Literature Actually is a regional literary project connecting contemporary literature festivals, publishers, and emerging writers from the Western Balkans. Through residencies, networking and knowledge exchange events, and festival touring, the project supports professional development, cultural cooperation, and new opportunities for writers and literary organisations.
The project brought together KROKODIL Festival in Belgrade and Tirana Gate in Tirana, creating space for joint coproduction, exchange between festival organisers, publishers, cultural managers, and authors. A key part of the programme was the establishment of the “Meet Me in Belgrade1.0” platform through networking event, held during the KROKODIL Festival, and repeated, at the later stage of implementation, in an online format, as the "Meet Me in Belgrade 2.0" networking event. Networking events gathered 39 cultural managers, publishers, festival professionals from 30 organizations, exceeding expectations in participant numbers, geography (Poland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Germany, Croatia and Slovenia), and potential for collaboration. Discussions spanned festival production, audience engagement, joint programming, and possibilities for future cooperation, culminating in establishment of the European Literary Festivals Parliament, aimed at sharing resources and scheduling programs, ultimately enhancing sustainability. The collaboration with the Polish Institute enabled valuable exchanges, with publishers such as Słowo, Obraz, Terytoria, and Conrad Festival participating in the "Meet Me in Belgrade 2.0" networking event. This led to KROKODIL being invited to showcase a selection of Serbian contemporary authors at the prestigious Conrad Festival in Krakow.
The project also supported a Writers-in-Residence programme for emerging authors from the region. Four selected writers, Enis Cehic from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dhurata Hoti from Kosovo, Hana Korneti from North Macedonia and Masa Senicic from Serbia participated in one-month residency programme in Belgrade and Tirana, where they worked on new texts, presented their work to local audiences, and connected with publishers, translators, and fellow writers. These residencies created meaningful professional opportunities, from new translation contacts to future publishing and audio-format collaborations, audience engagement, and peer-to-peer exchanges.
Another important part of the project was the touring of renowned Swedish author Sara Stridsberg, who participated in both KROKODIL Festival and Tirana Gate. Her appearances created a shared programme between the two festivals, elevating the festivals’ profiles and reach, and enriching cultural dialogue.
Through a mentorship programme Journalist for a Day, renowned journalists from Radar, Nova, Danas, and Lice Ulice, delivered workshops and lectures to young students, journalists, and writers during KROKODIL Festival, equipping them with skills in writing objective reports, conducting interviews, and producing quality journalistic content. Participants were actively involved, creating media content that has been published in media. This approach helped raise the festival's visibility in media and engage young attendees in both festival activities and media content creation.
By combining mobility, networking, and public literary events, Literature Actually strengthened cooperation between literary festivals and created new pathways for both emerging and established writers. It also opened conversations about more sustainable models of collaboration, creating a sustainable platform for professionals and cultural organizations active in the domain of contemporary literature festivals
Implementing partners: Association KROKODIL (Serbia), Institute for Language and Participation – ILP Tirana (Albania).
Literature Actually project was supported by the British Council through the “Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans” project, funded by the European Union. CC4WBs aims to foster dialogue in the Western Balkans by enhancing the cultural and creative sectors for increased socio-economic impact.