Benson Medal

The Benson Medal is a medal awarded by the Royal Society of Literature in the UK.
It was founded in 1916 by A. C. Benson who was a Fellow of the Society, to honour those who produce "meritorious works in poetry, fiction, history and "belles-lettres"". The medal has been awarded several times to writers in other languages, and is occasionally awarded those who are not writers, but who have done conspicuous service to literature.
The medal is awarded at irregular intervals for lifelong achievement. Recipients include:
Edmund Blunden,
Anita Desai,
Maureen Duffy,
E. M. Forster,
Christopher Fry,
John Gawsworth,
Nadine Gordimer,
Philip Larkin,
R. K. Narayan
A. L. Rowse,
George Santayana,
Wole Soyinka,
Lytton Strachey,
J. R. R. Tolkien, and
Helen Waddell.
In November 2020, the new design for the medal by Linda Crook was unveiled. The design includes books on one side, and people on the other.