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City of Literature

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The Portico Library in Manchester
The State Library Victoria in Melbourne

The UNESCO's City of Literature programme is a part of the wider Creative Cities Network. The list consists of 53 cities across 6 continents that have played a significant role in the literary tradition of the host countries. Each city nominated to the list has generally met a set of criteria described by UNESCO, such as producing notable writers and authors, constructing important libraries and bookstores, hosting literature festivals and programmes, and publishing major literary works. The nominations are reviewed every four years.

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.[1]

Criteria

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To be approved as a City of Literature, cities need to meet a number of criteria set by UNESCO.[2]

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

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Heidelberg University Library
Braidense National Library in Milan

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.[3] As well as having its own poet laureate — the Makar, the city hosts the annual International Book Festival.[4] The city was expected to be given accreditation in April 2005.[3]

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.[5]

Manchester is home to the "world-class" Central Library and the "historic gems" of The Portico, John Rylands, and Chetham's.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

Cities of Literature

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The National Library in Prague
The National Library in Dublin
John Rylands Library in Manchester
Aracataca train station, in Colombia, is one of the settings of a Gabriel García Márquez novel.

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:

City Country Year of inscription
Aberystwyth United Kingdom 2025[9]
Abuja Nigeria 2025[9]
Angoulême France 2019[10]
Baghdad Iraq 2015[11]
Barcelona Spain 2015[12]
Beirut Lebanon 2019[10]
Bremen Germany 2023[13]
Bucheon Korea Republic 2017[14]
Buffalo City South Africa 2023[13]
Celje Slovenia 2025[9]
Conakry Guinea 2025[9]
Dublin Ireland 2010[15]
Dumaguete Philippines 2025[9]
Dunedin New Zealand 2014[16]
Durban South Africa 2017[17]
Edinburgh United Kingdom 2004[4]
Exeter United Kingdom 2019[18][19][10]
Gdańsk Poland 2025[9]
Gothenburg Sweden 2021[20]
Granada Spain 2014[21]
Heidelberg Germany 2014[22]
Hobart Australia 2023[13]
Iași Romania 2023[13]
Iowa City United States 2008[23]
Jakarta Indonesia 2021[20]
Kahramanmaraş Turkey 2025[9]
Kozhikode India 2023[13]
Kraków Poland 2013[24]
Kuhmo Finland 2019[10]
Kutaisi Georgia 2023[13]
Lahore Pakistan 2019[10]
Leeuwarden Netherlands 2019[25]
Lillehammer Norway 2017[26]
Ljubljana Slovenia 2015[27]
Lund Sweden 2025[9]
Lviv Ukraine 2015[28]
Lyon France 2023[13]
Manchester United Kingdom 2017[29]
Melbourne Australia 2008[30]
Milan Italy 2017[31]
Montevideo Uruguay 2015[32]
Nanjing China 2019[10]
Norwich United Kingdom 2012[33]
Nottingham United Kingdom 2015[34]
Óbidos Portugal 2015[35]
Odesa Ukraine 2019[36]
Okayama Japan 2023[13]
Prague Czech Republic 2014[7]
Québec City Canada 2017[37]
Reykjavík Iceland 2011[38]
Rio de Janeiro Brazil 2023[13]
San Luis Potosí Mexico 2025[9]
Seattle United States 2017[39]
Sulaymaniyah Iraq 2019[10]
Taif Saudi Arabia 2023[13]
Tangier Morocco 2025[9]
Tartu Estonia 2015[40]
Tukums Latvia 2023[13]
Ulyanovsk Russia 2015[41]
Utrecht Netherlands 2017[42]
Vilnius Lithuania 2021[43]
Wonju Korea Republic 2019[10]
Wrocław Poland 2019[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "UNESCO Creative Cities Network". Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  2. ↑ "Literature". UNESCO - Creative Cities Network. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Edinburgh Crowned the Capital of Literature". TheGuardian.com. 14 October 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Edinburgh". Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  5. ↑ "Knjižnica pod krošnjami". Knjižnica pod krošnjami.
  6. ↑ "Story, Manchester Metropolitan University". Manchester Metropolitan University. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Prague". Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  8. ↑ Dylan Davies (31 October 2022). "Aberystwyth becomes Wales' first UNESCO City of Literature". Cambrian News. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "On World Cities Day 2025, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network welcomes 58 new member cities". UNESCO. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "UNESCO designates 66 new Creative Cities".
  11. ↑ "Baghdad". Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "Barcelona". Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "55 new cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network on World Cities Day". Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "Bucheon". Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  15. ↑ "Dublin". Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  16. ↑ "Dunedin". Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Durban". Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  18. ↑ "Exeter - only UK city to be awarded UNESCO City of Literature status". news.exeter.gov.uk.
  19. ↑ "Exeter". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  20. 1 2 "49 new cities join UNESCO's Creative Cities Network". Cities of Design Network. 11 November 2021.
  21. ↑ "Granada". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "Heidelberg". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  23. ↑ "Iowa City". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  24. ↑ "Kraków". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  25. ↑ "Leeuwarden". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  26. ↑ "Lillehammer". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  27. ↑ "Ljubljana". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  28. ↑ "Lviv". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  29. ↑ "Manchester". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  30. ↑ "Melbourne". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  31. ↑ "Milan". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  32. ↑ "Montevideo". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  33. ↑ "Norwich". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  34. ↑ "Nottingham". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  35. ↑ "Óbidos". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  36. ↑ "Odessa". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  37. ↑ "Québec City". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  38. ↑ "Reykjavík". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  39. ↑ "Seattle". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  40. ↑ "Tartu". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  41. ↑ "Ulyanovsk". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  42. ↑ "Utrecht". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  43. ↑ "Vilnius". unesco.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
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