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David Pease, the former director of national creative writing charity Arvon, has been awarded the Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature.
The award, which has previously gone to literary figures including E M Forster, J R R Tolkein and Nadine Gordimer, honours those who have “done conspicuous service to literature”. It celebrates Pease’s achievement as director of Arvon between 1973 and 2000.
Robin Chichester-Clark, Arvon president said: “Arvon would not have survived the daunting financial and organisational difficulties of its infancy to become, as it is today, one of the greatest literary institutions—not without David Pease.”
Pease was the deputy director of North West Arts Association, chaired the House of Illustration and worked with Andrew Motion on the Poetry Archive. During his time at Arvon he grew it from a small charity to a national literature organisation.
Anne Chisholm, RSL chairman, said: "The RSL is delighted that David Pease has accepted its Benson Medal for a lifetime's service to literature. The medal recognises not only the selfless commitment with which David served the Arvon Foundation for most of his working life, but also the invaluable work of Arvon itself. We applaud them both."