Nasta. In 2020 the Medal was awarded to Boyd Tonkin. 

- Announced as part of the RSL 200 celebrations in November 2020 and Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and the International Authors Forum (IAF), the **RSL International Writers** programme opened for recommendation. This new lifetime literary honour will recognise the contribution of writers from across the globe to literature in English, and the power of literature to transcend borders. These will be writers not resident in, or citizens of, the UK, who have published two works of outstanding literary merit (where works are translated into English, or originally written in English). Recommendations would be reviewed by a panel of RSL Fellows: Lisa Appignanesi, Syima Aslam, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, Sophie Collins, Max Porter, Philippe Sands, Elif Shafak and Boyd Tonkin, led by panel Chair, Daniel Hahn, with the final selection of writers being announced in November 2021. 

## **Funders** 

The RSL is grateful to the following individuals and organisations who have generously supported its work in 2020, as well as those who wish to remain anonymous: 

|Lucy Astor|Lucy Astor|||||Maria Bjornson Memorial Fund|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||Sir Christopher Ondaatje CBE Hon FRSL|
|Henna Bhatti||||||Sir Michael Palin KCMG CBE FRGS FRSL|
|Arts Council England||||||Portrack Charitable Trust|
|BDB Pitmans Charitable Trust||||||Basil Postan|
|City Bridge Trust||||||Ian Rankin OBE DL FRSE FRSL|
|Colin Chisholm||Hon FRSL||||J.K. Rowling OBE FRSL|
|Lord Egremont DL FSA FRSL||||||John Seaton|
|Ken Follett CBE FRSL||||||Lord Skidelsky of Tilton FRHistS FRSL|
|Neil Gaiman FRSL||||||The Thistle Trust|
|Ben Gibson||||||Colin Thubron OBE CRSL FRSL|
|Granta Trust||||||Mary-Kay Wilmers Hon FRSL|
|Sir Simon Jenkins FRSL||||||Dame Jacqueline Wilson FRSL|
|Michael Frayn CRSL FRSL||||||Sutton Place Foundation|
|Claire Tomalin FRSL||||||Tara Getty Foundation|
|Hawthornden Literary Retreat|||||||
|Alice Jolly|||||||



Literature Matters programme and the 1820 Club Members, whose support goes towards our bicentenary activities. 

## **Christmas Appeal** 

At the end of 2019, a Christmas Appeal letter was sent out to all Members and Fellows in order to raise unsolicited donations. The total received in the following months was £12,845. We are very grateful to all those who contributed and particularly to the following individuals who were able to give over £500, received in 2020 as well as those who wish to remain anonymous: 

David Baddiel 

Gillian Beer 

Andrew Caldecott 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Financial review** 

## **Overview** 

The COVIDfollowing. 

From March 2020 to year-end, the RSL pursued a strategy of conservative expenditure and focused fundraising while the financial impact of COVID-19 was gradually becoming apparent. The RSL prioritised continued delivery of charitable activity whilst reducing expenditure wherever possible. The Director, in consultation with the Chair, retained all staff without significant adjustments to working hours, beyond a 

The unforeseen challenges of 2020 across the UK have required all charities to review their financial positions and ensure that their position is as r funds have more than tripled in the last ten years (from £1,002,308 at year-end 2010, to £3,401,728 at yearend 2020), with growth areas specifically in new endowment and restricted funds to support charitable 

Overall the RSL was able to almost match 2019 income in 2020 (£349,043 2019; £338,117 2020), and reduce expenditure, demonstrating our commitment to cost efficiencies while continuing fundraising work. (£150,797 2018; £195,483 2019; £205,612 developing programmes of work, continuing growth in unrestricted income will be key to increasing the RSL staff time and building further capacity for charitable activities to develop. 

The Society introduced greater cost efficiencies in 2020 to meet the difficulties of the pandemic, reducing overall expenditure from £476,590 in 2019 to £428,280 in 2020. Charitable activities accounted for 93% of s commitment to delivering benefit to our communities of readers and writers, especially in times of hardship. The RSL has continued to prioritise partnership with other organisations to deliver the greatest benefit to audiences and to work as efficiently as possible with increased levels of activity. This will continue into 2021 and throughout the RSL 200 festival. 

2020, the RSL released a designated fund from its reserves to support the planning and initiation of programmes to advance literature. This fund was the accumulated unrestricted legacy left by former Fellow nd and its expenditure over the coming years will be overseen by the Finance and HR Committee, with approval from Council. 

As a guideline for trustees and for staff leads, Council approved a three-point signoff for any new programmes to be part-funded from the Future Fund: 

1. and meet two out of three of its aims (to act as a voice for the value of literature; to engage the public in literature; to recognise and encourage great writers)? 

2. Are there potential funder(s) identified to support the costs of the proposed programme? The RSL will not commit Future Fund money to support 100% of the costs of any programme. Any new initiative should introduce the RSL to a to sustain future funding. 

3. Does this programme work with current partners for the RSL, or introduce us to new partners? The RSL particularly looks to build on and develop new partnerships across the UK, outside London. 

These restrictions established, overseen and monitored by the Council are subject to review in the event of times of significant difficulty. With this designated fund, the RSL is actively planning for and investing in its future, while ensuring that funds are available. 

In 2021, the RSL will continue to apply for project funding on a Full Cost Recovery basis, and will also seek core funding to support its initiatives. The ongoing unrestricted income from the Fellowship has been bolstered by funding from individual donors (which increased from £34,295 in 2018 to £53,034 in 2019, but decreased to £43,191 during 2020, largely due to the pandemic), and particularly from the new 1820 Club. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Financial review continued** 

The RSL has worked to ensure the financial stability of the Society into the future particularly for a number of ntinued working, particularly in the challenging times of the pandemic and its recovery. As these funds relate to specific Society to grow its charitable work through a gradually increasing central staff team. These sources of funding will be in membership growth, diversified individual giving, and increased grant funding from trusts and foundations. 

## **Reserves Policy** 

Taking into met in 2020, through the unrestricted funds held in the Future Fund designation, totalling £270,647 (three of the Future Fund and is able to deploy funds to cover operating costs in the event of charity closure. 

The RSL had previously held unrestricted funds to cover between three and six months of total expenditure. income streams consistent over a number of years, Trustees approved a revision of the reserves policy to cover core expenditure. This is in-keeping with Charity Commission guidance and ensures 

The Society holds two kinds of restricted reserves revenue funds restricted by the funder to particular charitable activities, such as events or prizes, and Endowment Funds where the capital is invested and only the growth and/or income is expended. 

The RSL currently holds three Endowments: 

1. The Permanent Endowment which generates unrestricted income for the work of the Society. At the end of 2020 this fund totals £820,709 (2019: £751,321). 

2. The Literature Matters Awards Endowment income from which is spent o project funding grants, the RSL Literature Matters Awards (first awarded in 2018). At the end of 2020 this fund totals £746,207 (2019: £701,428). 

3. The Giles St Aubyn Endowment newly established by a legacy in 2016, income and growth from this fund is spent on the RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction (first awarded in 2017). At the end of 2020 this fund totals £993,389 (2019: £921,110). 

The RSL 200,755 at the end of 2020; £217,307 in 2019), and the new RSL Christopher Bland Prize fund (totalling £ 325,481 at the end of 2020; £341,128 in 2019). 

In line with its reserves policy, the RSL has considered its activities in the event of the charity receiving income from Members and Fellows and its restricted Awards and Prizes funds would cover the costs of three key areas of work: the annual magazine, public events, and awards and prizes. The RSL receives the bulk of its Membership and Fellowship donations in January each year, and these would offset the costs of a reduced staff and delivery of the public events and magazine programmes the core benefits of membership with the these activities beyond three months of work. 

