Last minute Christmas gift? What about a membership of our Society?

If you are casting about for a last minute Christmas gift, why not give a detective fiction reader a gift membership of The Dorothy L Sayers Society? No delivery to worry about. You can do it online.

Memberships run from 1 January.

Benefits include:

  • A bi-monthly Bulletin, packed with news about Sayers and her works, as well as Society events;

  • Participation at our Winter Zoom Events, wherever you are in the world;

  • Participation at our in-person events, held in the UK;

  • Access to the Members-only area of the website, including our serial publications such as Sidelights on Sayers.

    You need not have read all of Sayers’ works or any of them in order to join. We welcome everyone.

Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition

InterAct Stroke Support has opened entries for the 9th Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition. Further details can be found here.

The closing date is 21st December 2023

Length of story must not exceed 1,000 words.

Most importantly “Stories must be suitable to be read in the sensitive environment of a hospital setting.”

Entry fee is £15 per story. Winning stories from previous years can be found on the website.

Annual Convention, 2023

We had an enjoyable and stimulating weekend at University College London 11th August to 14th August, with excellent talks by Professor BJ Rahn, author Kate Jackson, Dr Seth Thevoz, Chair Seona Ford, Dr Jane Hockings, Neil Godber, Archivist Alison Hall and a group discussion with members on ‘It Pays to Advertise’.

On Sunday, some of us attended a service at St Anne’s, Soho, where DLS was a Church Warden, after which we had a choice of Wimsey Walks in Bloomsbury, the West End and the Embankment, celebrating the London novels of Sayers: Whose Body?, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, Murder Must Advertise, Strong Poison and Unnatural Death.

Although the last title takes place mostly elsewhere there are events in London. We also added a little bit of the first chapter of Gaudy Night. Please see our Bulletin in September for full accounts of our activities. Not a member? You can request a copy copy of the members’ Bulletin here.

Summer update

The Annual Dorothy L Sayers Lecture was given by the writer Amanda Craig at Witham Library on 28th June as part of the Essex Book Festival. It was an enjoyable evening and Amanda’s enjoyment of the works of Dorothy L Sayers was evident. A full report of this excellent talk will be in the forthcoming July members’ Bulletin. Remember, if you would like to see a copy of our Bulletin, please contact the Society.

We are very much looking forward to our annual Convention, held this year at University College, London, for members and their guests. We have a number of interesting speakers lined up, covering the London novels of DLS, her time in Bloomsbury, advertising, private members’ clubs, Golden Age crime, Dr Crippen, medicine and DLS plus guided walks around Bloomsbury, the Embankment and the West End. On Sunday morning, members will be attending a service at St Anne’s, Soho, where DLS was a church warden. More details to follow.