The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) has confirmed that it is referring itself to the Charity Commission after an open letter urging it to do so was signed by leading authors including Ian McEwan and Alan Hollinghurst.
The RSL, a charity which elects fellows based on literary merit, has been subject to criticism over recent months, including questions over changes to the way that fellows are elected, and the recent postponement of its annual magazine Review. Former editor Maggie Fergusson told the Times that the issue was pulled from print due to an article that was critical of Israel. It was also claimed that Fergusson was dismissed, although the RSL dispute this and say it had been previously understood that this would be her last issue of the magazine.
