📚 My Writing Life with Craig Brown ✍️ Craig reflects on the key moments that have helped to elevate his career as well as his biggest influences, from his English teacher, to the editors who gave him a chance. Read more: https://royalliteraryfund.substack.com/p/my-writing-life-craig-brown

Please note, the RLF will be offline from 24th December until 5th January inclusive. If you have made an enquiry about a hardship grant, our grants team will get back to you as soon as possible when they are back in the office in the New Year.

The RLF's grants programme supports professional writers facing financial hardship, but what is it like to apply for a grant? Four writers share their experience. Visit our website today to find out more about the programme. https://www.rlf.org.uk/apply-for-a-grant/

🎧 November Podcasts 🎙 Ep 495: Paul Dodgson talks with Matt Carr about his wide-ranging books on terrorism. 🎙 Ep 497: Juliet Gilkes Romero chats with Satinder Chohan on being a “dramastorian,” exploring empire’s darker histories. Listen to both podcasts here: https://bit.ly/4rWrWGb

The third edition of the Writers Mosaic Quarterly – Frantz Fanon: Revolutionary Psychiatrist – is out now, available as a print insert in The Bookseller and online. Read it here: https://bit.ly/3YldNEW

📚 RLF Fellows’ News – December 2025 ✍️ • Books from Felicity McCall, Katie Grant, and Nicholas Murray. • Multiple broadcasts from RLF writers on BBC Radio & BBC Sounds. • We Live Here Now wins the Goldsmiths Prize; Gatsby in Harlem wins big at the Speakies. 📍 Full roundup: https://bit.ly/3LoP2Vc

University students vs. slang: Would you know the origins and meanings behind some of these recent slang words? Some of the answers might surprise you! RLF Fellows across the UK support students with their writing. Find out if there’s one at your university via the link: https://bit.ly/4iNNEbo

“I became an expert at weaving my lived experience of disability into my work.” For UK Disability History Month, award-winning author, poet and activist Penny Pepper reflects on how her activism shapes her writing. Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/4pVddcO

Here’s your reminder to sign up for our first RLF webinar! Our host Nick Ahad will be joined by writers Emily Itami, Derek Keilty, Karen McCarthy Woolf, and Federica Fiorillo, International Rights and Policy Manager at the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society. https://bit.ly/4ohNPgd

Novelist Joseph Conrad wrote to the RLF to request assistance in 1902 & 1908 and was backed by authors including Henry James, JM Barrie and Ford Madox Ford. Professor Robert Hampson takes a look through his RLF file. Illustration Credit: Ricardo Tomás Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4asDqLg

Did you see The RLF in The Guardian? Journalist Ella Creamer explored our archives, uncovering stories of Dylan Thomas, Sylvia Plath, Doris Lessing, and more - all supported by the Royal Literary Fund. Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/48KaQ6L

We’re excited to launch Making Writing Work, a free four-part webinar series for writers. Join host Nick Ahad with speakers Emily Itami, Derek Keilty, and Karen McCarthy Woolf, plus Federica Fiorillo from the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society on 27 January 2026. https://bit.ly/4ohNPgd

Adam Weymouth’s Kings of the Yukon won The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. His new book, Lone Wolf (Baillie Gifford–shortlisted), follows a wolf across Europe while exploring travel, storytelling, and the ethics of honouring people and place. Read here: https://bit.ly/4r6tOff

Five RLF poets - Anna Woodford, Jo Clement, Christy Ducker, Harry Man & Degna Stone have created poems now on display at Longbenton Metro station. Poems on the Metro is a collaboration between the RLF and Tyne and Wear Metro and this work will be on view to enjoy until the end of the year.

Today is International Students Day! 🧑‍🎓 Did you know the RLF has been supporting students at universities across the UK since 1999? If you need support with your writing, find out if there’s a Fellow at your university via the link: https://www.rlf.org.uk/our-partners/

📚 My Writing Life – Deborah Frances-White ✍️ Screenwriter, playwright, podcaster, and author of The Guilty Feminist shares her writing habits, career insights, and proudest achievements from Writers’ Guild awards to Sunday Times bestseller success. Read more: https://bit.ly/4nROHrH

Award-winning novelist Elif Shafak (@shafakelif) joins Doug Johnstone (@writerdougj) on the latest Collected Podcast to talk creativity, activism, and her love of heavy metal. Plus, archive highlights from Bethan Roberts, David Lloyd, and Mirza Waheed. 🎧 Listen: https://youtu.be/Mp6pkAQqUNE