## **Investment Policy** 

, and any other funds not required to meet operational costs during the current financial year, are invested with the twin objectives of a regular and sustainable flow of income and helping ensure its future sustainability. Investment Management LLP. The investments are held in three portfolios one for the restricted funds for the RSL Ondaatje Prize, one for the RSL Giles St Aubyn Endowment, and one for the remainder of all other funds, including the Permanent Endowment and Literature Matters Awards Endowment. In 2020 the main RSL portfolio rose by 10.27% (16.2% in 2019), which is considered to be a satisfactory result. Regular reports from Veritas, our investment managers, olm Hon FRSL, who has had many years of professional fund management experience, and reports regularly to Council. The Treasurer and Director meet Veritas for a review at least annually. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Going Concern Review** 

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought government issued restrictions to gatherings of people across the UK. For the Royal Society of Literature, this meant a radical adaptation of activities from 16 March 2020 onwards, into 2021. All prize ceremonies, public events, writing workshops, and celebrations moved online. The RSL worked closely with established funders during this time to direct resources to new areas of activity. With the on-going impact of the pandemic in 2021, the RSL continues to deliver all activities online and is grateful for a second year of support for adapted activities. The RSL has also secured new funding in core grants and restricted project income from trusts and foundations. 

At the time of reviewing financial statements, the Trustees have considered the financial operations for 12 months following the period these accounts review. Following successful fundraising in late 2020, the RSL has brought forward unrestricted funds to support the Society through the second year of the pandemic. The RSL has also brought forward restricted funds to support initiatives postponed to 2021 after the impact of the pandemic, with agreement of these funders. This provides guaranteed support for new initiatives through the year. The Trustees have considered the fundraising targets and strategy for 2021, including a focus on multiyear funding, and are confident that this further safeguards the future of the Society. The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the Trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. 

The Society continues to plan for its long-term financial future as well as for the shorter-term, and will be conducting a legacies programme in late 2021 and early 2022 to encourage its core community of Members and Fellows to remember the RSL in their wi 

endowment funds over the past years. Through cost efficiencies and diversification of income streams, with short- and longnue building our foundational base through our Permanent Endowment and Literature Matters Awards Endowment to protect new programmes of work for which there is not funding. The Trustees believe that this further supports 

The budgeted income and expenditure for the 12 months following the period of these accounts are sufficient with the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern beyond the second year of pandemic impact. With the designated Future Fund to support the RSL in times of uncertainty, the Trustees are ar two of the COVID-19 pandemic. The period of recovery from the pandemic. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Future Plans** 

In November 2020 the RSL launched its bicentenary festival, RSL 200. This marks five years of festivities 1825. A programme of activity and develop between 2020 and 2025. 

Since its founding, the RSL has stood for and worked towards the advancement of literature. Throughout 2021 and over the course of the festival, the RSL will build on current work and introduce new programmes to continue in this mission with our community of readers and writers. 

With the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, our lives are transformed. The RSL 200 programme will respond to the new perspectives brought by the crisis, work with the most vulnerable in our community to find their voices and process their experiences through literature, and find new ways to share literature with the greatest number of people across the UK and beyond. 

In the last year, the RSL has built on partnerships with major cultural organisations, broadcasters and festivals, including the British Library, National Portrait Gallery, BBC, Hay Festival, the Norwich and Norfolk Festival, Bare Lit festival and Bradford Literature Festival, to deliver a new digital programme. While the pandemic has made it more important than ever that we work online, the RSL is committed to delivering accessible digital programmes beyond the current crisis. 

Our RSL 200 programmes rely on digital development. To increase access, particularly in a post-pandemic world, the RSL will commission **a new website** to better serve our communities and, established, new, and future. 

Foundational to all this work is the principle that creators need to be paid for their work, that their work is pivotal to British society, and that literature brings us together across borders and, languages. RSL 200 and our work over the coming years demonstrates the impact that writing and writers have on British society, and on global literary culture. The programmes that form part of RSL 200 provide evidence of how important British literature policy and decision-making, particularly in times of global health crisis. 

In the context of COVID-19, the RSL is working to engage a newly digital literary landscape to celebrate international literature, and will continue to work with partners to represent the interests of literary creators across all RSL programmes. At the Royal Society of Literature, we believe that literature matters that it shapes society as well as reflecting it, and that it can change an individual life. With RSL 200, we take five years of bicentenaries to explore, interrogate and reimagine the best in British literature, past, present and future. 

With a Fellowship that celebrates the great diversity of lit -year festival will explore how writers are remembered and those voices that have been written out of the last 200 years of British literature. RSL 200 will promote, encourage, and celebrate literature that represents the backgrounds and experiences of people across Britain, that is accessible to all, and that acclaims and inspires excellence in literary creativity. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Future Plans: (i) acting as a voice for the value of literature** 

- **Literature Matters Awards** which are open to applications from any UK-resident writer to fund writing, events, or other literary projects, especially those that help reach marginalised audiences and generate discussion about the value of literature. The scheme was announced in Autumn 2017, with the first Awards granted in early 2018. In 2021, the RSL plans to present its fourth set of Awards, within a new annual calendar. Following the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Literature Matters Awards projects were impacted, reach curtailed, and completion reliant on potential adaptations to digital production. In late 2020, the RSL learnt from Awards entrants that the pandemic was continuing to compromise projects for the 2021 Awards cycle, with producers unable to predict what projects would be able to go forward. For the 2022 Awards, the RSL will accept submissions from spring to summer, announcing winners in autumn, at which point we hope producers will be able to better predict the limitations for their projects and find suitable adjustments so that awarded projects are able to progress forward as planned. 

The RSL recognises that the pandemic will impact the timelines and delivery forms of the winning projects in 2021. The Society will work to support project leaders, extend deadlines and be flexible with the final outcomes of the projects. The RSL will continue to work with past winners on an array of -reader judging for the V.S. Pritchett Prize, supporting literary creators and extending the Awards and recipients to new audiences. 

The RSL will also seek to build on the Literature Matters Awards Endowment fund with further bequests from literary supporters, increasing the number and size of Awards that can be provided annually and ensuring that the RSL has sufficient funds to manage the growth of this programme. 

- **Literature Matters Events** this series will continue as Literature Matters: RSL 200 over the course - 

- David Harewood and Gary Younge, to Colin Thubron and Michael Palin. These events, extending through the RSL 200 festival, will explore new event formats with a range of partners. In 2021, the RSL will use these events to pilot hybrid in-person and online events to provide excellent literary conversations with high profile speakers to the greatest possible audiences internationally while returning to a live staged offering too. 

- the RSL will introduce a new three-year initiative 

- to support and encourage young people in reading for pleasure. Literature Matters: Reading Together will be a summer project from 2021 to 2023, working with students at state secondary schools in the UK. Supported by UK publishers, students will receive copies of a book that had a significant impact on RSL Fellows and Honorary Fellows early in their reading lives. In its first year these Fellows and Honorary Fellows will be Daljit Nagra, Paul Muldoon and, newly elected in 2021, Emma Thompson, Kadija Sesay, Edmund de Waal, SF Said and Patrick Gale. They will be matched with Year 8/9 classes in UK state secondary schools. Each Fellow will record a series of read-along films for the young people, and will lead a digital workshop for the students. 

- This programme responds to data showing that children who are engaged with reading are three times more likely to have positive mental wellbeing than children who aren and aims to make recreational 

- National Literacy Trust research has shown that 1 in 11 disadvantaged children in the UK say that eep an 

- enjoyment of reading going, the greater the benefits are in the classroom; and children who enjoy The RSL 

- aims for those young people who are experiencing the most significant 'learning gap' due to the pandemic to be supported in reading purely for enjoyment, and finding their own way into the UK's literary culture. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Future Plans: (ii) engaging people in literature** 

continue to develop its main events programme in partnership with the **British Library** , online and at the BBC Radio 3. The RSL will also maintain other partnerships, through events in collaboration with UK literature festivals. In 2021, the RSL will continue to develop its online provision of events, extending these to audiences internationally, with a new subscription, the Digital Events Pass. As restrictions relating to the pandemic ease, we plan to return to in-person events with our venue partners, to restore the sense of community such gatherings engender for our Members, Fellows and supporters. These events will always be available online too, to ensure that our world-class literary discussions are accessible and available to the greatest breath of audiences possible. 

