Discover the people, events, organisations and independent businesses that make Norwich the ideal place for writers to live, think and dream.
City of Stories
‘Norwich, the City of Stories’ began life as a VisitNorwich tourism campaign in 2014 and, from 2019 was rolled out as the city strapline, to celebrate where we’ve come from, what’s happening now and where we want to go in the future.
We’re a city that celebrates the independent, stimulates creativity, promotes change and encourages diversity. We’re the City of Stories, and we always have new stories to tell.
Image © VisitNorwich
UEA Live
UEA Live is a literary festival based at the University of East Anglia, the campus where some of the greatest writers of today have worked and studied. UEA prides itself on being where literature lives, proven true by their illustrious roster of alumni. Previously known as the UEA Literary Festival, UEA Live has been welcoming the world’s finest writers and thinkers to Norwich since 1991. They have local roots and a global reach, aiming to inspire and empower audiences with a bold, ambitious, and engaging event experience that’s open to all.
Image © Jo Millington
TOAST Poetry
TOAST makes live poetry events and workshops with the best poets in the UK. Founded in 2016, TOAST finds the strongest voices in poetry and supports their careers. Based in Norwich, their goal is to make entertaining, engaging events that bring new audiences and new poets together. Through events and workshops, TOAST find, train and give a platform to poets whilst creating communities between artists and audiences.
Image © Rosie Mills Smith
British Centre for Literary Translation
BCLT is a research centre in the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at UEA in Norwich. They support the MA in Literary Translation at the University of East Anglia, a variety of undergraduate modules in the subject, and an extensive programme of PhD research.
BCLT was founded in 1989 by the late W.G. Sebald. ‘Max’ was Professor of European Literature at UEA and a German writer who opted to live in the UK and continue writing in German. His novels and collections of essays, including The Rings of Saturn, The Emigrants, Austerlitz and On The Natural History of Destruction, established him as one of the leading writers of the twentieth century.
Image © Anita Staff
Norfolk & Norwich Millennium Library
This is the biggest library in the city and the county, with a huge, fresh collection, year-round events programme, and various spaces for different user groups, including: The Norwich Millennium Zine Library, a space on the first floor to read hundreds of zines on topics including activism, protest, local interest, gender, sexuality, photography, art, nature, and more; the Norfolk Heritage Centre and the Business & IP Centre; the Express library and the Early Years library; The American Library.
Image © David Kirkham
Noirwich Crime Writing Festival
Established 10 years ago, Noirwich Crime Writing Festival is the region’s largest annual celebration of crime writing and one of the fastest-growing literary festivals in the UK.
Noirwich is about the reading and the writing of crime fiction. They explore how the genre works and where it is going, thanks to their unique connection with the University of East Anglia’s creative writing department. Noirwich is part of a vibrant, world-leading crime writing studies ecosystem, centred at UEA.
Image © Beth Moseley
True Stories Live
True Stories Live is a lively, moving and unpredictable event where people tell true stories about their lives in front of a warm, supportive audience. There is no audition process or strict set of criteria – you just have to have a story to tell, based loosely on the set theme.
Speakers come from a wide range of different backgrounds. If you perform regularly in another context, you’re welcome. If you haven’t been on a stage since that incident in primary school, you are also very welcome. And if sharing your story isn’t for you, come down and join their fast-growing audience.
Image © Robin Mair
Header image © VisitNorwich
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