Recent UK Aquisitions
View all and sort by: Author | Institution | Date
2008 Walter Strachan (1903-1994), poet, translator, teacher, art historian and propagandist for the arts. Includes correspondence with publishers, artists, page proofs and “bonnes feuilles”. Also rare copies of French newspapers 1944-45 and Resistance pamphlets. Gifted from the Strachan estate. John Rylands University Library, University of Manchester |
2008 Tony Harrison (b.1937) Papers covering the period from the beginnings of his career to 1973 and including material relating to The Loiners, The School of Eloquence and his version of The Misanthrope. Further chronological tranches of the papers will be added in future. Leeds University Library |
2008 Sophie Hannah, (b.1971) All her extant literary papers to 2007. Leeds University Library |
2007 The Archive of The Arvon Foundation: documenting the history of this pioneering organisation for creative writing from its foundation in Devon in 1968 to its UK-wide presence in 1999 (current records remain with Arvon). University of Exeter Library |
2007 Archive of Harold Pinter, 2005 Literature Nobel Laureate, including manuscripts, programmes, photographs, letters and emails. Press release. British Library, London |

Peter Nichols. Early notes for The National
Health (originally called
The End Beds), first performed by the National Theatre Company at
the Old Vic, London, on 16 October 1969. Reproduced by kind permission
of Peter Nichols.
Additional Sources
A vital and comprehensive source of information about the holdings of literary manuscripts in the British Isles, including recent acquisitions, is the
location register of 20th century English literary manuscripts and letters, developed by Dr David Sutton.
Access to Archives, although not limited to either modern or literary archives, is a searchable online database of archives catalogues in England and Wales, covering material from the 8th century to the present day.
Archival sound recordings of writers:
Celebrating modern poets and bringing their work to a wider audience is the
Poetry Archive, which provides free online access to sound recordings of poets reading their own works.
The Theatre Archive includes transcripts of oral historical interviews with leading names from the theatre over the last 50 years and finding lists for the British Library’s theatre archives.
The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee, makes available digital resources relating to the literature of the First World War, both primary sources and contextual information.
From March to May 2008, it invites submission of digital copies of relevant items from the general public at
www.thegreatwararchive.org.