The chair and director of the Royal Society of Literature have both resigned as the results of a governance review are set to be published, after criticism of election procedures and the postponement of a magazine issue amid a censorship row.
Daljit Nagra and Molly Rosenberg, chair and director respectively, have this week announced their departures from the charity.
The RSL is a charity for writers and readers that elects fellows based on literary merit.
Last year, the charity referred itself to the Charity Commission after a censorship dispute with several leading UK authors, including Ian McEwan and Alan Hollinghurst.
The dispute concerned the RSL’s postponement of its Review magazine in December 2023.
Maggie Fergusson, former editor of the magazine, told The Times newspaper that the issue was pulled because of an article that criticised Israel.
The charity said it was postponed “because of a number of issues with the editorial choices of the freelance editor overseeing the issue, as well as its design”.
Further concerns were raised about changes to the RSL’s procedures for becoming a fellow, which were made to allow members of the public to recommend writers to the fellowship.
The charity said its criteria for consideration as a fellow had not changed and was publicly available on its website.
Last year, the NCVO and the law firm Stone King opened a governance review into the charity, with its results and recommendations set for publication at the RSL’s AGM on 15 January.
Nagra will depart from the charity after his four year-term comes to an end at the AGM.
“The RSL has made remarkable strides in the past four years with our increased outreach projects, many new prizes, extensive events programme and a significantly improved engagement with the public,” he said.
“‘I am proud to have overseen the first ever governance review in our 204-year history – this achievement will improve governance and increase transparency for the future.
“I look forward to watching the RSL continue to grow and prosper.”
Rosenberg, who joined in 2010 as an intern and became director in 2017, will leave the charity at the end of March with the approaching conclusion of its bicentenary festival.
Bernardine Evaristo, president of the RSL, said: “I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Molly and Daljit for their immense contribution to the society over many years.
“I wish them well with their new ventures.”
A Charity Commission spokeswoman said: “We continue to engage with the Royal Society of Literature, after the charity submitted a serious incident report in February last year, in connection to adverse media coverage.
“We are aware of the upcoming departure of the charity’s director and chair, and await the outcome of the charity’s AGM later this month. Our case is ongoing in the meantime.”