Melbourne’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature is an acknowledgment of the breadth, depth and vibrancy of our literary culture.
Melbourne supports a diverse range of writers and literary organisations, a prosperous publishing industry and successful independent booksellers. We also host a range of successful literary events and festivals that help foster our strong reading culture.
City of Literature highlights:
- Melburnians consume more books, magazines and newspapers per capita than residents of any other city in Australia, and enjoy the highest concentration of community book clubs in the country.
- Melbourne has been home to some Australia’s greatest writers, past and present, including Marcus Clarke, CJ Dennis, Peter Carey, Helen Garner, Christos Tsiolkas and Nam Le, to name just a few.
- There are over 270 local libraries in Victoria, with more than two million members who borrow 43 million physical items and 2.4 million ebooks each year.
- About one third of all Victorians are library members and libraries receive 30 million visits per year. Victoria’s libraries run an extensive range of innovative events and festivals for writers and readers as well as creative writing competitions.
The Melbourne City of Literature office works in three ways:
- Strategic initiatives – one-off programs that can cause a meaningful change in the City of Literature
- Partnership programs – working with partners to deliver programs that have impact
- International exchanges – initiatives that begin here in partnership with another Creative City then travel around the network.
The Melbourne UNESCO City of Literature Office is a joint initiative of Creative Victoria and City of Melbourne and is hosted by The Wheeler Centre.