LITERARY FESTIVAL HEADREAD
Press release
5 April 2017
In exactly seven weeks, the HeadRead literary festival will kick off, featuring 75 events over five days, and 112 literary performers from Estonia and abroad.
Starting from Thursday, the festival programme features a series of panel discussions dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Finland, exploring various aspects of independence. The subject is relevant, as Estonia will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year and the two countries have much in common. The discussions will look at young nations’ search for identity, the silent decades and cultural awakening, but also the literary connections between Estonia and Finland.
Foreign guests of the festival come from all across Europe, the most distant guest hails from Malaysia. According to an established tradition, a special place in the programme is reserved for Russian-language events, and the children’s literature programme features both Estonian as well as foreign authors.
The festival’s hefty Estonian programme offers a unique chance to hear the newest work of Estonian authors – so new, in fact, that it has not been published yet. The programme also features poetry with young and established authors, both in formal as well as casual settings. The festival’s tradition of literary walks and various panel discussions and workshops ranging from cuisine to music also continues.
The HeadRead literary festival is held for the ninth time and runs from 24 May to 28 May. All events of the festival are free, except the poetry mass and theatre performances. The programme and all updates can be found on the festival website headread.ee.
The programme in English will be published next week.
