The National English Literary Museum (NELM) houses the world’s most comprehensive collection of resources relating to southern African literature in English.
The National English Literary Museum was founded with a small collection of South African manuscripts by the late Professor Guy Butler of Rhodes University in the 1960s. NELM became a Declared Cultural Institution in 1980 and is funded by the Department of Arts and Culture. Although autonomous, the museum is an associated research institute of Rhodes University.
In 2010, in its 30th year, NELM was awarded The Molteno Medal by the Cape Tercentenary Foundation for its achievement in preserving South African literary heritage.
In 2016 NELM moved into a new custom designed building. We hope to be fully operational again early in 2017. Our website is being revamped, but you can contact us at [email protected]
