Seattle City of Literature Seeks New Board Members!

Seattle City of Literature, the nonprofit responsible for securing Seattle’s UNESCO City of Literature designation in 2017, is looking for new board members.

Are you:
Passionate about books and reading?
Committed to supporting the work of the literary community in Seattle?
Interested in making meaningful change in and around our city?

If so, apply now! We’d love to chat with you about our work!

Members of the Seattle City of Literature board serve three-year terms, and the board meets one evening every month for two hours. We are a working board; responsibilities include (but are not limited to) fundraising, communicating regularly with the community, and advising on Seattle's relationship to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

A Statement from the Creative Cities Steering Committee

UNESCO Creative Cities Network statement on New Zealand terror attacks

We, the members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), stand in solidarity with the people of New Zealand and our colleagues in UNESCO Cities of Auckland (Music) and Dunedin (Literature) during this terrible moment of suffering in Christchurch.

It is important at this moment that we stand with the Mayor and people of Christchurch, and our UCCN colleagues in New Zealand. We know that there is great shock, pain and fear to be overcome.

When one city or nation suffers from violence fueled by racism and the deliberate targeting of the Muslim community – we all suffer.

We must not suffer in silence.

We stand together to fight violence and build peace through all art forms and culture.

UNESCO seeks to build peace through international cooperation in education, science and culture. Its mandate is as relevant as ever. Cultural diversity is under attack and new forms of intolerance, rejection of scientific facts and threats to freedom of expression challenge peace and human rights. Goal 16 on the Agenda 2030 states: “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”. And the main goal of the New Urban Agenda is: “Leave No One Behind.”.

Today we recognize there is much work to do around the world to fully realize peaceful cities and societies and to leave no one behind. Therefore in response, UNESCO’s duty remains to reaffirm the humanist missions of education, science and culture, and we encourage our colleagues in New Zealand to recognize that they are not alone in this struggle.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development. The network currently comprises 180 cities from 72 countries.

The network aims to foster mutual international cooperation with and between member cities committed to invest in creativity as a driver for sustainable urban development, social inclusion and cultural vibrancy. The Network recognizes the following creative fields: Crafts & Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.

Apply Now for a Residency in a City of Literature!

Dust off your resumes and polish your writing samples! Three Cities of Literature currently are accepting applications for their residency programs. Which one will you apply for?

Krakow City of Literature Residency Program (Kraków, Poland)

The Krakow UNESCO City of Literature Residency Program is dedicated to emerging writers from the Cities of Literature of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. It aims to promote the Cities of Literature Network, provide writers with a platform to showcase their work and talent to a Central European audience, support greater diversity of voices and literatures on the Polish and Central European book market and offer local writers the chance to create links with international writers as well.

The call for applications for 2019 is now open.

The residency periods are:

May 1 – June 30
September 1 – October 31

Deadline for application submission is February 25, 2019.
Learn More

Tartu City of Literature Spring Residency (Tartu, Estonia)

Tartu City of Literature Office announces the first 2019 call for applications of Tartu City of Literature International Residency Program for writers and translators.

The call for applications is now open. The residency period is April-May 2019.

Deadline for application submission is February 25th 2019.

Learn More

Ljubljana International Literary Residency (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Ljubljana, a UNESCO City of Literature since 2015, offers two one-month residencies for writers at the newly restored Švicarija/Swisshouse Creative Centre, which is part of the International Centre of Graphic Arts.
 
The residency periods are:
October 1-31 2019 and November 20–20 December 2019 (one month per residency/applicant).
 
Deadline for application submission is March 31, 2019.

Learn More

Apply Now to Be Seattle's Next Civic Poet!

Are you our next Civic Poet?

The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and the City of Literature support an experienced poet with a two-year City residency as literary ambassador. In addition to annual City events, the Civic Poet will foster community dialogue and engagement between the City, the public and other artists while celebrating the literary arts.
Eligibility:
This call is open to Seattle-based poets who have an established body of work including published works, reading/spoken word and project-planning experience and who have skills in racial equity practices. Applicants must be eligible to work in the US, be committed to this commission's purpose and have a strong relationship to Seattle
Deadline:
Wednesday, April 24, 2019; 10:59 p.m. PST 
Application:
Find the guidelines and online application here
Workshops:
Saturday, February 16, 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Seattle Public Library – Columbia City Branch, map it
4721 Rainier Ave. S.
Seattle, Washington 98118
Learn what makes a strong application. The session will cover specifics on eligibility, and how to apply. All applicants are encouraged to attend.

Photo of current Civic Poet Anastacia-Renee courtesy Marcus Donner

Some Exciting News!

Seattle City of Literature has some exciting news. Having administered the UNESCO Creative City designation since late 2017, the nonprofit organization Seattle City of Literature is now entering into a limited agreement with the Office of Arts & Culture, the Seattle Public Library, and the Seattle Public Library Foundation.

This agreement represents even greater municipal buy-in to our efforts and shifts the Creative City designation under the aegis of The Seattle Public Library for a period of two years.

During this time, the role of the Seattle City of Literature nonprofit organization will be to advise programmatic decision making and to raise funds to help support program initiatives.

We’re so excited that the City of Seattle is investing in the Creative Cities Network in this way, truly showing that the designation of City of Literature belongs to the entire municipality. And we’re looking forward to working closely with all of these organizations to support City of Literature programming going forward!