It isn’t just music festivals that attract huge gatherings to the biggest as well as most remote cities in the world. Much like band groupies, bibliophiles can nowadays get to know new places and cultures while chasing their favorite authors and new literary trends. Let’s take a look at the major literary festivals taking place all over the world in 2016.
Port Eliot Festival (UK)
The festival may aim to go way beyond words, with a programming that includes art and food, among other things, but the literary events still stand out with their creativity. The singular location at the historic Port Eliot estate also makes it one of the most unique literary festivals, as performances take place across a walled garden and the festivalgoers also have the option of refreshing themselves in the near river or watching bands play inside a historical church.
It all takes place on July 28-31.
FLIP - Paraty International Literary Festival (Brazil)
Paraty’s scenic landscape wouldn’t have been more perfect for a book festival if it had been designed for the effect. The area is surrounded by mountains enclosed in the forest, as well as gorgeous colonial buildings, which are an ideal setting for round-table discussions followed by long beach days. The well-established festival, which also hosts other artistic events and exhibitions, has had names like Julian Barnes and Don DeLillo as headliners in the past.
You can attend or follow all the action between June 29 and July 3.
Edinburgh International Book Festival (Scotland)
Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square Gardens transform every August since 1983 to welcome a host of 800 writers, from bestsellers, to Nobel Prize winners, and even aspiring novelists and poets. Book enthusiasts can also bring their children over to participate in workshops and storytelling sessions which help cement their affection for books.
The line-up for the festival taking place on August 13-29 is unveiled in June.
Berlin International Literature Festival (Germany)
A truly global festival which takes over most of Berlin’s cultural institutions, including theatres and museums, for ten days in September since 2001, this year’s Berlin literature festival is said to have writers from all continents and genres in its line-up.
You can go check them out on September 7-17.
Brooklyn Book Festival (USA)
Home to a lot of the greats of today’s literature, Brooklyn, specifically its Downtown Park, is also home to New York’s biggest free literary festival, which brings writers from all corners of the world to the Big Apple. All inclusive, the festival whose details start emerging in January also has a dedicated Children’s Day.
The bookworm invasion takes place on September 17-18.
Irrawaddy Literary Festival (Myanmar)
Myanmar’s inspiring non-profit event brings some of the country’s biggest names as well as international novelists to the scenic Mandalay Hill Resort to share their love for the written word. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the patron of the four-year-old event and its headliner.
You can see her and the others in November.