THE RSL/FIRST STORY DISCUSSION

There is much talk about social mobility, but little evidence of it in Britain today. Seven per cent of children attend private schools, but they account for 54% of FTSE 100 CEOs, 70% of High Court judges and 61% of Booker Prize-winning novelists. In an evening jointly hosted by the RSL and First Story, Jonathan Dimbleby asks whether the literary world is becoming increasingly closed. Alan Johnson, Home Secretary under Gordon Brown, recently published This Boy, remembering a childhood of Dickensian poverty in 50s London. Stephen Kelman’s Pigeon English, drawing on his youth on a Luton council estate, was shortlisted for the Man Booker. Kate Fox is a stand-up comedian, poet, writer, and First Story Writer-in-Residence at Feversham College, Bradford. Salena Godden is a performance poet, writer, and First Story Writer-in-Residence at Highbury Grove School, London.

We are grateful to the London Evening Standard, our media partner for this
event.

Silver spoons: can you write without one?

Founded in 1820, the RSL acts as a voice for the value of literature, honouring and supporting emerging and established writers whilst creating a bridge between authors and audiences of all backgrounds and experiences to engage as many people as possible with the wealth of literature in the UK.

I’m not a rapper but I am a booty clapper

Silver spoons: can you write without one?

Royal Society Literature