Seattle City Council Approves City of Literature Bid

Shelf Awareness

Yesterday the Seattle City Council unanimously voted to support Seattle's bid to become a UNESCO City of Literature. Seattle would be only the second U.S. City of Literature, after Iowa City, Iowa. There are six other Cities of Literature around the world: Edinburgh, Scotland, Dublin, Ireland, Reykjavik, Iceland, Norwich, England, Krakow, Poland, and Melbourne, Australia.

The Stranger reported that council member Nick Licata, who introduced the resolution, praised local author Ryan Boudinot for accumulating a long list of sponsors for the bid, including the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Academy of American Poets and Nancy Pearl. Licata said, in part, that the designation of Seattle as a City of Literature would help "Seattle's readers and writers to engage more deeply in the world's literary traditions," and "for our city to contribute to a community of creative cities around the globe."

Boudinot will soon travel to several Cities of Literature in Europe, seeking their support. In March, he will submit the application, which will include written and video testimony. The public will be allowed to comment and participate in the process.