The Shakespeare Authorship Roundtable is a global forum for the study of the Shakespeare canon, the Elizabethan theatre, and the social and political life of the Elizabethan period, emphasizing an open-minded exploration of the Shakespeare authorship debate. With an unbiased countenance and good humor, we’ve searched for answers for over 35 years. Curious about them all, the Roundtable does not subscribe to any particular theory of authorship.

​It began in 1983 with film sales agent Carole Sue Lipman. After encountering the curious conflicting details regarding Shakespeare and his remarkable body of work, she contacted the UCLA Extension Department of Humanities with the hope of organizing a rational debate of the facts. UCLA declined, and two years later, the Roundtable was formed.

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Meeting at public libraries in Los Angeles, the Roundtable was the first authorship group with an open forum for members and non-members alike. They continue to allow discussion of all points of view on the authorship controversy.