This year, Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature is marking their tenth anniversary since being awarded the designation. In 2013, a group of individuals and organisations came together to bid for UNESCO City of Literature status. Since the designation was awarded in 2015, Nottingham City of Literature has become an active member of Nottingham’s creative and cultural community, organising events, creating opportunities, acting as a platform for local creatives and representing Nottingham internationally.
Hannah Trevarthen, Director of Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature said:
“We’re delighted to be marking 10 years as a City of Literature and to have the opportunity to celebrate our city’s thriving cultural scene; from our bookshops, libraries and authors to our award winning publishers and literary organisations. As a UNESCO Creative City, we are committed to the life changing power of stories to build better futures with words.
We’re looking forward to building on the successes of the last decade and to continue to champion Nottingham’s past, present and future stories, writers and readers locally, nationally and internationally.”
To mark the start of their anniversary celebrations, Nottingham City of Literature has unveiled their anniversary advert on the side of an NCTX bus. The bus proudly states ‘Barcelona, Ljubljana, Nottingham, Lviv, what do they all have in common?’ All four cities are celebrating their ten year anniversaries this year and the Nottingham City of Literature team are asking you to send in your pictures of the bus with the hashtags #BirthdayBookBus and #WeAreTen. The bus will be on a variety of routes throughout the city until the end of the year and if you scan the QR code you can learn how you can get involved in the celebrations.
Cllr Sam Lux, Nottingham City Council said:
“Nottingham is nothing less than a cultural beacon, but this has been too often overlooked. Having our City of Literature status over the last decade has helped us to shine a light on our rich heritage and current array of talent. It has opened up wonderful opportunities and allowed us to establish our well-deserved place on the global stage. I am in awe of the small but mighty City of Literature team who have made an enormous success of the designation, and am very proud to join them in celebrating their 10 year anniversary.”
As part of their anniversary programme of activities, Nottingham City of Literature will be unveiling the Nature Poet Laureate in June, and the chosen poet will represent Nottingham for the next 18 months both locally and internationally.
There are exciting plans afoot for a collaborative project with Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and the University of Nottingham to create a literary map of Nottinghamshire, plus the annual Nottingham City of Literature lecture with the University of Nottingham delivered this year by Baroness Lola Young. You can also get involved with their Board of Trustees, as the charity opens applications for a new Chair. Further plans and events to get involved in will be revealed throughout the year.
Nadia Whittome, MP said:
“This is a historic anniversary for our city, and a reminder of the incredible work that everyone involved in Nottingham City of Literature has undertaken for more than a decade. I am so proud that our city not only has an impressive literary heritage but that thanks to initiatives like Nottingham City of Literature, we are continuing to nurture the next generation of writers and novelists.”
You can find our more about Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature and the anniversary celebrations at Nottinghamcityofliterature.com
Posted on 27 May 2025
