Celebrating Aberystwyth Ceredigion
City of Literature
Aberystwyth Ceredigion joins a global network of Creative Cities.
Aberystwyth Ceredigion has become Wales’ first UNESCO City of Literature, and we’re so excited to join a global network of creative cities, to celebrate our vibrant literary culture and share it with the world.
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Our Case
Our People
In Ceredigion, as well as the beauty of our natural surroundings, we have a stunning literary heritage. People in these parts left their stories on stones in the 5th and 6th centuries, on vellum in the Middle Ages; on printed pages for centuries and in digital formats for decades. From generation to generation, they have passed on their poems and tales of loss and gain, of adventure and adversity. Aberystwyth alone can claim connection with 300 poets and is the first town in Wales to employ a Town Poet.
Through stories and plays and poetry, through language and languages, we reach out to the world and the world reaches us.
Our Case
Our Institutions
Ceredigion is home to literary institutions of national and international importance: the National Library of Wales, Books Council of Wales, Literature Across Frontiers, Wales Literature Exchange, Aberystwyth University, the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. We have a thriving publishing industry dating back to 1718 and have hosted national festivals of vibrant literature exchange since at least the 12th century.
Our Case
Our ‘Literature for All’ Ethos
At grass-roots level, we have wonderful independent book shops, a library service that busses books to the most rural communities, thriving book groups and eisteddfodau, and practise poetry in a tradition unbroken over a thousand years.
Literature is at our feet as we walk Aberystwyth Promenade. It adorns the Quay at Cardigan, the woodland trail in Llandre. It clads our village walls. It is an integral part of everyday life for people of all ages and backgrounds.
What does this designation mean to us?
“It’s fantastic that Aberystwyth Ceredigion has been awarded this status, putting our county on a worldwide stage and celebrating our distinctive cultural and literary heritage. Literature is for everyone, and we’ve now joined a global network of cities that have creativity rooted in their local communities to create a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future.
Literature and creativity help make Aberystwyth Ceredigion an amazing place to live, work, study and visit and we believe that being Wales’ first City of Literature will be a catalyst for further growth in the creative industries, benefit local businesses and help more people to discover us and our many stories. This designation belongs to everyone in Aberystwyth Ceredigion and there are so many opportunities to take part and share ideas – this is just the first step!” Councillor Emlyn Jones, Mayor of Aberystwyth.