- Enhanced programme, introduced in 2020, throughout 2021. The Society will focus in 2021 on encouraging and supporting young people to read for pleasure with the new Literature Matters: Reading Together programme. 

- **Write Across London** a new poetry initiative to celebrate and encourage writing from across the capital in response to coronavirus. In 2020, the Museum of London is putting out an open call for - 

- submissions of both objects and first19 pandemic. The Collecting Covid Project is receiving a remarkable number of poems. Inspired by this, and announced on National Poetry Day 2020, the RSL will be working in partnership with the **Museum of London** , **National Poetry Day** and **Spread the Word** to celebrate the power of poetry to bring people together, even in times of significant isolation. The RSL will commission pairs of Poet Ambassadors Londoncommunities to write new work together and inspire other Londoners to write poems. The RSL will be soliciting submissions from Londoners from late 2020, collecting them together on an interactive digital map of London launched in spring 2021 and drawing to a close on National Poetry Day 2021. 

- _**Our Mutual Friend**_ a new quarterly newspaper for Members and Fellows. This paper, featuring riddles from RSL Fellows, will be launched in November 2020. The newspaper aims to maintain contact with Members and Fellows who might not wish to attend digital events. This replaces our print events programme (which it is not possible to produce during the uncertainties and planning timelines of the pandemic) with a content-led newspaper. 

- **Only Connect** -weekly e newsletter, retaining contact between members of the 0. These newsletters, curated by Members, Fellows, 

- means something to them. 

- To help reach new audiences, the Society will continue to develop a range of **partnerships** , including with: 

Collecting Society Africa Writes Festival Arts Council England Arts Council of Northern Ireland Asia House Bare Lit Festival Banned Books Week BBC Radio 3 British Academy British Council Camden Council Creative Access Creative Scotland The Living Knowledge Network Durham Literature Festival Embassy of Ireland English Heritage First Story Forward Arts Foundation Give A Book 

Goldsmiths, University of London Hay Festival Hatchards Booksellers Islington Libraries Literary Hub Literature Wales Literature Words London School of Economics National Centre for Writing New Writing North National Literacy Trusts National Poetry Day Royal African Society Royal Commonwealth Society Royal Literary Fund School of Advanced Studies, University of London Scottish Book Trust Scottish Poetry Library 

Sky Arts Society of Authors Somerset House Spread the Word Times Literary Supplement (TLS) The Audience Agency The Charleston Trust The English Association The Literary Consultancy The Royal Society University of Oxford Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain Writing East Midlands Writing West Midlands 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Future Plans: (ii) engaging people in literature (continued)** 

- Through our new **Digital Events Pass** , we will introduce a new lower-cost subscription option to our free, inas our quarterly newspaper _Our Mutual Friend_ , annual magazine _RSL Review,_ exclusive access to our - 

## **Future Plans: (iii) honouring and encouraging great writers** 

With the continued disruptions of COVID-19, the RSL will use and expand on its experience of supporting and celebrating writers through digital means. 

This will include: 

- Digital campaign **celebrating 30 new Fellows, 15 Honorary Fellows and one Benson Medallist** RSL will commission an animator as part of the programme, continuing our commitment to supporting artists through challenging times. 

- Appointment of the **next President of the Royal Society of Literature** , to be announced at the end of November 2021. 

- Announcement of the inaugural 12 **RSL International Writers** at the end of November 2021 recognising and celebrating the power of literature to bring us together, beyond borders and across cultures by creating a new role of RSL International Writer. The programme will recognise the contribution of writers from across the globe to literature in English, calling for public recommendations of excellent writers not resident in, or citizens of, the UK, who have published two works of outstanding literary merit (where at least two have been translated into English, or originally written in English). These will be considered by a panel of RSL Fellows, chaired by Daniel Hahn and including  Lisa Appignanesi, Syima Aslam, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, Sophie Collins, Max Porter, Philippe Sands, Elif Shafak and Boyd Tonkin. They will be appointed by the RSL Council. 

- Election of **30 Fellows** through the **RSL Open** Fellowship programme, to be announced in summer 2022, and an additional 15 Fellows through the direct nomination process **RSL Open** celebrates the excellence of writers from communities that have been under-represented in UK literary culture by electing 60 new Fellows from these communities over a two-year period. This programme will follow the election process use for the 40 Under 40 programme in 2017/18, calling for public recommendations that will be considered by a panel of Fellows, chaired by Bernardine Evaristo and including Ian Duhig, Cynan Jones, Val McDermid, Daljit Nagra, Nikesh Shukla, Ali Smith, Jack Thorne, Colm Toíbín and Eley Williams. The selected 30 writers each year will be elected by the RSL Council. Launch the new **Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards** thanks to the support of Sky Arts Ambassador and RSL Vice-President, Bernardine Evaristo, and funding from Sky Arts, the **Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards** provide mentorships to emerging writers of colour working across a range of forms. Mentors in the first year will be Irenosen Okojie for Fiction, Colin Grant for Non-Fiction, Roy Williams for Playwriting, Pascale Petit for Poetry and Tanika Gupta for Screenwriting. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **Structure, governance and management** 

## **Governance** 

- **governing body** is its Council, whose membership consists of up to 16 Fellows elected at the 

- Annual General Meeting. All Fellows are eligible to stand for election and to vote. The Council members act as the Trustees of the charity, and, together with the Vice-Presidents, President, and Presidents Emeriti, they vote on the admission of new Fellows 

- The RSL Council met on four occasions during 2020, and the AGM was held online on 24 November. The AGM was held online for the first time, due to restrictions imposed by the pandemic. The benefit of this online meeting was the opportunity for attendance of Fellows all over the UK and world. 71 Fellows and Honorary Fellows were in attendance 

- The RSL Council is led by its Chair. The 2020 Chair, Lisa Appignanesi, reached the end of her term in next President will be overseen by the RSL Council and its newly formed Presidential Election Committee. The next President will be announced at the end of November 2021, and will take up their position in January 2022. 

- ommittees which report to Council with recommendations. These 

- resources, governance, and fundraising), and the Programmes Committee (with oversight of public events, publications and outreach). 


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RSL Council<br>1. Finance and<br>Human  2. Programmes<br>Resources  Committee<br>Committee<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


## **Key management and other human resources** 

- The key management of the Society was led by Molly Rosenberg (Director) and Martha Stenhouse (General Manager) in 2020 

   - Annette Brook Communications Manager (4 days a week) 

   - Rosie Beaumont-Thomas - Events and Education Manager (FT to October 2020) Beth Gallimore Events and Outreach Manager (FT from October 2020). 

- The charity also has long-term contractual arrangements with four freelance sub-contractors Finance Officer Niki Couldridge, Paula Johnson Hon FRSL (Awards and Prizes), Maggie Fergusson Hon FRSL (Literary Adviser) and Human Resources consultant Claire Powell. 

- In 2020 the RSL appointed its third **Creative Access** trainee. Creative Access is the only organisation in the UK dedicated to recruiting talented people from groups that are under-represented in terms of ethnicity, socioeconomic background and disability, or facing significant barriers to employment in the creative industries. The RSL is committed to equality of opportunity, and the ethos of respect and compassion for each other and the communities we work with runs through everything we do. We believe literature is for everyone, across all ethnicities, gender identities, disabilities, cultures, religions/beliefs, sexual orientations or ages. We value and celebrate diversity and encourage applications from people under-represented in the creative industries. In 2020, the RSL appointed Jessica Allee as Marketing and Administrative Assistant for four days per week from February 2020 into 2021. She gained experience of a range of activities at the RSL, including public events management, digital and print communications, and awards and prizes administration. She worked position at Arts Council England as an administrator. 



## **The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 


Report and the financial statements in accordance with 

applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to: 

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; 

- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2015 (FRS 102); 

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation. 

