Royal Society of Literature in meltdown over diversity drive

All is not well in the Royal Society of Literature. It now transpires that the bosses of the prestigious 200-year-old organisation have resigned after a rather tumultuous year – and ahead of an AGM that could have seen a vote of confidence called by outraged former chairs, presidents and directors. The reason for the widespread unhappiness within the group? Frustration over diversity hires and growing concerns about censorship. Not even our literary societies are safe, eh?

Chairman Daljit Nagra and director Molly Rosenberg have resigned in the face of growing criticism of their tenure at the RSL. The organisation’s leadership has had a litany of complaints levelled at it, including claims it has failed to defend writers dealing with physical or online attacks, like Salman Rushdie. It has also been accused of censorship, with one oft-cited example the society’s postponement of its annual Review – allegedly over worries about an article discussing Israel’s actions in Gaza.