the membership of the abl is until death when, upon the event, the seat is declared vacant, and a new scholar is elected by secret ballot.

the idea for a national literacy academy was born in the late nineteenth century, with the hope of emulating a french academy, which was already in existence.

the brazilian journal of jose verissimo was achieving social and cultural success at this time, which gave the idea reputability, and so the institution was born in 1897, as the first brazilian academy of letters.