A list of subject associations, learned societies and other organisations across all areas of English Studies
With thanks to Dr Andrea Macrae (Oxford Brookes University)
National Subject Associations and Organisations
Related International Organisations
Broader National HE Organisations
Organisations Promoting and Supporting Writers and Writing
National Subject Associations and Organisations
Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE)
A charity which seeks to raise the literacy achievement of children by putting quality children’s literature at the heart of all learning.
Committee for Linguistics in Education (CLiE)
CLiE is the joint committee of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain (LAGB) and the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL).
A lobbying and advocacy group which brings together various disciplinary organisations.
The English Association is a membership association and learned society for individuals and organisations passionate about the English language and its literatures.
English and Media Centre (EMC)
An educational charity providing CPD and innovative and award-winning teaching materials to secondary English and Media teachers. Publisher of E-magazine.
Institute of English Studies (IES)
An internationally renowned research centre, part of SAS, specialising in the history of the book, manuscript and print studies, textual scholarship, digital editing and new critical approaches to literary history.
A charity offering resource provision and professional development For English teachers.
National Association of Advisors in English (NAAE)
A professional association for those who provide advice, support and training across the whole field of English and literacy education, at all levels.
National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE)
Mainly for Primary and Secondary level teachers, NATE promotes “standards of excellence in the teaching of English from Early Years to University” and “innovative and original ideas that have practical classroom outcomes”, and supports teachers’ professional development. In addition, NATE runs conferences, facilitates collaborations and advocates for the discipline. The London Association for the Teaching of English (LATE) is a dedicated branch of NATE within the London and Hertfordshire region.
National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE)
NAWE’s mission is to “further knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of Creative Writing” and to “support good practice in its teaching and learning at all levels.”
Royal Society of Literature (RSL)
Founded in 1820, the RSL is the UK’s charity for the advancement of literature. The RLS acts “as a voice for the value of literature, engage people in appreciating literature”, and supports and honours writers.
An organisation for teachers of English in schools and colleges, for the sharing of teaching resources, blogs, and ideas.
UK Literacy Association (UKLA)
UKLA is dedicated to the development of literacy and of research-informed literacy education.
University Council of General and Applied Linguistics
UCGAL links together major learned societies and associations in the field to provide a unified voice on public policy matters for linguistics within the UK higher education community.
University English, formerly The Council for College and University English (CCUE), promotes the study of English in higher education and provides opportunities for English lecturers to meet colleagues from other institutions and discuss matters of shared concern.
Related International Organisations
European Society for the Study of English (ESSE)
A European federation of national higher educational associations for the study of English. The aim of the Society is to advance the education of the public by promoting the European study and understanding of English languages, literatures in English and cultures of English-speaking peoples.
International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language
A global professional membership association, and a UK registered charity, linking, developing and supporting English language teaching professionals worldwide.
Broader National HE Organisations
AdvanceHE (previously the Higher Education Academy)
A “member-led, sector-owned charity that works with institutions and higher education across the world to improve higher education for staff, students and society.” Offers an accredited Fellowship scheme for academics.
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA)
An independent, not for profit organisation which “check[s] that students working towards a UK qualification get the higher education they are entitled to expect”. Crucially, QAA offers “subject-specific guidance” in the “Subject Benchmark Statements” which “set out the skills and knowledge that graduates are expected to have at the end of specific degree courses”. There is one for English and one for Creative Writing.
Learned Societies
Association for Scottish Literature Studies (ASLS)
Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (UK and Ireland) (ASLE-UKI)
Association for Welsh Writing in English (AWWE)
British Academic Association of Phoneticians (BAAP)
British Association for American Studies (BAAS)
British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
British Association for Irish Studies (BAIS)
British Association for Modernist Studies (BAMS)
British Association for Romantic Studies (BARS)
British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS)
British Association of Clinical Linguistics (BACL)
British Association of Decadence Studies (BADS)
British Comparative Literature Association (BCLA)
British Science Fiction Association (BSFA)
British Shakespeare Association (BSA)
British Society for Contemporary Literary Studies (BACLS)
British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (BSECS)
British Society for Literature and Science (BSLS)
Contemporary Women’s Writing Association (CWWA)*
International Ecolinguistics Association*
International Association of Literary Semantics (IALS)*
International Comparative Literature Association (ICLA)*
International Flash Fiction Association (IFFA)*
International Research Society for Children’s Literature (IRSCL)*
Linguistics Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (LAGB)
Poetics and Linguistics Association (PALA)*
Postcolonial Studies Association (PSA)*
Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA)*
Society for Renaissance Studies (SRS)
Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature (SSMLL)
Society for Utopian Studies (SUS)*
The British and Irish Association for Holocaust Studies (BIAHS)
The Early English Text Society
The Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas
Universities Committee for Scottish Literature
*International but with strong UK roots (e.g., was founded in the UK, is a UK registered charity, regularly hosts conferences in the UK, or the committee has a strong UK contingent).
