In need of advice?
Do you work in the arts and have a question? Are you looking for a critical sounding board for your new project? Do you have questions after attending one of our information sessions?
Landscape Sketch of the Arts 2025: Literature
Literature is a cultural form that evokes many different associations. It can refer to cookbooks, travel guides, philosophical or religious texts, lifestyle books or literary works. This chapter focuses on the latter: from prose, non-fiction and poetry to stage, children’s and youth literature, theatre texts and comics. Here, we give literature in all its diversity a place in the Flemish arts landscape.
Through literature we tell and share stories with others. Books are vehicles for preserving and disseminating these stories. As a means of knowledge transfer, exchange and education, the book also explicitly fulfils a social, societal and emancipatory function. The analysis of three measurements of reading behaviour in the Participation Survey shows that the share of book readers in the Flemish population increased at the beginning of 2020 compared to the same period in 2014 (te Braak & De Baere 2021). However, literature is not limited to books: literary podcasts, spoken word performances and slam poetry are equally valuable carriers of literary work.
The theoretical trajectory of literature – which in reality is of course not as linear as the model suggests – begins with the author and their artistic creation, and encompasses the entire process up to the user, who reads, hears, sees or experiences a developed text in a specific environment. For creators of stage literature, such as slam poets, spoken word and stage authors, and literary performers, the relationship between the written word and its embodiment in interaction with an audience is important. Literature often finds its way to a book as medium. As an experience, it is a popular type of leisure activity. Both forms stand at the crossroads between art and economics. A government policy concerning literature must take into account (often dominant) business economic factors, as well as the artistic side. It is also important to consider the causes and consequences of the dynamics that this hybrid economy creates.
As part of the Landscape Sketch, Flanders Arts Institute requested a contribution from Literatuur Vlaanderen, describing the current literature landscape. This is a field in constant flux due to the intertwining of cultural, social and economic aspects in the book and literature industry, which explains the sometimes conflicting positions and interests between the actors in the ecosystem. Besides younger generations demanding their voice in the literary debate, internationalisation, digitalisation and free market thinking also play a role. The economic aspect, such as market concentration or changes in the distribution of literature, certainly counts when it comes to developments in the book market. Literacy, reading pleasure and the importance of literature in the educational debate are also important elements, as are demographic developments. Add to that the changing role and significance of the media, and all this creates a considerable number of challenges for which there is rarely a simple solution.
Flanders Arts Institute incorporated the contribution of Literatuur Vlaanderen into this Landscape Sketch and is responsible for this text. We first provide a brief description of Literatuur Vlaanderen. Via the link below, we discuss a number of points of interest and challenges, without aiming for completeness. For more information and clarification, please refer to Literatuur Vlaanderen.
Download the Landscape Sketch of the Arts 2025 (in Dutch)
About Literatuur Vlaanderen
Flanders Literature (formerly the Flemish Literature Fund) was established by decree in 1999 at the initiative of the Flemish Parliament and modelled on foreign examples. The current management agreement with the Flemish Government runs from 2021 until the end of 2025. Through an integrated literary policy, Flanders Literature aims to ensure a dynamic and diverse literary field. This includes providing subsidies to literary players, with an emphasis on the beginning and end of a literary process – from supporting creative processes and a diverse range of literature, to reaching readers at home and abroad. Encouraging reading pleasure and attention to participation and inclusion are key points here.
In addition, Flanders Literature aims to actively contribute to the professionalisation of the literary sector in Flanders. It continuously analyses and evaluates its own operations and, as a bridge builder, points out areas of concern and opportunities, as well as practical examples and inspiring ideas.
Abroad, Flanders Literature actively promotes Flemish literature by highlighting authors and helping to arrange translations for foreign publishers. In this regard, Flanders Literature considers it important to involve various players from the Flemish literary field and to encourage them to look beyond the borders. Flanders Literature collaborates with its French-speaking colleagues from ‘Promotion des lettres’ to strengthen literary exchange between the two regions. Collaboration also takes place with the Flemish representatives abroad: their extensive local network is often invaluable and opens doors for Flemish literature. Flanders Literature also collaborates with the Dutch Foundation for Literature when it comes to promoting Dutch-language literature abroad.