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 

In so far as the Trustees are aware: 

- the Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information. 

Approved on behalf of the board on 26 October 2021 and signed on their behalf by 


....................................................................... Colin Chisholm Hon FRSL Trustee and Treasurer 


............................................................................... Daljit Nagra FRSL Trustee and Chair of Council 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Opinion** 

We have audited the financial statements of The Royal Society of Literature 31 December 2020 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies.  The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 _The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland_ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

In our opinion the financial statements: 

- 31 December 2020, and of its incoming 

- resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended; 

- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and 

- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011. 

## **Basis for opinion** 

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. 

## **Conclusions relating to going concern** 

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that sis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. 

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. 

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. 

## **Other information** 

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. 

We have nothing to report in this regard. 

## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception** 

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion: 

- the information given in the financial statements is or 

- the charity has not kept adequate accounting records; or 

- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or 

- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Responsibilities of trustees** 

As explained more fully in , the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. 

going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. 

## **s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** 

We have been appointed as auditor under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with regulations made under section 154 of that Act. 

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. 

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below: 

- Enquiry of management and those charged with governance around actual and potential litigation and claims as well as actual, suspected and alleged fraud; 

- Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance; 

- Assessing the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations considered to have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company through enquiry and inspection; 

- Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations; 

- Performing audit work over the risk of management bias and override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for indicators of potential bias. 

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation.  This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. 

A further de https://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Audit/Audit-and-assurance/Standards-and-guidance/Standards-and-guidance-forauditors/Auditors-responsibilities-for-audit/Description-of-auditors-responsibilities-for-audit.aspx. This description forms 

## **Use of our report** 

Reports) Regulations 2008.  Our audit by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to a for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 


Michelle Wilkes FCA Azets Audit Services Statutory Auditors, Chartered Accountants 2nd Floor, Regis House, 45 King William Street, London EC4R 9AN 

Date: 28 October 2021 

Azets Audit Services is eligible to act as auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006. 



## **The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Statement of Financial Activities** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

|**Note**<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Endowment**<br>**Funds**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**INCOME**<br>Donations and legacies<br>**3**<br>45,593<br>42,124<br>-<br>Trusts and foundations<br>**4**<br>56,550<br>66,313<br>-<br>Charitable activities<br>**5**<br>57,663<br>6,228<br>-<br>Other trading activities<br>**6**<br>16,811<br>-<br>-<br>Investment income<br>**7**<br>26,313<br>4,978<br>12,862<br>Other income<br>**8**<br>2,682<br>-<br>-<br>____________<br>____________<br>____________<br>**TOTAL INCOME**<br>**205,612**<br>**119,643**<br>**12,862**<br>____________<br>____________<br>____________<br>**EXPENDITURE**<br>Raising funds<br>**9**<br>2,012<br>2,678<br>25,097<br>Charitable activities<br>**10**<br>232,785<br>165,708<br>-<br>____________<br>____________<br>____________<br>**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**<br>**11**<br>**234,797**<br>**168,386**<br>**25,097**<br>____________<br>____________<br>____________<br>**NET EXPENDITURE AND NET**<br>**MOVEMENT IN FUNDS**<br>**BEFORE GAINS & LOSSES ON**<br>**INVESTMENTS AND**<br>**TRANSFERS**<br>**(29,185)**<br>**(48,743)**<br>**(12,235)**<br>Net gains/(losses) on<br>investments<br>**17**<br>3,943<br>(1,852)<br>247,481<br>____________<br>___________<br>____________<br>**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)**<br>**BEFORE TRANSFERS**<br>**(25,242)**<br>**(50,595)**<br>**235,246**<br>____________<br>___________<br>____________<br>Transfer between funds<br>**22-**<br>**24**<br>-<br>48,800<br>(48,800)<br>____________<br>___________<br>____________<br>NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS<br>**(25,242)**<br>**(1,795)**<br>**186,446**<br>____________<br>___________<br>____________<br>**RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS**<br>Total funds brought forward<br>308,934<br>559,526<br>2,373,859<br>____________<br>___________<br>____________<br>**TOTAL FUNDS**<br>**CARRIED FORWARD**<br>**283,692**<br>**557,731**<br>**2,560,305**|**Total**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>87,717<br>122,863<br>63,891<br>16,811<br>44,153<br>2,682<br>____________<br>**338,117**<br>____________<br>29,787<br>398,493<br>____________<br>**428,280**<br>____________<br>**(90,163)**<br>249,572<br>____________<br>**159,409**<br>____________<br>-<br>____________<br>**159,409**<br>____________<br>3,242,319<br>____________<br>**3,401,728**|**Total**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>159,011<br>71,490<br>51,419<br>15,688<br>47,568<br>3,867<br>____________<br>**349,043**<br>____________<br>65,588<br>411,002<br>____________<br>**476,590**<br>____________<br>**(127,547)**<br>**401,531**<br>____________<br>**273,984**<br>____________<br>-<br>____________<br>**273,984**<br>____________<br>2,968,335<br>____________<br>**3,242,319**|
|---|---|---|



There were no recognised gains or losses other than those shown in the Statement of Financial Activities. There were no acquisitions or discontinued operations during either of the above two financial years 

The notes on pages 29 to 42 form part of the financial statements. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Balance Sheet** 

## **As at 31 December 2020** 

|**Note**<br>**2020**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**FIXED ASSETS:**<br>Tangible fixed assets<br>**16**<br>-<br>Investments<br>**17**<br>2,967,571<br>____________<br>2,967,571<br>**CURRENT ASSETS:**<br>Stock<br>1,580<br>347<br>Debtors<br>**18**<br>32,730<br>34,255<br>Cash and bank<br>487,838<br>387,396<br>________<br>________<br>522,148<br>421,998<br>**CURRENT LIABILITIES:**<br>Creditors:<br>Amounts falling due within one year<br>**19**<br>(87,991)<br>(57,977)<br>________<br>________<br>**NET CURRENT ASSETS**<br>434,157<br>____________<br>**TOTAL**<br>**ASSETS**<br>**LESS**<br>**CURRENT**<br>**LIABILITIES**<br>3,401,728<br>____________<br>Creditors: Amounts falling due after more<br>than one year<br>**20**<br>-<br>____________<br>**NET ASSETS**<br>**3,401,728**<br>~~____________~~<br>Unrestricted funds<br>13,045<br>Designated funds<br>**22**<br>270,647<br>Restricted funds<br>**23**<br>557,731<br>Endowment funds<br>**24**<br>2,560,305<br>____________<br>**25**<br>**3,401,728**<br>~~____________~~<br>Approved on behalf of the board on 26 October 2021 and signed on their behalf by<br>......................................................................<br>....................................................................<br>Colin Chisholm<br>Daljit Nagra FRSL<br>Trustee and Honorary Treasurer<br>Trustee and Chair of Council|**£**<br>597<br>2,880,201<br>____________<br>2,880,798<br>364,021<br>____________<br>3,244,819<br>____________<br>(2,500)<br>____________<br>**3,242,319**|
|---|---|
||~~____________~~<br>38,287<br>270,647<br>559,526<br>2,373,859<br>____________<br>**3,242,319**|
||~~____________~~<br>...........|



The notes on pages 29 to 42 form part of these financial statements. 



## **The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Statement of Cash Flow** 

## **As at 31 December 2020** 

|**Note**<br>**Net cash used in operating activities**<br>**29**<br>**Cash flows from investing activities**<br>Dividends and interest from investments<br>Purchase of investments<br>Proceeds from sale of investments<br>**Net cash provided by investing activities**<br>**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year**<br>Cash and cash equivalents brought forward<br>**Cash and cash equivalents carried forward**<br>**Cash and cash equivalent consist of:**<br>Cash at bank and in hand|**2020**<br>**£**<br>(105,913)<br>_____________<br>44,153<br>(386,359)<br>548,561<br>_____________<br>206,355<br>_____________<br>100,442<br>387,396<br>_____________<br>**487,838**<br>~~_____________~~<br>**487,838**|**2019**<br>**£**<br>(116,863)<br>_____________<br>47,568<br>(254,139)<br>408,591<br>_____________<br>202,020<br>_____________<br>85,157<br>302,239<br>_____________<br>387,396|
|---|---|---|
|||~~_____________~~<br>387,396|



The notes on pages 29 to 42 form part of these financial statements. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **1. GENERAL INFORMATION** 

The Royal Society of Literature is a registered charity no 213962.  It meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). The Society operates from Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. 

