City of Literature

Events throughout the Festival, in-person and online

This is a past event which has now ended.

This year, Norfolk & Norwich Festival and National Centre for Writing bring you seven wonderful experiments in writing.

Writer and NCW Associate Artist Jay Bernard and sound artist Mwen present TOMBLAND, a haunting digital soundscape which transports you from your home to ours, at the beautiful Dragon Hall.

Writers Rowan Hisayo Buchanan and Jessica J. Lee invite us to look closely at the nature around us – to peer at tiny mosses beneath the hedgerow and search forests for crown shyness in LOOKING, LARGE AND SMALL.

Theatre maker Jack McNamara and composer/ violinist Angharad Davies will deliver THE GROUP, a three-part play told live via WhatsApp.

Four writers reflect on the atmospheric pressure of the year they’ve just had in WEATHER WITH YOU.

FUTURE & FORM marks an ambitious collaboration with UEA in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their world-renowned Creative Writing programme. UEA graduate and prize-winning novelist Ayòbámi Adébáyò asks questions of the future of writing, in a daring commission entitled PROVENANCE.

Our annual HARRIET MARTINEAU LECTURE will be delivered by critic and editor Ellah P. Wakatama, with a new visual score by film-maker and poet Julian Knox.

And if, as we hope, this suite of work drives you back to the books of these and other writers, then we hope you’ll be able to join us for a special festival chapter of The Book Hive’s PAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE at Plantation Gardens.

We’re proud to present this weekend of experiments, original commissions, and interactive experiences, and invite you to encounter these prophecies with us and each other.

Important information

Provenance

In this vivid and emotional immersive play, acclaimed novelist Ayòbámi Adébáyò tells the compelling story of twins separated by death.

Provenance (Event)

Discover the journey behind the making of Provenance: a vivid and immersive play involving live acting, digital screens and the fabulous storytelling skills of acclaimed novelist Ayòbámi Adébáyò.

Tombland

An immersive and unusual online experience which blurs the boundaries between words, music and place. Tombland is a fragmentary digital soundscape which transports you into the beautiful grounds of Dragon and allows you to re-mix sounds the artists created.

Tombland (Event)

Discover the process behind Tombland: a fragmentary digital soundscape which blurs the boundaries between words, music and place.

Weather With You

Three writers reflect on the atmospheric pressure of the year they’ve just had in Weather With You – a series of written commissions and podcasts that address what it means to be a writer today, and why we write.

Weather With You (Event)

This event compliments a series of written commissions and podcasts created by each speaker which interrogate what it means to be a writer today, and how reading and writing has got them through a turbulent period.

Looking Large and Small

Explore the magic of the natural world with this pack of observations, illustrations and exercises.

Looking Large and Small (Event)

Join nature writer and environmental historian Jessica J. Lee and novelist and illustrator Rowan Hisayo Buchanan for a peek behind the hedge at the process of creating Looking, Large and Small

The Group

What’s real? Who’s there? What do you believe? Join us for The Group – a three-part play told live via Whatsapp, blending literature and theatre in the palm of your hands

Page Against The Machine

Pick a book, grab a cool drink and turn off your phone for a well-deserved detox read in the beautiful surroundings of The Plantation Garden

Harriet Martineau Lecture: Ellah P. Wakatama

Literary critic and editor Ellah P. Wakatama deliver the Harriet Martineau Lecture, accompanied by a stunning visual score from film-maker and poet Julian Knox.

Tickets: This is a non-ticketed event

You can register in advance for some of the events, go to the individual event pages for more information

City of Literature is a Norfolk & Norwich Festival and National Centre for Writing Presentation, programmed by National Centre for Writing