Book lovers and aficionados: if Amsterdam wasn’t on your travel plans before, you might want to add it. On April 23, UNESCO named Amsterdam the World Book Capital. The city will hold the title until April 2009, and in that time hopes to inspire dialog and spark debate about the freedom of expression.
Here are some of the World Book Capital’s upcoming events that just might be of interest:
May 18: Amsterdam International Literary Festival. With over 1,000 stalls this is Europe’s largest book market held in the streets of Amsterdam.
April 23 – June 23: Amsterdam in Words. An exhibition with portraits of 60 authors and quotes from their work that relates to a street, park or site in the city.
June 1 – September 8: Poetry in the Park. Two days of poetry in ten of Amsterdam’s parks, beginning with Vondelpark and ending with Westerpark.
I guess it’s time to hit the Amsterdam books.