## **2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES** 

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows: 

## **(a) Basis of Accounting** 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 (as updated through Update Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016 and Update Bulletin 2 published 5 October 2019) and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011. 

The Royal Society of Literature meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.  Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). 

## **(b) Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis** 

The Society has a reasonable expectation that there are adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Extra consideration has been given to the impact of the COVID-19 secured to meet expenditure, and expenditure carefully managed, the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the Trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern beyond the first year of pandemic impact. The Trustees have assessed the impact of restrictions on the charity and financial implications and are confident that resources are sufficient to meet its liabilities for 12 months from authorising there financial statements. 

## **(c) Fund Accounting** 

## **Unrestricted Funds** 

General unrestricted funds represent funds which are expendable at the discretion of the Society in the furtherance of the objects of the Society and which have not been designated for other purposes. 

## **Designated Funds** 

These funds represent amounts set aside by the Society for a specific purpose as set out in note 22. They may be returned to the General fund at the discretion of the Society. 

## **Restricted Funds** 

These funds represent amounts which have been restricted by the donors for use for specific purposes as set out in note 23. 

## **Endowment Funds** 

Endowment funds represent those assets which must be held permanently by the charity as set out in note 24. 

Income arising on the endowment funds can be used in accordance with the objects of the charity and is included as unrestricted/restricted income. Any capital gains or losses arising on the investments form part of the fund. Investment management charges and legal advice relating to the fund are charged against the fund. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)** 

## **(d) Income** 

All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably, and it is probable that the income will be received. 

Donation income is recognised when the Society has been notified in writing of both the amount and settlement date. 

Legacy income is recognised at the earlier date of the date on which either: the Society is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the Society that a distribution will be made, or when distribution is received from the estate 

Membership and Fellowship income is included in the period in which the income is received. 

Income from charitable activities includes income earned from events and classes held by the charity. It is included in the year the event/class occurred. 

Income from trading activities includes advertising income and rental income. It is included in the period in which the income relates to. 

Dividends are recognised once the dividend has been declared and notification has been received of the dividend due. This is normally upon notification by or investment advisor of the dividend yield of the investment portfolio. 

## **(e) Expenditure** 

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure. It is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. 

All expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis. All expenses including support costs and governance costs are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings. For more information on this attribution refer to note (g) below. 

Costs of raising funds consist of investment management fees for the period, and costs in relation to fundraising expenditure. 

Costs of charitable activities consist of those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them. 

## **(f) Irrecoverable VAT** 

Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the expenditure heading for which it was incurred. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)** 

## **(g) Allocation of support and governance costs** 

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the Society but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which the 

Governance costs comprise all costs involving the public accountability of the Society and its compliance with regulation and good practice. These costs include costs related to statutory audit and legal fees together with an apportionment of overhead and support costs. 

Support and Governance costs are allocated to charitable activities in proportion to the direct charitable expenditure on that activity, where the charity considers that support costs are incurred as part of the delivery of that activity. 

## **(h) Pension** 

scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate. 

## **(i) Operating leases** 

The Society classifies the rental lease as an operating lease; the title to the building remains with the lessor. 

Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease. 

## **(j) Tangible fixed assets** 

Individual fixed assets costing £250 or more are capitalised at cost. 

Depreciation on fixed assets is calculated to write off the cost on a straight line basis over their expected useful lives, at the following rates: 

Computer equipment: 33.3% Website: 33.3% 

## **(k) Fixed asset investments** 

Investments are a form of basic financial instruments and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. 

All gains and losses are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities as they arise. Realised gains and losses on investments are calculated as the difference between the sale proceeds and opening market value (purchase date if later). Unrealised gains and losses are calculated as the difference between the market value at the year end and opening market value (or purchase date if later) 

The Society does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)** 

## **(l) Debtors** 

Other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. Accrued income is measured at the amount due to be received. 

## **(m) Cash at bank and in hand** 

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar accounts. 

## **(n) Creditors** 

Creditors are recognised where the Society has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. 

Other creditors and accruals are recognised at their settlement amount due. 

## **(o) Financial instruments** 

The Society only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. 

## **(p) Taxation** 

As a charity, the Society is not liable to taxation on its income or on surpluses on disposal of investments. 

## **(q) Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty** 

Accounting estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. 

The following judgements (apart from those involving estimates) have been made in the process of applying the above accounting policies that have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements: 

Useful economic lives of tangible assets 

The annual depreciation charge for tangible assets is sensitive to changes in the estimated useful economic lives and residual values of the assets. The useful economic lives and residual values are re-assessed annually. They are amended when necessary to reflect current estimates, based on technological advancement, future investments, economic utilisation and the physical condition of the assets. See note 16 for the carrying amount of the property plant and equipment, and note (j) for the useful economic lives for each class of assets. 

There are no key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **3. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES** 

|**Unrestricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Endowment**<br>**Funds**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>Corporate sponsors<br>-<br>17,210<br>-<br>Individual donations<br>43,191<br>4,875<br>-<br>Legacies<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>Public sector<br>192<br>20,039<br>-<br>Donated services<br>2,210<br>-<br>-<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**45,593**<br>**42,124**<br>**-**|**Total**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>17,210<br>48,066<br>-<br>20,231<br>2,210<br>__________<br>**87,717**|**Total**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>30,600<br>115,112<br>8,400<br>859<br>4,040<br>__________<br>**159,011**|
|---|---|---|



In 2019, £63,333 of donations and legacies was attributable to the unrestricted fund, £95,678 was attributable to the restricted fund and nil was attributable to the endowment fund. 

## **4.** 

## **TRUST AND FOUNDATIONS** 

|**Unrestricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Endowment**<br>**Funds**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>Lucy Astor<br>5,000<br>21,500<br>-<br>Grant Trust<br>45,000<br>-<br>-<br>City Bridge Trust<br>-<br>18,338<br>-<br>Maria Bjornson Memorial Fund<br>-<br>17,005<br>-<br>Portrack Charitable Trust<br>5,000<br>-<br>-<br>Francis Arts Trust<br>-<br>2,970<br>-<br>Hawthorne<br>-<br>2,500<br>-<br>The Drue Heinz Charity<br>-<br>2,500<br>-<br>The Thistle Trust<br>-<br>1,500<br>-<br>BDB Pitmans Charitable Trust<br>1,000<br>-<br>-<br>The Chairmans Charitable Trust<br>500<br>-<br>-<br>The J P Jacobs Charitable Trust<br>50<br>-<br>-<br>Curtis Charitable Trust<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>Sutton Place Foundation<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>The Tara Getty Foundation<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>Royal library fund<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**56,550**<br>**66,313**<br>**-**|**Total**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>26,500<br>45,000<br>18,338<br>17,005<br>5,000<br>2,970<br>2,500<br>2,500<br>1,500<br>1,000<br>500<br>50<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>__________<br>**122,863**|**Total**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>20,440<br>-<br>-<br>15,000<br>5,000<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>50<br>1,000<br>5,000<br>10,000<br>15,000<br>__________<br>**71,490**|
|---|---|---|



In 2019, £36,050 of donations and legacies was attributable to the unrestricted fund, £35,440 was attributable to the restricted fund and nil was attributable to the endowment fund. 

