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Gothenburg Book Fair today proudly unveils its latest prestigious Guests of Honour for the 2027 edition of the Book Fair: Flanders and the Netherlands. With the Leipzig Book Fair having recently highlighted this vibrant region, the organisers of Gothenburg Book Fair are thrilled to introduce it to a Nordic audience, a couple of years ahead. The announcement, made at Leipzig Book Fair, was accompanied by the presence of Book Fair Director Frida Edman, who participated in a signing event.
Flanders and the Netherlands share a close linguistic and cultural bond, with the Dutch language serving as a cornerstone of their relationship. This shared heritage has fostered cultural exchange and collaboration, making them natural choices as Guests of Honour at literary events like the Gothenburg Book Fair.
– We are absolutely thrilled about this partnership, as it not only celebrates rich cultural and literary connections between Flanders and the Netherlands showcasing the significant contributions of both regions to the world of art, literature and democratic values but actually intertwine with the history of Gothenburg in remarkable ways, says Frida Edman, Book Fair Director, expressing enthusiasm for the profound intersection of heritage and collaboration.
Gothenburg originally had three official languages: Swedish, German and Dutch. The city was literally built by the Dutch, leaving a lasting imprint on its infrastructure and architecture. Their expertise in urban planning and engineering contributed to the construction of Gothenburg’s network of canals, bridges and harbour facilities.
Today, both Flanders and the Netherlands and Gothenburg share the environmental challenges of rising water levels, a shared concern that underscores the importance of collaboration and knowledge exchange in developing effective solutions for sustainable urban development and climate resilience.
The partnership aims to celebrate the rich connections shared between Flanders and the Netherlands and Sweden to foster lasting collaboration and enhance the visibility of literature from Flanders and the Netherlands in Sweden, and vice versa. The two regions have been in focus in Gothenburg once before, in 1997.
– We are very excited to return to Gothenburg after 30 years. The invitation from the Gothenburg Book Fair provides us with a wonderful opportunity to introduce a remarkable and committed new generation of authors who demonstrate the depth and diversity of our literature across all genres. The fair is the ideal platform to create a new impetus for the cooperation between our regions and to deepen the exchange with readers from Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia, says Paul Hermans, director Flanders Literature.
Read the press notice in its entirety here.