Literary Cities

Dublin was nominated a UNESCO City of Literature in 2010. That shouldn’t surprise you if you consider that no other country can boast having one Nobel Prize for Literature winner per million inhabitants.

Dublin plays a leading role in one of the most celebrated novels of all time, Ulysses by James Joyce. Bloomsday is held in his honour on the 16th June every year. On that day, fans of Joyce retrace Leopold Bloom’s footsteps through the streets of Dublin just like in the novel.

But if Dublin has Bloomsday, then Madrid has Max Estrella Night, in honour of the main character in Luces de Bohemia (Bohemian Lights) by Ramón del Valle-Inclán. Max Estrella is brought to life on the 26th March each year, the day before World Theatre Day, to see his reflection deformed once more in the concave mirrors of the Callejón del Gato and wander the capital’s streets.

This month, that’s exactly what we’re inviting you to do: wander, travel, and lose yourself in Barcelona, Valencia, Oviedo, Venice, Paris, Tokyo, Dublin....at the hands of the authors who have made these cities their protagonist, an intimate and unforgettable companion.