📚 RLF Fellows’ News – November 2025 ✍️ New books, theatre premieres & award nods, plus Collected Live in Liverpool & Birmingham, and Mosaic Monologues from Writers Mosaic. Award nods for C.D. Rose, Gillian Allnutt, Nick Makoha, Salena Godden & Trish Cooke. Read more: https://bit.ly/3LoP2Vc

🎙️ Six writers. Six voices. Endless stories. Listen to Mosaic Monologues 👉 https://writersmosaic.org.uk/category/limited-series/mosaic-monologues/

Tomorrow, @writersmosaic joins @OffTheShelfFest for 'Diverse Islands' - a vital conversation on race, identity & multiculturalism across the UK & Ireland. 🌍📚 With Kieran Connell, Emer O’Neill, Charlotte Rea-Patel & host John Siddique. In partnership with @SpeakVolumes.

Tomorrow @writersmosaic.bsky.social join @mcrlitfest.bsky.social for a powerful event exploring nature, spirit & the human experience 🌿📚

Playwright Neil Bartlett examines Bosie’s letters from the 1940s, including RLF grant application: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/rarely-pure-and-never-simple-examining-the-case-file-of-lord-alfred-douglas/ 📸 Oscar Wilde with Lord Alfred Douglas. ©️ Pictorial Press Ltd, Alamy

October is #FreeWillsMonth. If you're 55+, you can write your Will for free via the National Free Wills Network. 🖊️ RLF is proud to take part, there is no obligation to leave a gift, but if you do, you’ll support future generations of writers. 📚✍️ 👉 https://bit.ly/499qYzn

🎧 September Pods from the RLF: 📘 Ep 493: Ian Seed on prose poems, translation, and redrafting with Jonathan Tulloch 🌍 Ep 494: Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse on survival, storytelling & community after trauma 🎙️ Listen: https://podcast.rlf.org.uk/

🎙️ The latest What We Leave We Carry episodes are now live on the WritersMosaic website, proudly supported by the Royal Literary Fund. 🎧 Tune in to these moving stories of migration, identity, and belonging: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/what-we-leave-we-carry-september-2025/

📚 My Writing Life with Mike Gayle ✍️ Bestselling novelist and former journalist Mike Gayle shares his best writing advice and journey—from studying sociology and writing for teen mags to penning heartfelt rom-coms like My Legendary Girlfriend: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/my-writing-life-mike-gayle/

Today, Writers Mosaic presents a powerful Birmingham Literature Festival event on Malcolm X’s global legacy, with Kehinde Andrews, poet Sue Brown, and writer Bonnie Greer. 🌍📚 More info: https://bit.ly/4l897v8

The winners of Ashdown Forest’s poetry competition are here! 🌲✨ Theme: Connections 🌀 Khudeeja Begum – Threaded Through the Quiet 🌿 Vanessa Lampert – For the Other Read them 👉 https://ashdownforest.org/winners-of-the-poetry-competition-2025/ #Poetry #RLF #AshdownForest

📚 Banned Books Week UK is back, 5–11 Oct! We're supporting @IndexCensorship's #BannedBooksWeek, spotlighting censored books and writers like DH Lawrence, James Joyce & Edna O’Brien. More here: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/banned-books-week-the-rlf-writers-who-faced-censorship/

Our third poem celebrating #NationalPoetryDay today is 'Legacies' by Garry Mackenzie. You can read all three poems commissioned by the Royal Literary Fund in our 235th year on our website here: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/on-the-legacy-of-words/ #RLF #Poetry #Writers

It’s #NationalPoetryDay! To celebrate the Royal Literary Fund’s 235th anniversary, three RLF poets share reflections on the power of words. Here’s Mark with his new poem, ‘Legacy.’ Read it here: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/on-the-legacy-of-words/

📚 Ian McEwan on Writing ✍️ “I wish someone had told me to embrace the joy of living by one’s writing.” McEwan reflects on his journey from young writer to acclaimed novelist. Read more: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/my-writing-life-ian-mcewan/ 📸: Bastian Schweitzer

📚 Why Mentorship Matters to Writers ✍️ Katy Massey on the power of mentoring, drawn from her work with A Writing Chance. 👉 https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/why-mentorship-matters-to-writers/ 📸 Photo: 2024–25 cohort by Dan Haworth-Salter.

