A Nordic Literary Summit will be held in Gothenburg on 27 September 2023

The literary policy summit will serve as an opening of the Nordic region’s largest cultural event, Göteborg Bokmässa, and politicians, researchers, industry, authors and professionals are invited to the meeting to strengthen the literary policy debate, exchange experiences and learn from each other in the Nordic countries.

“Nordic co-operation has historically been strong, not least in the cultural field. There are initiatives in the Nordic countries that strengthen literary policy, but perhaps the pandemic of recent years has weakened co-operation. In these troubled times, the need to nurture a strong literary ecosystem becomes even clearer: literature enriches the individual, and through her, society is enriched. After the pandemic, it becomes even more important to consider what kind of literature policy Sweden and the Nordic countries want in order to enable a Nordic literature region that grows rather than stagnates,” says Frida Edman, Director of Göteborg Bokmässa.

The meeting will focus on literature policy and its challenges in the Nordic countries, as well as on differences in policy and conditions for literature between the Nordic countries. The summit will also focus on the conditions and future of school libraries and the role of bookshops in the sustainability of cities and regions.

Commenting on the need for a cultural policy summit, Benny Marcel, Director of the Nordic Culture Fund, said:

“At a time when Nordic co-operation is intensifying, a summit on literary policy can open new doors for all those already involved in issues related to literature and reading. This includes making the Nordic region “the most sustainable and integrated region in the world”, as the Nordic prime ministers decided almost four years ago. We believe that everyone involved in literature can also lead the way to a new Nordic public sphere and an updated intellectual debate forum”.

The summit’s programme is to be announced in June. The talks from the stage will be broadcast live and available to the public via Book Fair Play.

You can read more about the partnership via Göteborg Bokmässa’s website.