CITIES OF LITERATURE

Email the current Cities of Literature coordinator, Kjartan Már Ómarsson at Kjartan.mar.omarsson@reykjavik.is and he will give you the relevant contact details. These are, of course, already available on the UNESCO Creative Cities Network website but the contact with the coordinator can really help in achieving a better overview of the network and who may be best to answer all your questions.

We are a global network of 53 cities that specialise in literature. The UNESCO designation ‘City of Literature’ recognises excellence and places an obligation on cities to nurture and support their artform. We collaborate internationally by sharing best practice, supporting freedom of speech and running projects which ensure literature reaches as wide and diverse an audience as possible, locally and internationally.

The 53 Cities of Literature are part of a wider UNESCO Creative Cities Network currently made up of 350 UNESCO Creative Cities globally. Members from over one hundred countries covering seven creative fields – Crafts & Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music, and Media Arts – have all received UNESCO designations, which recognise past, present and future: a strong cultural heritage, a vibrant and diverse contemporary cultural scene, and aspirations to extend culture to the next generation at home and to other cities in a global partnership.

The designations are monitored and reviewed every 4 years by UNESCO. To meet the criteria, each city makes a commitment to develop a shared network strategy, foster the exchange of information, encourage global partnerships, and promote creativity and culture.

The UNESCO Cities of Literature network of 53 cities, representing 6 continents and 34 countries

The UNESCO Cities of Literature network boasts a combined population of over 26 million, 1250 libraries, 130 literary festivals, over 1200 bookshops, the world’s oldest book, the world’s tallest monument to a writer, the world’s first Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing programme, the oldest university in central Europe, and the only train station named after a book.

The range of activity is impressive, from the world’s largest book festival to the most unusual literary hotels. Individual authors from the cities are commemorated in public celebrations such as Bloomsday and Robert Louis Stevenson Day. Poetry is celebrated in the Young Poet Laureate scheme, poetry entryphones, live literature performances, and several poetry festivals in different cities. Celebrations of heritage – from paved walkways to statues and bridges named after writers – work alongside citywide programmes to nurture new readers.

Emerging writers’ festivals and programmes are championed by the cities, as well as several children’s literature festivals, reading initiatives, and library campaigns.

Numerous prizes, writing residencies, and scholarships play a large part in advancing the creative output of the cities, celebrating works of translation, poetry, fiction, design, illustration, and much more. A Book-Flood Before Christmas, book fairs, curated tours, A Writer’s Studio, and the Children’s Culture House - these are just a few of the activities and projects that recognise the importance of books, publishing, reading, and writing, in each of our cities of literature.

This is the quintessential ‘How long is a piece of string?’ question and you will have to find the answer from examining your goals and expectations.

At the very least you will need the following:

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• Annual salary of a director of the office

• An office space for this person

• A budget for website development and maintenance

• A budget for organising events or at least having a presence at other larger events / the

• hosting of meetings between literary agencies and organisations etc.

• A budget for promotional material

• A travel fund for attending UNESCO conferences twice yearly
  

You should create strategy documents for your city, and outline what your vision and goals are. This will help you identify what human and financial resources you need.

The UNESCO Cities of Literature network is home to a collection of diverse personalities and languages.

We are active in making the literary and creative sectors of our cities thrive through the development and implementation of a shared global strategy.

We have collaborated internationally through projects which promote the network, share good practice, and ensure that literature reaches diverse audiences. Please see our Shared Projects page for more information.

As Cities of Literature, we have committed to the following values that guide our work, relationships and activities:

- We will build a welcoming and cooperative network that reflects the diversity and richness of the world’s languages and literatures;

- We will promote the value of dialogue and freedom of speech and expression in all our activities;

- We will pursue through the network international opportunities that benefit our local and national literary sectors;

- We will work to strengthen the relationships between all creative cities around the globe;

- We will be active and proactive in our communications with each other and our partners.

The City of Literature designation is not a prize, trophy or accolade. It is recognition for the municipality’s literary and creative heritage; health, depth, scope and vibrancy of the contemporary scene; cohesive vision and development strategy. It is an investment in the future and enormous responsibility, often marking a new stage for the city as it opens itself up to a long-term global partnership.

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It is also an opportunity, because it expands the possibilities and ways in which you can support and elevate your local literary and creative sectors. The designation helps to not only integrate and engage citizens, writers and artists, but also institutions, the private and tourism sector, and more, through diverse literary activities, local, national and global cooperation and strategies.

As the group’s coordinator, Kjartan Már Ómarsson serves as the main contact and can help you create all the necessary connections you might need to make your application reflect your strengths, as well as the goals and objectives of the network and subnetwork. All members serve as fantastic contacts, and you are free to reach out to every member prior to application.

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Please be mindful that lobbying is heavily discouraged and in fact, only demonstrates a misunderstanding of how the network and application process work. Relationship building is the most important thing. While it’s interesting to know how many libraries and bookstores there are in your city, what is more useful is to know what your vision for the future is and how you believe you can cooperate with other members. Refrain from sending promotional and informational material without context or established relationships with the members. Communicate with Kjartan and he will advise on the next steps.

In 2004, Edinburgh was the first city to become a UNESCO City of Literature, sparking a global network of creative cities. Now there are 53 Cities of Literature spanning 39 countries and six continents that come together as an international advisory hub for aspiring Cities of Literature. Each city is dedicated to a host of international projects, collaborations, and advocacy for literature.

The designation is for the city, and so the application should be written by the city. What we mean by that is this application should be as widely a group effort as possible, because the designation should provide benefit and positively influence the local sector as broadly and effectively as possible.

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You will need the help and advice of many experts and stakeholders, so assemble them together to help you. This is about your city and must be a shared endeavour. These are the people who will go on to support you in your work after designation. Start by calling together any interested parties you can think of, so you can ascertain that enough will and drive exists within the city to help in gaining the designation, and then drawing benefit from it afterwards.

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Work with the Mayor’s office and local cultural departments from the beginning so you don’t have to convince them AFTER you’ve done all the work. They should also be involved from early on in drawing up the bid.

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Speak to existing Cities of Literature to broaden your knowledge and understanding of the work that others do in the world of literature – this will temper or broaden your expectations and get you started on networking, communicating and exchanging ideas. If at all possible, video call and visit current member cities.

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Be really clear about why you want to bid to be a UNESCO City of Literature and what difference the designation and the programmes you will run will make to your city and the people who live there. Everyone will ask you this question so be ready.

This is a common misconception. Membership in the network is not connected with any kind of financial subsidies, nor with access to funds. All expenses connected to the municipal UNESCO programme should be factored into the municipal budget or in the budget of the institution that will be implementing the programme. However, the network gives member cities the opportunity to cooperate on external funds, either national or international.

The network coordinator can send you a summary of this information. Each city organises their office in a way that makes sense for them, and there is no one model that you need to adopt. Feel free to contact coordinators in cities that you’ve identified as an interesting case for you.