Novelist Elif Shafak appointed as new president of the Royal Society of Literature

The British-Turkish author was elected following a ballot of the society’s fellows, with departing president Bernardine Evaristo characterising her appointment as ‘a terrifically inspired choice’

Fiction writer Elif Shafak has been appointed the next president of the Royal Society of Literature (RSL), succeeding Bernardine Evaristo upon the conclusion of her four-year tenure.

Shafak, the British-Turkish novelist famed for works such as The Island of Missing Trees and There Are Rivers in the Sky, was confirmed in the position on Friday, following a vote by fellows at the society’s Annual General Meeting held on Thursday.

“I was deeply touched and humbled when the fellowship collectively elected me as the new president,” Shafak stated to the Guardian.

“To me, the term ‘fellowship’ signifies not merely membership in an organisation of such exceptional heritage and value. I also wish to emphasise its secondary meaning: fellowship as comradeship, solidarity, and unity. This feels profoundly important because we exist in an increasingly fractured and severe world where many within the arts feel profoundly isolated.” She cited the “numerous challenges” confronting writers, librarians, and all those who have committed their lives to “the love of literature.”

The novelist clarified that, while she possesses ideas and proposals for her presidency, she intends to “first and foremost” aim to “listen to everyone, to gather the thoughts and suggestions of my fellow writers and poets.”

Evaristo, whose term concluded at the AGM, declared Shafak a “terrifically inspired choice” for president, adding that her appointment signifies “an exciting moment” for the institution. “A globally bestselling author with an esteemed reputation as a writer, intellectual, and public speaker, she is a longstanding champion of literature and the capacity of storytelling to connect divides and highlight manifold viewpoints.”

Shafak has served as a vice-president of the RSL since 2020. She has penned 21 books, encompassing 13 novels; her writing has been translated into 58 languages. She also possesses a doctorate in political science.

Shafak’s 2019 novel, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, which centres on a sex worker in Istanbul, was shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the RSL Ondaatje Prize. Her 2021 novel, The Island of Missing Trees—a tale of forbidden love between Kostas, a Greek Christian, and Defne, a Turkish Muslim, in 1970s Cyprus—was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award, the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the British Book Awards, and the RSL Ondaatje Prize.