Organisations Promoting and Supporting Writers and Writing
National
Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society
Creative Scotland (Literature)
The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain
Regional
New Writing South (South East)
Other
Alliance of Independent Authors
Non-profit professional association for authors who self-publish.
Charity that raises the profile of spoken word and poetry and supports and champions poets.
Arkbound Foundation
Charity that aims to widen access to literature and improve diversity within the media industry.
BBC Writers Room
BBC working with new and experienced writers in drama, comedy, CBBC, CBeebies, radio and online.
Commonword & Cultureword (North West)
Writing development organisation based in Manchester, one strand of which (Cultureword) is dedicated to developing and promoting Asian, African Caribbean and Chinese writers.
Crime Writers’ Association
Networking for British crime writers.
Exiled Writers Ink
Exiled Writers Ink brings together writers from repressive regimes and war-torn situations and it equally embraces migrants and exiles.
First Story
Provides development and training of both young and experienced writers.
Historical Writers’ Association
Provides social support, opportunities and networking for anyone involved in historical writing.
International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN)
Independent organisation of cities and regions offering shelter to writers and artists at risk.
Lapidus
Provides networking and information for people interested in writing for wellbeing.
Ministry of Stories
A writing and mentoring space for young people aged 8-18.
Out on the Page
A UK based project which supports the development of LGBTQ+ writers and writing through networking, information, workshops, courses and retreats.
A non-profit children’s literature development agency which delivers Education, Community and Talent development programmes and produces a year-round Festival in schools across the UK
Ruppin Agency’s Writers’ Studio
A one-to-one mentoring service for writers of adult and young adult fiction and narrative non-fiction.
Society of Women Writers and Journalists
A society dedicated to promoting opportunities for women to write and to be heard, and to protecting women writers’ interests in their professional work.
Writers & Artists
Annual yearbook, series of guides and website providing information and industry contact details to help creatives get their work published.
Unbound
Crowdfunding for writers.
Literary Societies
The Alliance of Literary Societies
The Alliance of Literary Societies, formed in 1973, is the umbrella organisation for literary societies and groups in the UK. They provide support and advice on a variety of literary subjects, as well as promoting cooperation between member societies. Each year they have a weekend event hosted by a different member society.
The following literary societies generally aim to bring together those interested in preserving, honouring, promoting and enjoying the work and life of a particular writer (or, in a few cases, they focus on a particular genre or group of writers or are a more general literary interest group). These societies tend to hold regular scholarly and social conferences, events and meetings; some run education programmes; and most publish dedicated reviews, journals and/or newsletters, some of which contain information on publications and research related to the writer. Some have libraries, collections and exhibitions and some offer loans of materials. Some have a strong social media presence. Most of these societies are open to everyone. Some have further UK regional branches and groups, and some have an international membership but are UK-based.
The BB (Denys Watkins-Pitchford) Society
The Blake Society of St James’s
The Charlotte M Yonge Fellowship
The Children’s Books History Society
The Djuna Barnes Society of UK & Ireland
The Edith Nesbit Society (contact details available from The Alliance of Literary Societies)
The Francis Brett Young Society
The Friends of Alfred Williams
The Fulke Greville Society (contact details available from The Alliance of Literary Societies)
The Graham Greene Birthplace Trust
The Herbert Read of Ryedale Group (contact details available from The Alliance of Literary Societies)
The Imaginative Book Illustration Society (IBIS)
The International John Bunyan Society
The John Meade Falkner Society
The Katherine Mansfield Society
The Keats-Shelley Memorial Association
The Leamington Literary Society (contact details available from The Alliance of Literary Societies)
The Mary Wollstonecraft Fellowship
The Newport and Gwent Literary Club
The R S Thomas & M E Eldridge Society
The Robert Louis Stevenson Club
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London
The Shipston & District Literary Society (contact details available from The Alliance of Literary Societies)
The Siegfried Sassoon Fellowship
The Sylvia Townsend Warner Society
The University of London Extra-Mural Literary Association (ULEMLA)
