Home 
How do booksellers in Edinburgh, Barcelona, Prague and other UNESCO Cities of Literature cope with the pandemic? What practices can Krakow bookshops boast in this respect? We invite you to take part in a cycle of virtual meetings of the booksellers’ industry where participants can share their knowledge and inspirations on the forum of 39 UNESCO Cities of Literature around the world.
Unconventional methods of delivery, the development of e-shops, unobvious ways of getting noticed on Facebook and Instagram – these are only some of the activities undertaken recently by booksellers in order to face the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. What is the current situation of the industry in various countries? What has the pandemic taught us and what should we expect in the future?
Meetings will be held in the form of three moderated discussions that will be opened by short presentations of selected bookshops from four UNESCO Cities of Literature: Krakow, Edinburgh, Barcelona and Prague. The presentations are aimed at introducing the main subject and inspiring a further discussion.
We cannot visit one another, but we can meet virtually!
Schedule of meetings (according to Central European Time – GMT +1):
23rd February, 7:00 p.m.
Presentations: Edinburgh (Lighthouse Bookshop), Krakow (Karakter Bookshop)
23rd March, 7:30 p.m.
Presentations: Barcelona (Llibreria Documenta), Krakow (Café NOWA Bookshop)
13th April, 7:00 p.m.
Presentations: Prague (Book Therapy), Krakow (Massolit Books)
Host of the discussion: Krzysztof Żwirski
We meet via Microsoft Teams platform. Participation in discussions is free and devoid of territorial restrictions; the number of places is limited.
Registration: kontakt@miastoliteratury.pl
Please write ‘Resilient Bookshops’ in the title of your e-mail and the name of the bookshop you represent in the content. The link to the meeting will be sent in the reply to your enrolment e-mail.
Meetings will be held in English and translated consecutively into Polish.
The cycle is organised by the Krakow Festival Office – the operator of the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature programme, including strategic actions for the support and development of the local bookselling industry. The Krakow bookshop support programme includes, e.g., a rent discount system in municipal premises, an annual programme of support of cultural activities in bookshops and a programme of promotion of books published under the patronage of KUCL. During the 1st pandemic wave, the Krakow Festival Office implemented Resilient Bookshops – a support & protection programme that covered 23 bookshops in Krakow.
UNESCO Creative Cities Network is an international programme aimed at promoting and developing industries that determine the cultural identity of the world’s cities. The Cities of Literature network currently consists of 39 cities, including Edinburgh, Dublin, Norwich, Nottingham, Reykjavík, Barcelona, Grenada, Milan, Heidelberg, Prague, Ljubljana, Lviv or Melbourne. Krakow joined the Cities of Literature in 2013; the capital of Małopolska was the seventh city in the world to receive this prestigious title.