## **5. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES** 

|**Unrestricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Endowment**<br>**Funds**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>Event ticket sales<br>860<br>-<br>-<br>Prize entry fees<br>32<br>6,228<br>-<br>Membership and Fellowship<br>56,462<br>-<br>-<br>Other<br>309<br>-<br>-<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**57,663**<br>**6,228**<br>**-**|**Total**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>860<br>6,260<br>56,462<br>309<br>__________<br>**63,891**|**Total**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>1,344<br>5,348<br>44,083<br>644<br>__________<br>**51,419**|
|---|---|---|



In 2019, £46,132 of the income from charitable activities was attributable to the unrestricted fund, £5,287 was attributable to the restricted fund and nil was attributable to the endowment fund. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **6. INCOME FROM OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES** 

|**Unrestricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Endowment**<br>**Funds**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>Advertising<br>475<br>-<br>-<br>Merchandise<br>71<br>-<br>-<br>Rental Income<br>16,265<br>-<br>-<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**16,811**<br>**-**<br>**-**|**Total**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>475<br>71<br>16,265<br>__________<br>**16,811**|**Total**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>750<br>636<br>14,302<br>__________<br>**15,688**|
|---|---|---|



In 2019, all the £15,688 of other trading activities income was attributable to the unrestricted funds. 

## **7. INVESTMENT INCOME** 

|**Unrestricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Endowment**<br>**Funds**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>Income from investments<br>26,222<br>4,978<br>12,862<br>Bank interest<br>91<br>-<br>-<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**26,313**<br>**4,978**<br>**12,862**|**Total**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>44,062<br>91<br>__________<br>**44,153**|**Total**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>47,420<br>148<br>__________<br>**47,568**|
|---|---|---|



In 2019, £27,443 of the investment income was attributable to the unrestricted fund, £6,459 was attributable to the restricted fund and the remaining £13,666 was attributable to the endowment fund. 

## **8. OTHER INCOME** 

|**Unrestricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Endowment**<br>**Funds**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>Income from Auctions<br>**2,682**<br>**-**<br>**-**|**Total**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>**2,682**|**Total**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>**3,867**|
|---|---|---|



In 2019, all the £3,867 of other income was attributable to the unrestricted funds. 

## **9. RAISING FUNDS** 

|**Unrestricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Endowment**<br>**Funds**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>Investment management fees<br>407<br>2,678<br>25,097<br>Fundraising costs<br>1,605<br>-<br>-<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**2,012**<br>**2,678**<br>**25,097**|**Total**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>28,182<br>1,605<br>__________<br>**29,787**|**Total**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>31,135<br>34,453<br>__________<br>**65,588**|
|---|---|---|



In 2019, £34,507 of the expenditure in relation to raising funds was attributable to the unrestricted fund, £3,094 was attributable to the restricted fund and the remaining £27,987 was attributable to the endowment fund. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **10. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES** 

|**Unrestricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**Funds**<br>**Endowment**<br>**Funds**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>Public Events<br>44,524<br>5,210<br>-<br>Awards & Prizes<br>43,601<br>115,650<br>-<br>Communications & Publications<br>86,788<br>4,800<br>-<br>Outreach<br>17,493<br>25,578<br>-<br>Membership & Fellowship<br>33,969<br>-<br>-<br>Research<br>40<br>-<br>-<br>Bicentenary<br>6,370<br>14,470<br>-<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**232,785**<br>**165,708**<br>**-**|**Total**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>49,734<br>159,251<br>91,588<br>43,071<br>33,969<br>40<br>20,840<br>__________<br>**398,493**|**Total**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>65,450<br>175,424<br>81,668<br>28,957<br>51,836<br>7,667<br>-<br>__________<br>**411,002**|
|---|---|---|



In 2019, £246,623 of the expenditure in relation to charitable activities was attributable to the unrestricted fund, £164,379 was attributable to the restricted fund and nil was attributable to the endowment fund. 

## **11. ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE** 

|**Direct**<br>**Charitable**<br>**Support**<br>**costs**<br>**(note 12)**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>Public Events<br>40,005<br>9,729<br>Awards & Prizes<br>128,099<br>31,152<br>Communications & Publications<br>73,672<br>17,916<br>Outreach<br>34,646<br>8,425<br>Membership & Fellowship<br>27,323<br>6,646<br>Research<br>32<br>8<br>Bicentenary<br>16,763<br>4,077<br>____________<br>____________<br>Charitable expenditure<br>320,540<br>77,953<br>Raising funds<br>29,472<br>315<br>____________<br>____________<br>**350,012**<br>**78,268**|**Total**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>49,734<br>159,251<br>91,588<br>43,071<br>33,969<br>40<br>20,840<br>____________<br>398,493<br>29,787<br>____________<br>**428,280**|**Total**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>65,450<br>175,424<br>81,668<br>28,957<br>51,836<br>7,667<br>-<br>____________<br>411,002<br>65,588<br>____________<br>**476,590**|
|---|---|---|



In 2019, £349,064 of the expenditure related to direct charitable expenditure, and the remaining £127,526 related to support costs. 

## **12. SUPPORT COSTS** 

|Governance costs (note 13)<br>Accountancy fees<br>IT costs<br>Rent & rates<br>Office costs<br>Depreciation<br>Bank charges<br>Meeting costs<br>HR costs<br>Staff related costs|**2020**<br>**£**<br>14,024<br>12,378<br>4,128<br>31,351<br>2,123<br>597<br>397<br>109<br>1,397<br>11,764<br>__________<br>**78,268**|**2019**<br>**£**<br>18,470<br>17,453<br>12,976<br>44,279<br>12,441<br>2,152<br>566<br>1,205<br>1,401<br>16,583<br>__________<br>**127,526**|
|---|---|---|





**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **13. GOVERNANCE COSTS** 

|-<br>Audit fee (including VAT)<br>-<br>Non-audit fee (including VAT)<br>-<br>Over/under accrued in previous years<br>Other costs<br>Meeting costs<br>Trustee expenses<br>Total governance costs<br>**14.**<br>**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) FOR THE YEAR**<br>This is stated after charging:<br>Depreciation<br>Operating lease costs<br>**15.**<br>**ANALYSIS OF STAFF COSTS, TRUSTEE REMUNERATION AND**<br>**EXPENSES AND THE COST OF KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL**<br>Salaries and wages<br>Social security costs<br>Pension costs<br>The average number of employees by head count:|**2020**<br>**£**<br>6,550<br>1,950<br>(550)<br>960<br>5,114<br>-<br>__________<br>**14,024**<br>~~____________~~<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>597<br>23,410<br>~~____________~~<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>135,890<br>9,798<br>7,732<br>____________<br>**153,420**<br>~~____________~~<br>4|**2019**<br>**£**<br>6,550<br>1,950<br>153<br>472<br>9,161<br>184<br>__________<br>**18,470**<br>~~____________~~<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>2,152<br>36,288<br>~~____________~~<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>112,505<br>9,240<br>6,096<br>____________<br>**127,841**<br>~~____________~~<br>4|
|---|---|---|



Employee time has been allocated either; 

i) To direct costs on a percentage of the time spent by an employee on an activity ii) To support costs allocated on a percentage basis over all the costs. 

During the year, no employee £60,000 - £70,000 (2019: none) 

During 2019, no trustees (2019: £nil) were paid or received any other benefits from employment with the Society. 1 trustee (2019: 3) was reimbursed for travel and meeting expenses amounting to £32 (2019: £397). 

