WEXFO
About Lillehammer
The annual WEXFO conference takes place in Lillehammer, Norway, in May/June. Lillehammer is a UNESCO City of Literature, an ICORN city of refuge for artists at risk, and is the host of the biggest literature festival in Scandinavia. Both the city, the region (Innlandet) and Norway as a country are committed to supporting freedom of expression around the world.
The small, idyllic city of Lillehammer, only 2 hours by train from Oslo, offers a warm and friendly atmosphere surrounded by peace and beautiful nature. Lillehammer is one of the most significant cultural cities in Norway, in a region with a rich literary tradition.
Lillehammer is what we call an unconditional space. Here, you are not swallowed by a metropolis. It is a cultural ecosystem driven by people, not power systems. Lillehammer is shaped by literature, dialogue, and voluntary work, not by global capital or heavy political engineering. We can offer a place with a rhythm that creates room for thought. Surrounded by nature, you will experience a pace that can offer silence between events. We offer the absence of preconditions.
It is a place where people can show up as they are, without pressure to perform, compete, or position themselves. We are not shaped by dominant political, commercial, or institutional agendas. People can think freely, speak freely, reflect deeply, and meet others without role expectations. We believe this space supports dialogue – it receives you as you are.
Photo: Geir Olsen/FjellNorge
Lillehammer UNESCO city of literature
Lillehammer was granted UNESCO City of Literature status as a part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2017. It is one of 39 cities of literature, and the only one of its kind in Scandinavia.
The Norwegian Festival of Literature
The Norwegian Festival of Literature, the biggest literary festival in the Scandinavian region, takes place in Lillehammer every year at the end of May. The 2023 festival will run from May 22ndth to May 28th.
