UNESCO's City of Literature programme is part of the wider
Creative Cities Network.
The ''Network'' was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields. The other creative fields are: Crafts and Folk Art,
Design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
, Film, Gastronomy, Media Arts, and Music.
Criteria for Cities of Literature
To be approved as a City of Literature, cities need to meet a number of criteria set by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
.
Designated UNESCO Cities of Literature share similar characteristics:
* Quality, quantity, and diversity of publishing in the city
* Quality and quantity of educational programmes focusing on domestic or foreign literature at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels
* Literature, drama, and/or poetry playing an important role in the city
* Hosting literary events and festivals, which promote domestic and foreign literature
* Existence of libraries, bookstores, and public or private cultural centres, which preserve, promote, and disseminate domestic and foreign literature
* Involvement by the publishing sector in translating literary works from diverse national languages and foreign literature
* Active involvement of traditional and new media in promoting literature and strengthening the market for literary products
Cities submit bids to UNESCO to be designated a City of Literature. The designations are monitored and reviewed every four years by UNESCO.
About the cities
In 2004,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
became the first literary city. It hosts the annual
International Book Festival and has its own
poet laureate—the
Makar.
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the a ...
runs their ''Library Under the Treetops'' at various locations across the city, including
Tivoli City Park and
Zvezda Park. These sites offer a selection of book genres and several domestic and foreign newspapers and magazines.
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
is home to the "world-class"
Central Library and the "historic gems" of
The Portico,
John Rylands, and
Chetham's.
Melbourne's "vibrant literary scene" includes over 300 bookshops,
Victoria State Library among many other libraries, a base for
Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House.
On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase o ...
and for
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books.
History Early years
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...
, the
Wheeler Centre, and the
Melbourne Writers' Festival.
Prague's "great intellectual and creative resources," includes the
book design
Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components and elements of a book into a coherent unit. In the words of renowned typographer Jan Tschichold (1902–1974), book design, "thoug ...
,
illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vide ...
,
typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), an ...
, and
graphic design fields. It also has the
National Library of the Czech Republic among over 200 libraries, one of Europe's highest concentrations of bookshops, and the
Prague Writers' Festival.
Libraries in other literary cities, include:
Braidense National Library in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
,
Heidelberg University Library, and the
National Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland i ...
in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
.
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
is the "Edinburgh of the South", and home to New Zealand's oldest university.
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
is "fun-loving."
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern ...
is a "vibrant, eclectic place" and
Québec City is a "gorgeous, seductive place."
Cities of Literature
There are forty two Cities of Literature, spanning twenty-eight countries and six continents.
Twenty-four of the represented cities are European, seven are Asian, and three are North American. Oceania and South America is represented by two cities each, while Africa is to have one designated city.
Eight countries have two designated cities, while the UK has five.
The Cities of Literature are:
See also
*
Creative Cities Network
*
City of Crafts and Folk Arts
UNESCO's City of Crafts and Folk Arts project is part of the wider Creative Cities Network, founded in 2004, which designates cities worldwide that have made unique contributions to the field of crafts and folk arts.
The current designated Cities ...
*
City of Music
*
City of Film
*
Design Cities
*
City of Gastronomy
UNESCO's City of Gastronomy project is part of the wider Creative Cities Network. The Network was launched in 2004, and organizes member cities into seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and ...
References
External links
Creative Cities Map UNESCO.
Edinburgh City of LiteratureMelbourne City of LiteratureIowa City City of LiteratureDublin City of LiteratureReykjavík City of LiteratureWriters' Centre NorwichKraków City of LiteratureHeidelberg City of LiteratureDunedin City of LiteratureGranada City of LiteraturePrague City of LiteratureBarcelona City of LiteratureLillehammer City of LiteratureLjubljana City of LiteratureLviv City of LiteratureNottingham City of LiteratureÓbidos Vila LiteráriaSeattle City of LiteratureTartu City of LiteratureUlyanovsk City of LiteratureUtrecht City of LiteratureBucheon City of LiteratureExeter City of Literature{{div col end
Literature lists
Lists of cities
UNESCO