The Estonian programme of HeadRead focuses on the impact of literature

The Estonian programme of the international literary festival HeadRead, taking place from 29 May to 2 June in Tallinn, will offer talks with authors, discussions, a premiere, literary walks and music. An exhibition of Dmitri Kotjuh’s portraits of festival guests over the years will be on display at the National Library.  In line with an … Continued

HeadRead is looking for volunteers

The HeadRead literary festival is looking for volunteers for the period 29 May to 2 June 2024. Their main tasks include providing information and printed materials at the main venue’s information desk, keeping an eye on the main hall and selling books, but also meeting guests, running errands and other relevant tasks. If you are … Continued

Changes in the international lineup of HeadRead

The HeadRead literary festival is sad to announce that due to urgent professional engagement, Norwegian writer, film critic and screenwriter Erlend Loe will not attend the festival this year. He hopes to meet our audiences in the coming years. On the other hand, the festival is happy to announce that Finnish author and literary scholar … Continued

International guests of HeadRead 2024 announced

This year, the international literary festival HeadRead, taking place from 29 May to 2 June in Tallinn, will host nearly 30 international guests, including writers, illustrators and curators of other literary festivals.  Tallinn can look forward to historian and chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley, best known to Estonian audiences as a television … Continued

Estonian Literature Day 2024

For the second time, Estonia celebrates the national Estonian Literature Day with events across the country. For nonnative speakers, here are some resources to getting to know Estonian literature. Best Estonian books in translation in 2023 Estonian Literature Centre – extensive information on Estonian authors with profiles, translated excerpts and more. Estonian Literary Magazine – … Continued

Remembering A. S. Byatt

Krista Kaer On Thursday 16 November, Antonia Susan Byatt, a writer and literary critic, died aged 87. She visited the HeadRead festival in Tallinn in 2014. Her most famous novel Possession, which won the Booker Prize in 1990, has been translated into Estonian. Byatt’s knowledge of literature was admired by all her contemporaries, she was … Continued

Eleven talks of HeadRead will be available on the Jupiter platform

Eleven talks in total from this year’s HeadRead festival are published on the free Jupiter platform of Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR), with ten already available for watching. It is the first time such a large share of the festival’s programme is broadcast.  The eighth season of ERR’s programme Kirjanduse aeg (The Time of Literature) features … Continued

Thank you!

The fourteenth HeadRead is now done – thanks to our guests, volunteers and many-many people and organisations who provided invaluable help with organising this literary feast.  International guests Jussi Adler-Olsen, Anna Auziņa, Annette Bjergfeldt, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Javier Cercas, Elin Cullhed, Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin, Oksana Drachkovska, Tommaí Fegan, Seamus Ó Flatharta, Eva Frantz, Semjon Hanin, … Continued

HeadRead 2023 gallery: day five

It’s a wrap for this year – you can find the gallery of day five on our Flickr site. However, in a way, the festival continues until 6 June in the Tammsaare Park, where you can admire Dmitri Kotjuh’s portraits of the people of the Estonian literary scene.  

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