City of Literature

City of Literature
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, 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.
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 became the first literary city. It hosts the annual International Book Festival and has its own poet laureate—the Makar.
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 "vibrant literary scene" includes over 300 bookshops, Victoria State Library among many other libraries, a base for Penguin Random House and for Lonely Planet, the Wheeler Centre, and the Melbourne Writers' Festival.
Prague's "great intellectual and creative resources," includes the book design, illustration, typography, 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, Heidelberg University Library, and the National Library of Ireland in Dublin.
Dunedin is the "Edinburgh of the South", and home to New Zealand's oldest university. Durban is "fun-loving."
Montevideo 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
City of Music
City of Film
Design Cities
City of Gastronomy
City of Media Arts
References
External links
Creative Cities Map, UNESCO.
Edinburgh City of Literature
Melbourne City of Literature
Iowa City City of Literature
Dublin City of Literature
Reykjavík City of Literature
Writers' Centre Norwich
Kraków City of Literature
Heidelberg City of Literature
Dunedin City of Literature
Granada City of Literature
Prague City of Literature
Barcelona City of Literature
Lillehammer City of Literature
Ljubljana City of Literature
Lviv City of Literature
Nottingham City of Literature
Óbidos Vila Literária
Seattle City of Literature
Tartu City of Literature
Ulyanovsk City of Literature
Utrecht City of Literature
Bucheon City of Literature
Exeter City of Literature
Literature lists
Lists of cities
UNESCO