The Alliance of Literary Societies, or A. L. S., is an umbrella organisation for literary societies mainly based in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

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The Alliance of Literary Societies was founded in 1973, as a result of a campaign to preserve a property associated with Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

, and has over 120 member societies. In May 2010, Jenny Uglow

Jenny Uglow

Jennifer Sheila Uglow OBE is a British biographer, critic and publisher. The editorial director of Chatto & Windus, she has written critically acclaimed biographies of Elizabeth Gaskell, William Hogarth, Thomas Bewick and the Lunar Society, among others, and has also compiled a women's...

 was appointed President of the Alliance, succeeding Aeronwy Thomas

Aeronwy Thomas

Aeronwy Bryn Thomas-Ellis translator of Italian poetry, was the second child and only daughter of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and his wife, Caitlin Macnamara.-Early life:...

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The Alliance offers various member benefits: general advice, marketing of its member societies and their events via the ALS website, regular news by email, three newsletters per year, plus an annual journal ALSo.