City of Literature
Recognition conferred by UNESCO
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Through UNESCO, Paris and Graphic design
The Network was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields. The other creative fields are: Crafts and Folk Arts, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Media Arts, and Music.
Criteria
To be approved as a City of Literature, cities need to meet a number of criteria set by UNESCO.
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.
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About the cities
In October 2004, Edinburgh was named the first UNESCO literary city. This followed a presentation made at Unseco's office in Paris, where Edinburgh's poet laureate Stewart Conn read a poem written for the occasion. As well as having its own poet laureate — the Makar, the city hosts the annual International Book Festival. The city was expected to be given accreditation in April 2005.
Ljubljana 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 is home to the "world-class" Central Library and the "historic gems" of The Portico, John Rylands, and Chetham's.
Melbourne's home to Australia's oldest public library, the State Library of Victoria; the Centre of Books, Writing and Ideas, The Wheeler Centre; and was home to the world's biggest book shop, Cole's Book Arcade, opened at the turn of the twentieth century.
Prague's significant intellectual and creative resources include: the book design, illustration, typography, and graphic design fields. It also has the National Library of the Czech Republic, as well as over 200 libraries, which is considered one of Europe's highest concentrations of bookshops, and the Prague Writers' Festival.
The Welsh town of Aberystwyth (together with the surrounding county of Ceredigion) was named City of Literature in October 2022, despite not being a 'city'. As well as having a strong tradition of festivals and poetry, Aberystwyth is also the home of the National Library of Wales and several other literary centres.
Cities of Literature
11 countries have multiple Cities of Literature; 10 of them have two, while the United Kingdom has six. (One, Aberystwyth being a town).
Members of the Creative Cities Network are: