Seattle is a UNESCO City of Literature. Advocates want you to read all about it

What does Iowa City, home to just about 75,000 people, have in common with Seattle, a city 10 times its size and more than 1,800 miles away? They are both UNESCO Cities of Literature.

In fact, they are the only two cities in the United States with that official designation. And later this month, their delegates will join those from 51 other cities around the world to talk about the challenges facing writers, publishers, and others in their literary communities today.

"It's about recognizing literature, or any other creative endeavor, as a part of a creative economy," said Seattle City of Literature Board President Pepe Montero. "It's recognizing that literature creates jobs, sustains families, supports artists, and that that's a very important thing for our cities and for our countries to recognize and to preserve."

Seattle has been part of the global network of Cities of Literature since 2017, its volunteer representatives meeting with their peers annually. This month, they're celebrating the 20th anniversary of the City of Literature designation in Edinburgh, Scotland, the first city to receive the title. There are now 53 cities with the literary distinction, and 350 in UNESCO's broader Creative Cities Network.

RELATED: Get to know the Pacific Northwest with KUOW’s new book club

Being part of the network gives those in the local literary scene opportunities in other Cities of Literature, not to mention international recognition.

But it's also become more important than ever, putting Seattle on the global front against attacks on free speech.

Seattle City of Literature Program Manager Stesha Brandon has been helping plan this year's conference in Edinburgh, and she said threats against the freedom of speech and the freedom to publish are top of mind for everyone.

"Freedom to be," Montero added, "to exist as a distinct culture."

Those freedoms and their place in the network have put some cities at odds with their federal governments, Brandon said. So, she and her fellow Cities of Literature representatives are crafting what they call "the Edinburgh Agreements."

Essentially, the goal is to reaffirm members' commitment to protecting people's freedom of speech, in its many forms.

RELATED: What's the KUOW Book Club reading in October read?

"A lot of the Cities of Literature are also [members of the International] Cities of Refuge [Network]," she said, referring to the group known as ICORN, which protects writers, artists, and journalists at risk. "Those things all go hand-in-hand. Writers that aren't able to write in their home cities are able to, essentially, move to these ICORN cities, and write freely and publish freely."

Cities' commitment to providing these safe havens is more than a matter of politics, though.

Brandon said the matter of affordable housing is a perennial issue across the network.

"Access and livability for artists comes up again and again," she said. "When municipal governments support artists, just to be artists, it enriches the culture for everybody. It doesn't only support the individual artist. It ends up supporting this larger infrastructure."

A municipality's ability — or willingness — to financially support the literary community isn't always guaranteed.

The City of Seattle supported the application to UNESCO for the City of Literature designation, complete with a formal letter from then Mayor Jenny Durkan. Brandon said the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture has consistently supported their work — support Brandon said they're very grateful for. She explained the Office of Arts and Culture has contributed "a lot of moral support" as well as "modest" financial support, specifically to bolster programs, like the Seattle Literary Map. To further support the organization's efforts, volunteers like Brandon and Montero apply for grants.

Still, like any nonprofit, Seattle City of Literature could always use more help.

RELATED: 'A match made in literary heaven.' The Jaipur Literature Festival is coming to Seattle

"The city has an office for film and music," Montero said. "We'd love to have literature be part of that office. The way we see it is that literature really is the kernel for many of the other storytelling arts. ... We want to make movies here in Seattle. But what about people who write the stories that become movies?"

People who write the stories are a key part of the state's "creative economy." According to the Washington State Arts Commission, writers and authors were among the state's top 10 creative jobs, taking the No. 5 slot in 2020.

Overall, the creative economy — which includes jobs like software developers, musicians, and translators, in addition to writers — employed more people than agriculture, forest products, and life sciences combined.

And by preserving language, culture, and literary freedom, Brandon said the Cities of Literature help the world's creative economies grow stronger.

"You're preserving opportunity and access for people," she said. "You're creating jobs. You're creating an environment where culture is just part of the air that we breathe."

Clarification notice, 12:25 p.m. on Monday, 10/14/2024: This story was updated to clarify comments about the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture's support for the Seattle City of Literature organization.