The key management of the Society comprise the Trustees, the Director and the General Manager. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the Society were £94,657 (2019: £90,717). 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **16. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS** 

||||||||**Website**|**Website**|**Computers**||**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||**£**||**£**||**£**|
||**Cost**|||||||||||
||As at 1 January 2020|||||||24,044|23,855||47,899|
||Disposals||||||(24,044)||(16,879)||(40,923)|
||||||||__________||__________||__________|
||As at 31 December 2020|||||||-|6,976||6,976|
||||||||**__________**||**__________**||**__________**|
||**Depreciation**|||||||||||
||As at 1 January 2020|||||||24,044|23,258||47,302|
||Charge for year|||||||-|597||597|
||Eliminated on||disposal||||(24,044)||(16,879)||(40,923)|
||||||||__________||__________||__________|
||As at 31 December 2020|||||||-|6,976||6,976|
||||||||**__________**||**__________**||**__________**|
||**Net Book Values**|||||||||||
||**At 31 December 2020**|||||||**-**||**-**|**-**|
||||||||~~__________~~||~~__________~~||~~__________~~|
||At 31 December 2019|||||||**-**|**597**||**597**|
||||||||~~__________~~||~~__________~~||~~__________~~|
|**17.**|**FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS**|||||||||||
||||||||||**2020**||**2019**|
||||||||||**£**||**£**|
||At 1 January 2020||||||||2,496,842||2,292,829|
||Additions|in year|||||||386,359||254,139|
||Disposal proceeds||||||||(443,557)||(451,657)|
||Gain/(losses) on investments||||||||249,572||401,531|
||||||||||__________||__________|
||At 31 December 2020||||||||2,689,216||2,496,842|
||||||||||~~__________~~||~~__________~~|
||Historical|cost|of listed portfolio||||||2,192,191||2,286,453|
||||||||||~~__________~~||~~__________~~|
||Investments at fair value compromise:|||||||||||
||Equities||||||||2,630,358||2,439,860|
||Fixed interest||||||||36,563||36,308|
||Balanced||||||||22,295||20,674|
||||||||||____________||____________|
||||||||||2,689,216||2,496,842|
||Cash within investment portfolio||||||||278,355||383,359|
||||||||||__________||__________|
||||||||||**2,967,571**||**2,880,201**|
||||||||||~~__________~~||~~__________~~|
||The||||||||||-end:|
||Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd||||||||154,171||-|
||Franco-Nevada Corp||||||||-<br>~~__________~~||130,257<br>~~__________~~|





**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

|**18.**<br>**DEBTORS**<br>Other debtors<br>Prepayments<br>Accrued income<br>Rent deposit<br>**19.**<br>**CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**<br>Trade creditors<br>Other creditors<br>Accruals and deferred income (note 21)<br>**20.**<br>**CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER ONE YEAR**<br>Accruals and deferred income (note 21)<br>**21.**<br>**DEFERRED INCOME**<br>At 1 January 2020<br>Additions during the year<br>Amounts released to income<br>**At 31 December 2020**|**2020**<br>**£**<br>16,249<br>7,392<br>475<br>8,614<br>__________<br>**32,730**<br>~~__________~~<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>19,753<br>5,391<br>62,847<br>__________<br>**87,991**<br>~~__________~~<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>-<br>__________<br>**-**<br>~~__________~~<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>28,371<br>11,108<br>(11,087)<br>__________<br>**28,392**|**2019**<br>**£**<br>16,442<br>9,199<br>-<br>8,614<br>__________<br>**34,255**<br>~~__________~~<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>5,031<br>3,898<br>49,048<br>__________<br>**57,977**<br>~~__________~~<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>2,500<br>__________<br>**2,500**<br>~~__________~~<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>7,500<br>23,371<br>(2,500)<br>__________<br>**28,371**|
|---|---|---|



In 2017, £10,000 was received relating to of the deferred income relates to sponsorship income received for the next 4 years, at 31 December 2020, there was 1 

Other deferred income relates to income from membership and subscriptions received during the year relating to 2021. 



**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **22. DESIGNATED FUNDS Current year** 

|**At 1 Jan**<br>**2020**<br>**New**<br>**Designation**<br>**Designation**<br>**Released**<br>**At**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>Future Funds<br>270,647<br>-<br>-|**31 Dec**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>270,647|
|---|---|



In advance of its bicentenary in 2020, the RSL released a designated fund from its reserves. 

previously held as endowment. The designated fund and its expenditure over the coming years will be overseen by the Finance and HR Committee, with approval from Council. 

As a guideline for trustees and for staff leads, Council approved a three-point signoff for any new programmes to be part-funded from the Future Fund: 

1. and meet two out of three of its aims (to act as a voice for the value of literature; to engage the public in literature; to recognise and encourage great writers)? 

2. Are there potential funder(s) identified to support the costs of the proposed programme? The RSL will not commit Future Fund money to support 100% of the costs of any programme. Any new initiative should introduce the RSL to a new fun funder to sustain future funding. 

3. Does this programme work with current partners for the RSL, or introduce us to new partners? The RSL particularly looks to build on and develop new partnerships across the UK, outside London. 

These restrictions established, overseen and monitored by the Council are subject to review in the event of times of significant difficulty. This fund supports the RSL through challenging times and sures up the sition during the difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic recovery. 

## **22. DESIGNATED FUNDS Prior year** 

|Future Funds<br>**23.**<br>**RESTRICTED FUNDS**<br>**Current year**<br>**At 1 Jan**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>VS Pritchett Prize fund<br>-<br>Encore Award Prize Fund<br>-<br>Ondaatje Prize Fund<br>217,307<br>Christopher Bland Prize Fund<br>341,128<br>Literature Matters Awards<br>-<br>Giles St Aubyn<br>1,091<br>International writers<br>-<br>Benson Medal<br>-<br>Public Events<br>-<br>Outreach<br>-<br>Publications<br>-<br>Bicentenary<br>-<br>__________<br>**559,526**|**At 1 Jan**<br>**2019**<br>**New**<br>**Designation**<br>**Designation**<br>**Released**<br>**At**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>-<br>355,187<br>(84,540)<br>~~__________~~<br>~~__________~~<br>~~__________~~<br>**Income**<br>**Expenditure**<br>**Gains/**<br>**(losses)**<br>**Transfers**<br>**(note 22)**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>6,228<br>(6,228)<br>-<br>-<br>21,500<br>(21,500)<br>-<br>-<br>4,978<br>(19,678)<br>(1,852)<br>-<br>625<br>(16,272)<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>(20,100)<br>-<br>20,000<br>-<br>(28,800)<br>-<br>28,800<br>5,500<br>(5,500)<br>-<br>-<br>250<br>(250)<br>-<br>-<br>5,210<br>(5,210)<br>-<br>-<br>49,033<br>(25,578)<br>-<br>-<br>11,849<br>(4,800)<br>-<br>-<br>14,470<br>(14,470)<br>-<br>-<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**119,643**<br>**(168,386)**<br>**(1,852)**<br>**48,800**|**31 Dec**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>270,647<br>~~__________~~<br>**At 31**<br>**Dec**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>-<br>-<br>200,755<br>325,481<br>(100)<br>1,091<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>23,455<br>7,049<br>-<br>__________<br>**557,731**|
|---|---|---|





**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **23. RESTRICTED FUNDS Current year (continued)** 

The funds for the VS Pritchett Memorial Prize, Encore Award, RSL Ondaatje Prize and RSL Christopher Bland Prize were expended on these respective literary prizes and the associated costs of administration and prizes 13 and 14. Each year, additional costs of the RSL Ondaatje Prize restricted fund during the year. 

The RSL Christopher Bland Prize Fund was newly established at the RSL in 2018. Lady Jennie Bland and a number of supporters made donations totalling £303,975 in 2018 forming a new restricted fund, to support the RSL Christopher Bland Prize for debut fiction and non-fiction writers aged 50 and over. Further donations in 2019 added to this fund. Further details of the Prize and its donors in 2020 are on pages 13 and 14 of the 

The Literature Matters Awards expenditure is related to the Literature Matters Awards Endowment. Expenditure from this restricted fund relates to this set of project Awards. 

The RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards expenditure is related to the Giles St Aubyn Endowment. Expenditure from this restricted fund relates to a set of non-fiction Awards, as stipulated in the legacy left by former Fellow Giles St Aubyn. 

The RSL International Writers programme is a new set of annual Awards for the Society, celebrating the power Forum. 

