Exeter Unesco City of Literature

Exeter Unesco City of Literature A UNESCO designated City of Literature since 2019. We champion stories and storytellers locally and globally.

Exeter's UNESCO City of Literature designation enables us to bring literary skills, events, and opportunities to Exeter and Devon through a large international network. As an Arts Council supported organisation, we're committed to supporting creativity and culture in our communities, and we believe in the power of words to imagine new possibilities. Follow us for the latest literary news and events in Exeter and beyond!

Free books from Exeter UNESCO City of Literature are popping up across Devon this August! 📚Thank you to Penguin Books, B...
27/08/2026

Free books from Exeter UNESCO City of Literature are popping up across Devon this August! 📚

Thank you to Penguin Books, Bloomsbury Publishing UK, One More Chapter Books, Penguin Random House, and Hachette Book Group for their donations to make this free book campaign for the people of Devon possible! 💖

Found one of our free books whilst out and about in Devon? We’d love to hear where you were and what book you discovered! ☺️

Completing the talented trio of writers touching down in Devon next month for the Greenway Residency is is Manjiri Prabh...
27/08/2026

Completing the talented trio of writers touching down in Devon next month for the Greenway Residency is is Manjiri Prabhu from Kozhikode City of Literature in India! 🌎

Dr. Manjiri Prabhu is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning author of 24 books and a pioneering voice in contemporary mystery fiction. A trailblazer in Indian literature, she is the first female mystery author from India to be published internationally.

She is also a short-film-maker, a cultural advocate and the Curator & Founder/Director of two international festivals - Pune International Literary Festival and International Festival of Spiritual India (for Humanity & Wisdom).

She has played a significant role in taking Indian mystery fiction to a global audience. Her recent title, The Rampur Raza Mystery, received the rare honour of being launched by the Hon’ble President of India, Droupadi Murmu.

The Greenway Residency will provide space and support for three writers to develop their practice in the inspiring and uniquely Devon-based literary setting of Greenway (National Trust South Devon) — the summer home of Agatha Christie who described it as “the loveliest place in the world”.

Learn more about Majiri and the other writers who are joining us in Devon this September: https://www.exetercityofliterature.com/current-projects/greenway-residency

Devon writers and creatives, you have access to a worldwide network of all expenses writing residencies thanks to Exeter...
25/08/2026

Devon writers and creatives, you have access to a worldwide network of all expenses writing residencies thanks to Exeter's place in the UNESCO Cities of Literature network! 📝

Current opportunities on offer that are closing in the next few weeks...

🇰🇷 Bucheon - Deadline: Friday 28th August
🇪🇪 Tartu - Deadline: Tuesday 1st September
🇪🇸 Granada - Deadline: Sunday 6th September

Find out more about each residency, and the other Creative Opportunites on offer for Devon creatives on our website: https://www.exetercityofliterature.com/creative-opportunities

25/08/2026

“It’s really increased my knowledge of books, it’s expanded my own reading, and also made me realise that everybody has got a story”

Biblio-Counselling Skills tutor Cathy shares how teaching our Bibliotherapy courses in Exeter has benefited her professional life, and her relationship with books and reading.

Our brand new ‘Train the Trainers’ course equips counselling, therapy, and literary professionals with the skills to deliver our National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society quality checked ‘Introduction to Biblio-Counselling Skills’ course, just like Cathy!

Applications are currently open until Thursday 3rd September - exetercityofliterature.com/bibliotherapy

One City of Literature, two fabulous newsletters! 📮We send out a monthly bulletin from the Exeter City of Lit team about...
24/08/2026

One City of Literature, two fabulous newsletters! 📮

We send out a monthly bulletin from the Exeter City of Lit team about project announcements & news from Exeter, upcoming events across Devon, and updates from the global Cities of Literature network 🌎

Monthly bulletin: https://exetercityofliterature.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=eb89b803e8c0cd1b911a33a31&id=4b204a272d

You can learn about international Cities of Literature residencies, local writing prizes, and unique paid opportunities for Devon creatives before we share them anywhere else via our Devon Writers Mailing List ✍️

Writers newsletter: https://exetercityofliterature.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=eb89b803e8c0cd1b911a33a31&id=dee1971835

It's Literary Festival season with International Agatha Christie Festival, Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival, Appledo...
21/08/2026

It's Literary Festival season with International Agatha Christie Festival, Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival, Appledore Book Festival, and more on the way in the coming weeks! 📚

If you’re heading to any literary festival events (or have already been to some this summer!) we’d love to hear about them 😊

Discover all the Literary Festivals in Devon on our website: https://www.exetercityofliterature.com/literary-festivals

(International Agatha Christie Festival Photos: Appleton Event Photography)

20/08/2026

From map to mural! 🖼️

We’ve taken to the skies with a MASSIVE reimagined edition of our Literary Map of Exeter and Devon at Exeter Airport! ✈️

This monumental mural designed by Getthezeststudio celebrates Devon’s extraordinary literary heritage and our status as one of just 63 Cities of Literature in the world 🌍

18/08/2026

“It’s really, completely transformed my relationship with reading and with books”

We spoke to Biblio-Counselling Skills teacher Max about what they’ve gained from teaching our unique and innovative Bibliotherapy course in Exeter.

Experienced professionals are invited to apply to our brand new ‘Train the Trainers’ course, which will equip counselling, therapy, and literary professionals with the skills to deliver our National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society quality checked Introduction to Biblio-Counselling Skills course just like Max!

Applications are currently open until Thursday 3rd September - more info at exetercityofliterature.com/bibliotherapy

We are super proud of our wonderful Trustee Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson who is currently in the midst of exciting reveals for ...
17/08/2026

We are super proud of our wonderful Trustee Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson who is currently in the midst of exciting reveals for , the first in a fantasy duology that sold to Bloomsbury Publishing UK last year in a nine-way auction! 📚

So far Esmie has shared the Advanced Readers Copy for the American release with Underlined, and we can't wait to see the equally magical cover we'll be getting here in the UK! 🪄

Esmie is a University of Exeter graduate who joined the Exeter City of Literature Board of Trustees in 2024.

She has supported our work by being a part of the Authors Tent at The Book Market, sharing free copies of her books across Devon with The Book Fairies, and taking part in a Barcelona Ciutat de la Literatura UNESCO Writer Residency! ✍️

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