This week, our editors take us to Sweden and France for updates on major literary initiatives and exciting literary festivals. From the fight against climate change to the fun of origami workshops, read on to find out more!
Eva Wissting, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Sweden
Last week, a climate initiative from the Swedish book industry—Bokbranschens klimatinitiativ—announced its new guidelines. The project started in 2021, with the goal of reducing the industry’s climate impact by 50% by 2030, and achieving net zero emissions by 2045. The initiative spans the entire supply chain from publishers to bookstores to streaming services, involving several of Sweden’s largest publishing companies and booksellers, as well as their industry associations.
Research from 2022 shows that most of the book industry’s emissions are caused by the production of physical books, along with their transportation; when it comes to streaming services, most of their emissions stem from the use of services, rather than during production. The guidelines presented last week include recommendations for renewable fuels such as green electricity for the transportation of books, but also optimized packing with minimal amount of air and recycled packaging material. The initiative also stated that it is essential for publishers to avoid overproducing physical books that never reach customers.
Apart from choosing sustainable paper for the printing of books, another important factor to consider is the weight of books: the lower the weight, the lower the carbon footprint. Even a small change of a few grams can make a difference, as it affects everything from raw materials to transportation, as well as the management of waste at the end of a book’s life cycle.
Another long term project that has featured in Swedish literary news lately is the completion of the Swedish Academy Dictionary, Svenska Akademiens ordbok, a wordbook comparable to the extensive dictionaries of the German, the English, and the Dutch languages. The development of a Swedish dictionary was first decided in 1787, inspired by the French Academy’s dictionary of the French language, Dictionnaire de l’Académie française, but it was not until 1893 and the introduction of a specially appointed editorial team that the development of the Swedish dictionary began to make substantial progress. The full printed version of the dictionary comprises of thirty-nine books, which together measure approximately two meters on the bookshelf—but today it is the freely available online version that is most used. As languages constantly evolve, an update is underway, focusing mainly on the letters A through R. During development of the dictionary, the letter S occupied the editors the longest, taking forty years between the early 1960s and 2002.
Kathryn Raver, Assistant Managing Editor, reporting from France
The Olympic torch has embarked on its journey across France, and preparations for the Games are well underway in Paris. But make no mistake—the City of Light’s summer literary scene is still in full swing!
Close on the heels of last month’s Festival du Livre comes the Festival du Quartier du Livre, an annual celebration of the wonderful world of the written word. Situated in the fifth arrondissement, this year’s festival promises over one hundred and fifty events and workshops—all free and open to everyone—featuring various local librairies, universities, and organizations dedicated to arts and culture. Attendees will find no shortage of ways to occupy themselves, with everything from lectures to readings to origami workshops being available during the week-long festival.
The fifth arrondissement has a history deeply grounded in literature and the arts, so it comes as no surprise that a festival centered around these aspects of the city’s culture has taken root there. The first printed books in France were produced there, and it is now home to the largest number of bookstores and publishing houses in Paris, including the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore.
Renowned French writer Daniel Picouly will sponsor the event, and over one hundred other authors will be in attendance, alongside an estimated 150,000 patrons. If you’re in Paris next week, be sure to visit the Latin Quarter between May 29 and June 5 in order not to miss this literary adventure.
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