As part of bicentenary celebrations, the RSL commissioned a new Benson Medal (first awarded in 1917) from the artist Linda Crook. An RSL Fellow made a donation in support of this project for the first year of the new Medal. 

and funders. 

The Outreach fund in 2020 included funding from Arts Council England, the Maria Bjornson Memorial Fund, the Tara Getty Foundation, the Sutton Place Foundation and the City Bridge Trust. These supported a range of outreach programmes detailed on pages 8 and 9. 

In 2020, the RSL celebrated the beginning of its bicentenary festival, RSL 200. Expenditure in 2020 supported the announcement of RSL Fellows, Companions of Literature, Vice-Presidents and new Roll Book signing pens, through a series of over 60 short films, supported by ALCS. 200[th] birthday when the restrictions of the pandemic limited all celebrations to digital form. For an overview of the RSL 200 celebrations see page 4. 

|**23A**<br>**RESTRICTED FUNDS**<br>**Prior year**<br>**At 1 Jan**<br>**2019**<br>**Income**<br>**Expenditure**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>VS Pritchett Prize fund<br>-<br>15,287<br>(15,287)<br>Encore Award Prize Fund<br>-<br>20,440<br>(20,440)<br>Ondaatje Prize Fund<br>213,222<br>6,459<br>(24,891)<br>Christopher Bland Prize Fund<br>303,975<br>56,287<br>(19,125)<br>Literature Matters Awards<br>-<br>600<br>(20,600)<br>Giles St Aubyn<br>-<br>-<br>(26,300)<br>Public Events<br>-<br>3,100<br>(3,100)<br>School Outreach<br>-<br>5,200<br>(5,200)<br>Publications (previously<br>Society review (Magazine))<br>-<br>32,530<br>(32,530)<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**517,197**<br>**139,894**<br>**(167,473)**|**Gains/**<br>**(losses)**<br>**Transfers**<br>**(note 22)**<br>**At 31 Dec**<br>**2019**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>22,517<br>-<br>217,307<br>-<br>-<br>341,128<br>-<br>20,000<br>-<br>-<br>27,391<br>1,091<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**22,517**<br>**47,391**<br>**559,526**|
|---|---|





**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

|**24.**<br>**ENDOWMENT FUNDS**<br>**Current year**<br>**At 1 Jan**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>Permanent Endowment<br>751,321<br>Literature Matters Awards<br>Endowment<br>701,428<br>Giles St Aubyn Endowment<br>921,110<br>__________<br>**2,373,859**|**Income**<br>**Expenditure**<br>**Gains/**<br>**(losses)**<br>**Transfers**<br>**(note 22)**<br>**At 31 Dec**<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>-<br>(7,986)<br>77,374<br>-<br>820,709<br>-<br>(7,456)<br>72,235<br>(20,000)<br>746,207<br>12,862<br>(9,655)<br>97,872<br>(28,800)<br>993,389<br>_________<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>__________<br>**12,862**<br>**(25,097)**<br>**247,481**<br>**(48,800)**<br>**2,560,305**|
|---|---|



## **24. ENDOWMENT FUNDS Current year (continued)** 

The Society holds three endowments: 

- The Permanent Endowment, income from which is expended on general purposes. 

- The Literature Matters Awards Endowment, incorporating the former Brookleaze and Heinemann Funds, which supports awards for writers. 

- The Giles St Aubyn Endowment, established by a legacy, income and growth from which is spent on RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction. 

## **24A ENDOWMENT FUNDS Prior year** 

||**At 1 Jan**|**Income**<br>**Expenditure**|**Income**<br>**Expenditure**|**Income**<br>**Expenditure**|**Gains/**|**Transfers**|**At 31 Dec**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2019**||||**(losses)**|**(note 22)**|**2019**|
||**£**||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Permanent Endowment|965,889||-<br>(11,014)||151,633|(355,187)|751,321|
|Literature Matters Awards||||||||
|Endowment|629,746||-|(7,181)|98,863|(20,000)|701,428|
|Giles St Aubyn Endowment||||||||
||817,216|13,666||(9,792)|127,411|(27,391)|921,110|
||__________|__________<br>__________|||__________|__________|__________|
||**2,412,851**|**13,666**<br>**(27,987)**|||**377,907**|**(402,578)**|**2,373,859**|
||~~__________~~|~~__________~~<br>~~__________~~|||~~__________~~|~~__________~~|~~__________~~|
|**ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS**|**BETWEEN FUNDS**||<br>**Current**|**year**||||
|||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**<br>**Endowment**|||**Total**|
||||**Funds**|**Funds**||**Funds**|**Funds 2020**|
||||**£**|**£**||**£**|**£**|
|Fixed assets|||-||-|-|-|
|Investments|||206,511|200,755||2,560,305|2,967,571|
|Current assets|||165,172|<br>356,976||-|522,148|
|Creditors due within one year|||(87,991)||-|-|(87,991)|
||||__________|__________||__________|__________|
||||**283,692**<br>~~__________~~|**557,731**<br>~~__________~~||**2,560,305**<br>~~__________~~|**3,401,728**<br>~~__________~~|



## **25. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS Current year** 

|**25A**|**ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS**|<br>**Prior year**||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Total**|
|||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds 2019**|
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
||Fixed assets|597|-|-|597|
||Investments|289,035|217,307|2,373,859|2,880,201|
||Current assets|79,779|342,219|-|421,998|
||Creditors due within one year|(60,477)|-|-|(60,477)|
|||__________|__________|__________|__________|
|||**308,934**<br>~~__________~~|**559,526**<br>~~__________~~|**2,373,859**<br>~~__________~~|**3,242,319**<br>~~__________~~|





**The Royal Society of Literature** 

## **Notes to The Financial Statements** 

## **For the Year Ended 31 December 2020** 

## **26. PENSION SCHEME** 

The Charity operates a defined contribution pension plan for its employees.  The amount recognised as an expense in the period was £7,732 (2019: £6,733). 

## **27. LEASE COMMITMENTS** 

Total future minimum lease payments under the current operating lease are as follows: 

|Not later than one year<br>Later than one and not later than five years|**2020**<br>**£**<br>36,266<br>61,493<br>__________<br>**97,759**|**2019**<br>**£**<br>35,388<br>97,759<br>__________<br>**133,147**|
|---|---|---|



## **28. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS** 

The following Society trustees were paid during the year for services to the Society: 

- Lisa Appignanesi £nil (2019: £96) for Event travel expenses. 

- Michele Roberts £nil (2019: £1,200) for Ondaatje Prize Judging Fee. 

- Daljit Nagra £nil (2019: £194) for event travel expenses, £150 (2019: £1,000) for event speaker fees and £500 (2019: £400) for essay commission fees. 

- Hermione Lee £200 (2019: £nil) for event speaker fees and £nil (2019: £21) for Event travel expenses. 

- Abdulrazak Gurnah £nil (2019: £100) for Prize judging fees and £nil (2019: £86) for event travel expenses. 

- Prof Bernardine Evaristo £150 (2019: £nil) for event speaker fees and £nil (2019: £400) for essay commission fees. 

- Tessa Hadley £32 (2019: £nil) for event travel expenses. 

- Inua Ellams £360 (2019: £nil) for event speaker fees. 

- Louise Doughty £120 (2019: £nil) for event speaker fees. 

## **29. RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH (USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES** 

|Net income<br>Adjustments for:<br>-<br>Interest and dividends<br>-<br>(Gains)/Losses on investments<br>-<br>Depreciation<br>-<br>Decrease in stock<br>-<br>Decrease/(Increase) in debtors<br>-<br>Increase/(Decrease) in creditors|**2020**<br>**£**<br>159,409<br>(44,153)<br>(249,572)<br>597<br>(1,233)<br>1,525<br>27,514<br>_____________<br>**(105,913)**|**2019**<br>**£**<br>273,984<br>(47,568)<br>(401,531)<br>2,152<br>110<br>50,298<br>5,692<br>_____________<br>**(116,863)**|
|---|---|---|