You may be a member of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London– but did you know that the Society is itself a member of the Alliance of Literary Societies?

The Alliance of Literary Societies is the umbrella organisation for literary societies and groups in the UK. It was formed in 1973 and currently has around 125 members. The president is Claire Harman.

The ALS provides support and advice on a variety of literary subjects, as well as promoting cooperation between member societies. Each year it has a weekend event hosted by a different member society.

The Spring/Summer issue of the ALS Newsletter is out now. It features

1. ALS AGM 2020 – to be held on 12-14 June in Robin Hood’s Bay, hosted by the Walmsley Society
2. London Library Tour for ALS Members
3. LitHouses 16th Annual Conference
4. “Plum” is commemorated in Westminster Abbey: the P.G. Wodehouse Society reports
5. The J.M. Barrie Society has plans for his 160th birthday
6. The Betjeman Society has problems with storage (this sounds sadly familiar)
7. The BB Society, the Terence Rattigan Society and the Wollstonecraft Society have joined the ALS
8. Obituary: Dr Ann Soutter FRSA of the George Borrow Society

And you can read or download it here: https://allianceofliterarysocieties.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/spring-2020.pdf

We’re in distinguished company in the Alliance, alongside the likes of the Jerome K Jerome Society, the Robert Louis Stevenson Club, the Oscar Wilde Society, the J.M. Barrie Literary Society, the Kipling Society, the Dickens Fellowship, the Lewis Carroll Society, the Wilkie Collins Society, the Dracula Society, the John Buchan Society, the P.G. Wodehouse Society – and the Royal Society of Literature!

You’ll find the ALS website at https://allianceofliterarysocieties.wordpress.com/