Utrecht City of Literature

‘City of Literature’: what is that?

Since 2004, twenty cities have been named by UNESCO as City of Literature. These are cities that not only have a long and impressive history in literature, but also currently have a rich environment of literature festivals, writers, bookshops and publishing houses. The cities together form a network that, in annual meetings, devises new ways of reaching readers, providing insight into the literary experience in different parts of the world, sharing experience and expertise, and establishing collaborations and exchanges. In addition to a number of capitals such as Lviv, Granada and Cracow, there are mainly small cities such as Heidelberg and Norwich that have been honored by UNESCO. It is not the obvious metropolises, but rather the cities that can fully focus on literature, have the right format to work efficiently with the international partners and are flexible and enterprising enough to get projects off the ground in a short period of time.

More information

Click here for more information in the FAQ. Look below for the bidbook 'Utrecht, City where you learn to read' about the past and present of Utrecht, that was especially made for our nomination as UNESCO City of Literature.

Click here or on one of the categories at the top of this page for more online information about Utrecht City of Literature.