October marked the twenty-year anniversary of Edinburgh becoming the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature.

The City celebrated by hosting the Cities of Literature Annual Conference to mark the achievements of the past two decades and plan for the next two. The conference spanned four-and-a-half days, hosting 57 delegates from 37 cities, including Edinburgh, across 15 official events. These events showcased Edinburgh at its finest, highlighting why it was the first UNESCO City of Literature.

Members of the Manchester City of Literature team shared copies of The Book of Manchester edited by David Sue and published earlier this year by Manchester publisher Comma Press.

Delegates were introduced to many of Edinburgh’s remarkable literary organisations and charities, as well as to the Gavin Wallace Fellow, Mary Paulson-Ellis, who shared the work she has been doing with writers from other Cities of Literature. They also visited Abbotsford, the historic home of Sir Walter Scott, before attending a Civic Reception hosted by Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Robert Aldridge.

During the reception, Edinburgh-based writer Mary Paulson-Ellis delivered a compelling keynote speech from a writer’s perspective, followed by a tribute from Hannah Trevarthen, Director Nottingham City of Literature, to former Edinburgh Director Ali Bowden.

On the Thursday, UNESCO Creative Cities Secretariat’s Denise Bax joined the conference, and delegates visited the National Library of Scotland, where they toured the exhibitions. Later, they proceeded to the Edinburgh Futures Institute, the new venue for the Edinburgh International Book Festival. There, the delegates participated in a Utopia Lab session with poet and Creative Projects Manager Jennifer Williams and met some of the Book Festival’s team.

The day concluded with a Literary Afternoon Tea at the Grand Sheraton Hotel, featuring Ian Rankin, Alistair Moffat, and Chitra Ramaswamy, where delegates and academics enjoyed literary-themed treats inspired by books like Trainspotting and Rob Roy.

The final day focused on University engagements, with a visit to Napier University to meet professors and course leaders, followed by a presentation at the University of Edinburgh where academics and City of Literature colleagues shared collaborative projects. The conference concluded with an eclectic mix of poetry, translation, and music featuring Edinburgh Makar, Michael Pedersen, poet Hollie McNish, musician Conor O’Brien, and Bremen-based writer Sadaf Zahedi.

Delegates brought with them their open minds, their passionate advice and tips, and children’s picture books, which were donated to Edinburgh Children’s Library. The donations offer a range of diverse and beautifully illustrated titles in the original language of each of the Cities.

“It was an honour and a privilege to mark our anniversary by hosting the Cities of Literature meeting. What a brilliant group of creative and passionate people that have built and sustained this global network, helping expand our small city of Edinburgh to the wonderfully diverse and expansive network, from Okayama, Kozhikode and Jakarta, to Lviv, Lillehammer and Leeuwarden. It gave us the opportunity to see why Edinburgh was designated twenty years ago, showcasing Edinburgh at its finest.” – Keira Brown, Community and Communications Manager, Edinburgh City of Literature

During the Cities of Literature Annual Conference, an Academic Symposium was also held. Edinburgh City of Literature Trustee James Loxley brought together academics from higher education institutions connected with Cities of Literature to discuss past, present, and future collaborations and to explore greater academic coordination across the network. Manchester took part in presentations at the academic conference with board member and Head of English at MMU Jess Edwards presenting our Untold Stories project to delegates spanning 37 countries.

The participants discussed a range of global and local challenges and opportunities where meaningful organisation could develop, and agreed to take steps toward enhanced academic networking in the near future. They expressed hope that such a network would provide advice, support, inspiration, and shared experiences among universities and other higher education institutions working alongside Cities of Literature organisations.