PLS continues to move on apace. We are proud to have celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Society with a very special commemorative edition of ‘About Larkin’ which beautifully captures the highlights and events of the past quarter century during which there have been so many. The edition, which is free to members and available to download by non-members for a cost of £12 is dedicated to Professor Eddie Dawes in recognition of his 25 year tenure as chairman of the society.

Membership of the Society is rising, which is extremely exciting news and bodes well as we begin to prepare for what we hope will be a major celebration of Philip Larkin’s centenary in 2022 under the banner of ‘Larkin100’.

At the recent AGM, held virtually via email, several new appointments to the trustees and changes to the officer posts were approved. Following the retirement of Eddie Dawes, Graham Chesters has been appointed as the Society’s Chair. Lyn Lockwood, who is also responsible for the PLS podcasts, takes over as Deputy Chair. In addition, we are pleased to welcome Rachel Welch as the Society’s new General Secretary and Julian Henry and Julian Wild as two further trustees. Kyra Piperides Jaques takes over as Editor of ‘About Larkin’ and we are very pleased to retain Professor James Booth’s services as the Society’s Literary Adviser.

The latest edition of our podcast, ‘Tiny in all That Air’ features the writer and broadcaster, David Quantick. A few months ago, David tweeted about his enjoyment of Trouble At Willow Gables and other Brunette Coleman works by Philip Larkin. In this episode he joins us to talk about Brunette Coleman and in particular her essay What Are We Writing For? (1943), poem Femmes Damnes and the wider ‘schoolgirl’ writing of Philip Larkin.  The episode is receiving rave reviews and is a really excellent listen.