We asked our new 2025/2026 RLF University Fellows their best advice for aspiring writers. ✍️ What's the best advice you've ever been given about writing? Find out more about the RLF University Fellowship scheme and see all the 2025/2026 new Fellows here: https://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowship-scheme/

We asked our new 2025/2026 RLF University Fellows their best advice for aspiring writers. ✍️ What's the best advice you've ever been given about writing? Find out more about the RLF University Fellowship scheme and see all the 2025/2026 new Fellows here: https://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowship-scheme/

Screenwriter Sameera Steward (who has written for BBC + Netflix TV shows) talks about how her RLF hardship grant was life-changing. If you or a professional writer you know is struggling financially, we are here to help. Check your eligibility on our website. 📚

The @WritersMosaic Quarterly: Iranian Women’s Voices is out now! Read the online version in full here: https://writersmosaic.org.uk/category/limited-series/iranian-womens-voices/ Also available as a print insert in The Bookseller.

🎧 September’s Collected Podcasts: 🎙 Ep 491: Doug Johnstone with Marianne Colbran on crime writing, TV pressures & finding your voice. 🎙 Ep 492: Julia Copus with Blake Morrison on memoir, range & the RLF archives. Listen here 👉 https://podcast.rlf.org.uk/

📚 RLF Fellows’ News – Sept 2025 ✍️ From new book launches to festival appearances, broadcast highlights, major awards + more, it’s a busy month for our Fellows. Discover all the latest news via the link: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/rlf-fellows-news-september-2025/

📚My Writing Life: Matthew Barry ✍️ Last year BAFTA-winning screenwriter Matthew Barry, who wrote Welsh thriller The Guest – currently showing on BBC One and iPlayer – spoke to us about his writing life and inspirations: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/my-writing-life-matthew-barry/

This Saturday, Book Slam, London’s original literary juke joint, is teaming up with the Royal Society of Literature at Somerset House. Get your FREE tickets: https://bookslam.com.

📚 My Writing Life with Sanjida O’Connell ✍️ Sanjida O’Connell is an RLF Fellow and thriller writer. She shares her journey from studying zoology under her stepfather’s guidance to crafting gripping psychological thrillers: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/my-writing-life-sanjida-o-connell/

📚 My Writing Life with Sanjida O’Connell ✍️ Sanjida O’Connell is an RLF Fellow and thriller writer. She shares her journey from studying zoology under her stepfather’s guidance to crafting gripping psychological thrillers here: https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/my-writing-life-sanjida-o-connell/

Congratulations to former RLF Trustee Richard Holmes, JB Priestley Award recipient Adam Weymouth and all those longlisted for this years Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction. #BGPrize2025

We’re proud to support Contains Strong Language 🎤✨ Bradford’s festival of poetry, spoken word & performance, 18–21 Sept. 50+ FREE events: BBC broadcasts, workshops, new writing & exclusive performances - incl. our own John Siddique. Book now 👉 bradford2025.co.uk/event/contai...

📚 My Writing Life: Adam Weymouth ✍️ Writer and journalist @adamweymouth.bsky.social reveals his must-read book, 'The Border Trilogy' and gives a glimpse into his creative process as he balances school runs, coastal cycles, and immersive journeys. Read the article here: www.rlf.org.uk/posts/my-wri...

The relentless brilliance of Muriel Spark ✍️ RLF Fellow Lauren J. Joseph took a look through our archives to find novelist Muriel Spark's letters to the RLF, reflecting on a quality many writers have to develop and which Spark had in spades. Read the article here: www.rlf.org.uk/posts/the-re...

RLF beneficiary, Edith Nesbit, created timeless stories that cemented her as a children's literature trailblazer. The Edith Nesbit Society and its president, Jacqueline Wilson, celebrate her legacy annually on her birthday, August 15th. 📚

📚 My Writing Life: Lisa Parry ✍️ Dive into the world of playwright and screenwriter Lisa Parry in our latest ‘My Writing Life’. Uncover her must-read books, and get a glimpse into her creative process as she juggles writing, research, and rehearsals. Read here: www.rlf.org.uk/posts/my-wri...

RLF Fellows’ July news: new books from Roopa Farooki & Alex Wong; Stephen Wyatt’s BBC Radio 4 drama; Booker Prize longlist for Andrew Miller & Jonathan Buckley; Gwyneth Lewis wins Wales Book Award. Read more: www.rlf.org.uk/posts/rlf-fe...