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British Council Arts
 Literature
Literature NEWS
Poems on the Underground Winter 2008

Poems on the Underground launches its 23rd year with a display of poems by the leading Chinese poets Bei Dao and Yang Lian, with calligraphy by Qu Lei Lei.

London Book Fair

The Market Focus for the 2008 London Book Fair, running from 14 - 16 April, is the Arab World. Click here for more information.

Read more news from the literature department.

TODAY'S TOP LITERATURE STORIES
Read the latest literature news - including up-to-date information on prizewinners and awards shortlists - from Animating Literature, the portal to news, information and discussion for readers, writers, teachers, students and literature professionals.

literature
Our work in a nutshell

The British Council literature department facilitates cultural understanding and exchange through writing and reading projects relevant to our audiences around the world. We host many websites and publish an annual anthology of new writing in English from the UK.

Our specialist team promotes the innovation, diversity, creativity and excellence of contemporary British literature in the context of the British Council’s cultural relations remit.

Contemporary Writers Our websites Encompassculture
Contemporary Writers
Read biographies and comprehensive booklists for over 500 UK and Commonwealth authors. With critical reviews, author statements, and prize and award information. New authors added every month. Sign up for our e-news service.
Our websites

A comprehensive guide to reading, UK and Commonwealth writers, literary translation and a selection of our literature and creative writing projects. With teachers’ and readers’ notes, author interviews, discussion boards, online chats, blogs, audio/visual streaming, podcasts and e-news services.

encompassculture
Select from over 10,000 books or join our online reading group. Write reviews, join in web board discussions and chats, read news, seek advice from the Online Reader in residence and find out how to manage reading groups. Separate sites for adults, children (3-12) and young adults (12-18).
What we do
Learn about the type of work we do; how to contact us; who we work with (our partners, advisors, and how we select authors); our web sites; education and training resources; funding; frequently asked questions with answers; and useful links.
Activities
Find out about the various areas in which we work along with useful information about UK and Commonwealth literature within those areas. For each Activity area you will find: British Council events and projects around the world; where to find information about events in the UK; study opportunities in the UK; distance learning and online courses available for the rest of the world; major UK organisations involved in that subject area; relevant books; author information; British Council publications and resources; relevant periodicals; a list of useful web links; and frequently asked questions with answers.
UK and Overseas Events
We co-ordinate literature events around the world, providing advice and guidance to the overseas offices of the British Council on a wide range of types of literature activity including writers, academics and critics visits to festivals, conferences and seminars. We organise workshops, writing residencies and readings, aiming to cover all types of writing including: the novel, the short story, poetry, drama, performance poetry, crime fiction, literary biography, science fiction, popular science writing, travel writing, writing for children, screenwriting, literary translation, storytelling and literary criticism.
Publications and resources
Take a look at the wide range of publications and resources that we have in print, audio and online. These include: www.contemporarywriters.com; www.encompassculture.com (an online book group), where you can choose what to read next; www.literarytranslation.com; bibliographies of contemporary literature; our New Writing annual anthology; the Literature Matters online magazine; and poetry audio with extracts streamed on this site. Other resources are produced in support of our projects and events overseas and here in the UK.
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland)
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