Literary Meeting Places and Initiatives
The City of Literature at Gothenburg Book Fair
Gothenburg Book Fair is the largest cultural event in the Nordic region, bringing together authors, journalists, and publishers from more than 30 countries for over 300 seminar programs and 4000 stage programmes attracting over 90,000 visitors.
In addition to the Book Fair as an organization being a collaborative partner of Gothenburg City of Literature, it is also, as a phenomenon, a central meeting place for issues concerning literature.
Gothenburg City of Literature has the following recurring home stages at Gothenburg Book Fair:
The Freedom of Expression Stage
The Freedom of Expression Stage provides space for discussions on issues like democracy, freedom of expression, and the important initiatives of the sanctuary city concept in support of these values. The stage is hosted by several partners, including the Gothenburg Book Fair, the City of Gothenburg, Hanaholmen – a cultural center for Swedish-Finnish cooperation, ICORN, the University of Gothenburg, the Swedish Academy, and Voksenåsen – a cultural center for Swedish-Norwegian cooperation.
Gothenburg City of Literature organizes a selection of programming around themes such as freedom of expression, sanctuary work, and international cooperation.
Starting 2026, the stage will be considered a part of the new Democracy Square.
The Library Stage
The Library Stage focuses on library development, reading promotion, and literature-related topics. The Cultural Administration of Region Västra Götaland, the National Library of Sweden, and the Swedish Library Association jointly present a varied program with more than 30 events.
Gothenburg City of Literature organizes a special programme highlighting the intersection of libraries and the Unesco network.
The Room for Poetry
The Room for Poetry is a venue dedicated to the literary genre that is its namesake. It is traditionally the scenen for the unveiling of the year’s manhole cover poetry, in a ceremony where the actual manhole cover—and the poet awarded the honour of "Manhole Cover Poet of the Year" —take center stage. Since 2019, a new poet has been appointed each year by an expert jury, and granted the honour writing a new poem that will be cast into manhole covers placed in several Swedish cities for public reading over the next century. The poem is revealed at the ceremony.
The manhole cover poetry initiative is part of the City of Literature Gothenburg.
Read more about these and other program events when the Gothenburg Book Fair's annual stage program is released ahead of the fair, which takes place Thursday through Sunday in the last week of September.
A National Literary Policy Summit: the conditions for literature in a changing time
Since 2022, the Gothenburg Book Fair, together with Region Västra Götaland and partner organisations, has organised Sweden’s only Literary Policy Summit within the framework of Gothenburg City of Literature.
The Literary Policy Summit highlights the conditions for literature in a time of change, bringing together representatives from the literary and publishing sectors, cultural policymakers at national, regional and municipal levels, civil servants, and academia for a half-day gathering in Gothenburg. The aim is to encourage shared reflection and to demonstrate the scope for action in safeguarding literature.
The summit usually takes place in connection with the Gothenburg Book Fair and brings together delegates from across the nation.
Please note that the Literary Policy Summit is a closed event for invited delegates only.