Nottingham celebrates ten years as a UNESCO City of Literature with a new literary map

Nottingham was named a UNESCO City of Literature in December 2015, and the past year has been one of celebration. To mark a decade of the designation, Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature has helped give readers a brand new way to explore the county's stories.

Nottingham's Literary Map is a printed guide to the literary history and contemporary landscape of Nottinghamshire, created with the University of Nottingham and Visit Nottinghamshire and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Arts Council England. After a series of public-facing workshops, the team had the difficult task of narrowing the possibilities down to 42 locations, divided into bookshops, literary landmarks, people and places.

Research affiliate Crystal Mah-Wing helped create it, with illustrations by Chloë Holwill-Hunter. Thousands of free copies are being given away, and the map is available at Nottingham Tourism Centre, Five Leaves, Bromley House Library and Nottingham Central Library. "Working on this has really shown me there's a great writing community here in Nottingham," Crystal said.

The map celebrates writers past and present, from Alan Sillitoe, D. H. Lawrence and Lord Byron to today's voices. Matt Rabagliati of UNESCO UK said it "offers a new and engaging way for visitors and residents alike to explore that legacy".

Young people are at the heart of the City of Literature's work. In March 2025 it ran its first Young Writers in Residency at Bromley House Library, where two young writers spent a week studying the Alan Sillitoe collection. In April 2026 its Youth Advisory Board launched Bear Baiting, a poetry pamphlet written, illustrated and produced entirely by its members.

This summer the Big City Reads campaign gave free books to young people across the city, with titles chosen around the theme of identity, including John Allison's graphic novel Charlotte Grote: Solver.

Ten years on, the designation is about more than heritage. It is about making sure the next generation of Nottingham readers and writers have the books, spaces and encouragement to tell their own stories.

Copies of the literary map and news of projects are available through Nottingham City of Literature and Visit Nottinghamshire.