The ASL was founded in 1970. It is the leading national and international organisation dedicated to the study and celebration of Scottish literature, Scottish literature’s international voice. In 2010, to mark its fortieth anniversary, the ASL Council decided to award Honorary Fellowships to women and men who have made a substantial and distinctive contribution to the Scottish literary tradition as writers, scholars, teachers, publishers, and in other related fields. It was then recognised that during its first forty years there were many individuals whose outstanding contribution could not have been recognised in such a way, though many still served Scottish literature each in her or his own way. The Council therefore resolved that for three years it would nominate Fellows of outstanding achievement up to a total of one hundred. Thereafter it would nominate annually a significantly smaller number to ensure that the Fellowship was both up to date and that membership of it retained its significance as a special mark of signal contribution to the literatures of Scotland.
The following individuals have been made Honorary Fellows of the ASL:
- Dr John H. Alexander
- Jim Alison†
- Hugh Andrew
- Professor Gioia Angeletti
- Peter Arnott
- Neal Ascherson
- Gerald Baird
- Iain Banks†
- Dr Meg Bateman
- Professor Priscilla Bawcutt†
- Dr Margaret Bennett
- Professor Danièle Berton-Charrière
- Professor Jean Berton
- Archie Bevan†
- Ronald Black
- Mary Blance
- William Boyd
- Theresa Breslin
- Ronnie Browne
- Dr Moira Burgess
- Dr John Burns
- Professor John Burnside
- John Byrne†
- Dr Michel Byrne
- Maoilios Caimbeul
- Jenni Calder
- Gerry Cambridge
- Angus Peter Campbell
- Donald Campbell†
- Professor Ian Campbell
- Dr Kenna Campbell
- Professor Gerard Carruthers
- Professor Thomas Owen Clancy
- Jo Clifford
- Stewart Conn
- Professor John Corbett
- Professor Ted Cowan†
- Professor Cairns Craig
- David Craig
- Robert Crawford
- Tom Crawford†
- Brian Denoon
- Professor Keith Dixon
- Dr William Donaldson
- Anne Donovan
- Professor Marina Dossena
- Professor Horst Drescher†
- Richard Drew
- Professor Carol Ann Duffy
- Professor Ian Duncan
- Lesley Duncan
- Eileen Dunlop
- Professor Douglas Dunn
- Dr Richard Dury
- Owen Dudley Edwards
- Margaret Elphinstone
- Lorraine Fannin
- Professor Penny Fielding
- Archie Fisher MBE
- Matthew Fitt
- Bill Forsyth
- Ronald Frame
- Professor Bashabi Fraser
- Dr Fred Freeman
- Janice Galloway
- Professor Peter Garside
- Dick Gaughan
- Gordon Gibson
- Professor Douglas Gifford†
- Dr Anne Lorne Gillies
- Professor William Gillies
- Professor Nancy K. Gish
- Sue Glover
- Rody Gorman
- Andrew Greig
- David Greig
- Dr Janet Hadley Williams
- Dr Susanne Hagemann
- Chris Hannan
- Zinnie Harris
- David Harrower
- Professor Seamus Heaney†
- Dr Joy Hendry
- Professor David Hewitt
- John Hodgart
- Professor Andrew Hook
- Professor Tom Hubbard
- Professor R.D.S. Jack†
- Kathleen Jamie
- Stuart Johnston
- Billy Kay
- Professor Christian Kay†
- Professor Jackie Kay
- Professor A.L. Kennedy
- Peter Kravitz
- Professor Claire Lamont†
- Professor Nigel Leask
- Professor Tom Leonard†
- Gordon Liddell
- Joan Lingard†
- Dr Liz Lochhead
- Catherine Lockerbie
- Christine De Luca
- Professor Alison Lumsden
- Dr Emily Lyle
- Dr Caroline Macafee
- Professor Donald MacAulay
- J. Derrick McClure
- Dr Donalda McComb
- Professor David McCordick
- Professor Caroline McCracken-Flesher
- Dr Margery Palmer McCulloch†
- Ian MacDonald
- Professor Murdo Macdonald
- Carl MacDougall†
- Alan MacGillivray
- Professor James McGonigal
- Jimmie MacGregor
- William McIlvanney†
- Dr John MacInnes†
- Dr Margaret Mackay
- Ann MacKinnon
- Christopher MacLachlan
- Bernard MacLaverty
- Dolina MacLennan
- Dr Alistair MacLeod
- Dr Finlay MacLeod†
- Iseabail MacLeod†
- John Norman MacLeod
- Dr Morag MacLeod
- Dorothy McMillan†
- Hector MacMillan†
- Joyce McMillan
- Adam McNaughtan
- Aonghas MacNeacail†
- Flora MacNeil MBE†
- Professor John MacQueen†
- Dr William Malcolm
- Professor Susan Manning†
- John Manson†
- Dr Sally Mapstone
- Dr Robyn Marsack
- Allan Massie
- Dr Ann Matheson
- Professor Donald Meek
- Professor Silvia Mergenthal
- Professor Karl Miller†
- Alexander Moffat
- Professor Edwin Morgan†
- Brian Murray
- Professor Isobel Murray
- Les Murray
- Timothy Neat
- Professor Bill Nicolaisen†
- Liz Niven
- Dr Andrew Noble
- Professor Colm Ó Baoill
- Donny O’Rourke
- Don Paterson
- Dr George Philp†
- John B. Pick†
- Professor Murray Pittock
- Professor Valentina Poggi
- Tom Pow
- Dr John Purser
- Ian Rankin
- Dr Tessa Ransford†
- Jean Redpath†
- Alastair Reid†
- Dr Jamie Reid-Baxter
- Ronnie Renton
- Professor Alan Riach
- Dr David Robb
- Professor Boyd Robertson
- Professor Fiona Robertson
- James Robertson
- Dr Christine Robinson
- Professor G. Ross Roy†
- Trevor Royle
- Dr Christopher Rush
- Professor Carla Sassi
- Isla St Clair
- Professor Michael Schmidt
- Professor Patrick Scott
- Paul Scott†
- Professor Bernard Sellin†
- Professor Kenneth Simpson†
- Professor Alexander McCall Smith
- Ali Smith
- Dr Donald Smith
- Professor Jeremy Smith
- Lorna Smith
- Pauline Cairns Speitel
- Judy Steel
- Dr Ronald Stevenson†
- John Stuart
- Professor Derick Thomson†
- Valerie Thornton
- John Tuckwell
- Professor Marshall Walker†
- Dr Gavin Wallace†
- Professor Roderick Watson
- Sheena Wellington
- Dr Christopher Whyte
- Hamish Whyte
- Stephanie Wolfe Murray†
†deceased