June 2010
The archive of J G Ballard, one of the most visionary British writers of the twentieth century, has been acquired by the nation through the Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) scheme and allocated to the British Library. The 15 large storage boxes which currently house the archive contain manuscripts, notebooks, letters, photographs and ephemera, spanning 50 years and covers the full range of Ballard’s output from The Drowned World (1962) to Miracles of Life (2008).
Read the full press release.
Manuscripts and archives of modern and contemporary UK writers continue to be sold to institutions abroad, despite the efforts of publicly-funded collections in the UK.
The UK Literary Heritage Working Group was established in March 2005 to explore the issues surrounding their dispersal and to take forward a national strategy through
Concern about the dispersal of UK literary heritage was first expressed in the 1950s, when Philip Larkin led the campaign, and the issues were raised again by Sir Nicholas Goodison as part of his review to HM Treasury, published in January 2004. In September 2004 the Working Group was established under the Chairmanship of Lord Smith of Finsbury, who stepped down in December 2006.
A 2-day conference was held 19-20 October 2006 to address the issues.
Contact us at campaign@literary.org.uk.

Chair of the Working Group is Rt Hon Lord Howarth of Newport, Minister for Higher Education 1990-92 and Minister for the Arts 1998-2001. Lord Howarth is a Trustee of the Poetry Archive and Chair of the Trustees of the Royal Pavilion and Museums Foundation. He is also Vice President of the All Party Parliamentary Arts and Heritage Group and Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Archives Group.
April 2010
The British Library has acquired the archive of the writer and artist, Mervyn Peake, best known as the author of Gormenghast, for which he won the Heinemann Prize for Literature in 1951. Peake's archive has been acquired with support from independent charity The Art Fund, Friends of the British Library, Friends of the National Libraries and individual donors. The archive will be catalogued and made accessible to researchers early in 2011.
Further information regarding the acquisition, including details of the archive's highlights, can be found on the BL website.

Minutes of the UK Literary Heritage Working Group meetings are available to download here in PDF format:
Minutes of the 19th Meeting
March 2010
PDF Link
Minutes of the 18th Meeting
November 2009
PDF Link
Minutes of the 17th Meeting
July 2009
PDF Link
Minutes of the 16th Meeting
March 2009
PDF Link
Minutes of the 15th Meeting
November 2008
PDF Link
Minutes of the 14th meeting
July 2008
PDF Link
Minutes of the 13th Meeting
February 2008
PDF Link
Minutes of the 12th Meeting
October 2007
PDF Link
Minutes of the 11th Meeting
June 2007
PDF Link
Minutes of the 10th Meeting
March 2007
PDF Link
Minutes of the 9th Meeting
December 2006
PDF Link
Minutes of the 8th Meeting
October 2006
PDF Link
Minutes of the 7th Meeting
June 2006
PDF Link
Minutes of the 6th Meeting
April 2006
PDF Link
Minutes of the 5th Meeting
February 2006
PDF Link
Minutes of the 4th Meeting
December 2005
PDF Link
Minutes of the 3rd Meeting
October 2005
PDF Link
Minutes of the 2nd Meeting
June 2005
PDF Link
Minutes of the 1st Meeting
May 2005
PDF Link