European Writers’ Festival: The Stories We Tell

The first European Writers’ Festival at the British Library taking place on 20-21 May 2023, sees many of Europe’s greatest storytellers gather together for one remarkable, unmissable weekend, to perform and debate the literature and big ideas defining their countries and Europe today.

This is a unique opportunity to come together to enjoy some of the best European prose and poetry in English translation, and to ensure that the cultural networks and exchanges between Britain and Europe continue to thrive as we forge new paths and tackle the challenges of our times.

Hailing from over 29 countries, our dazzling line-up of outstanding writers includes: Raphaela Edelbauer, Charlotte Van Den Broeck, Caroline Lamarche, Georgi Gospodinov, Núria Bendicho, Anthony Anaxagorou, Kateřina Tučková, Harald Voetmann, Kai Aareleid, Emmi Itäranta, Mithu Sanyal, Elias Maglinis, Zsófia Bán, Viola di Grado, Jan Carson, Raibīs, Jurga Vilė, Lina Itagaki, Nachoem M. Wijnberg, Vigdis Hjorth, Witold Szabłowski, José Luís Peixoto, Magda Carneçi, Chitra Ramaswamy, Monika Kompaníková, Ana Schnabl, Elena Medel, Defne Suman and Olena Stiazhkina.

Panels and performances take place over two days, each with different authors and different themes, from Writing about History to Freedom, Language and War.  After each panel you can hear readings and performances from each participating writer. All events are in English.

Organised by the European Union National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC) London in partnership with the European Literature Network and the British Library, and with the support of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom and the European Parliament Liaison Office in the United Kingdom.

The European Writers’ Festival is curated by former BBC journalist Rosie Goldsmith, director of the European Literature Network and Editor-in-Chief of the Riveter magazines.

A dedicated bookshop will be on site, and a full list of participating writers, panels and readings is available on the British Library website.

Book your tickets here.

This event will not be live-streamed.