Arnold Bennett

Voted greatest West Midland writer and will appear on the Regional Wall of Fame in Birmingham's City Plaza.

The present Arnold Bennett Society was re-formed in 1954 and has members throughout the United Kingdom as well as abroad.  It is based in the City of Stoke on Trent, the "Five Towns" of Bennett.
The Society's aim is to promote the study and appreciation of the life, works and times, not only of Arnold Bennett himself, but also of other provincial writers, with particular relationship to North Staffordshire. 
An annual dinner is held in Stoke on Trent with a guest speaker of distinction.  Past speakers have included John Wain, Michael Foot, Margaret Drabble, John Suchet, Priscilla Masters, A N Wilson and Deborah Moggach. Our speaker on 4th April 2009 was Peter Preston, who was Director of the Centre for Continuing Education, University of Nottingham, where he is now Special Lecturer in English Studies and Academic Consultant to the D H Lawrence Research Centre, which he founded in 1991.  We also have other events, including talks, a Christmas Show, a Conference at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery; in 2009 we had a joint Conference with the H G Wells Society at which the Society's Vice-President, Margaret Drabble, was present, next year the conference will be on June 12th and we will be celebrating the Centenary of the "Clayhanger" trilogy. See Call for Papers We also have  a Study Weekend at Wedgwood Memorial College in October and other social occasions. The Society is promoting the republication of a series of Bennett's novels.  The Diary Date button will give you details. The Past Events button will give you a report on the visit to Fontainebleau where we unveil a plaque on 11th October 2008.  Members also receive 3 newsletters each year which include original works, notices, articles and mentions of Bennett in other publications.  

We are also members of Alliance of Literary Societies,

Another link we have is with Staffordshire History