British Council

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		The British Council The Literature Department at the British Council

		The British Council is Britain's principal agency for cultural relations abroad. It provides access to British ideas, talents and experience through education and training, books and periodicals, the English language, the arts and literature, science and technology. It seeks to create an understanding and appreciation of Britain and to develop partnerships by providing access to British ideas, talents and experience. The British Council is represented in 228 towns and cities in 108 countries.

		The Department sets high store in providing printed material in a variety of ways overseas to help spread the word about the best of contemporary British literature. We commission one poster panel exhibition on a literary theme every year and produce multiple copies for distribution to our overseas offices. Overseas contacts may use these as exhibitions in their own right or to support other events, as and when required. Recent titles include Contemporary British Novelists, Children's Fiction in Britain 1900-1990, Writers Abroad: British Travel Writing and Contemporary British Dramatists. They range in size from 12 to 24 A1 panels. In certain circumstances these exhibitions can be shown in Britain on condition that no entry fee is charged and as long as the exhibition is collected from our office and returned after use. We also produce a wide range of publications for our overseas offices. A catalogue of these is available on request. Our publications include the newsletter Literature Matters of which 11,000 copies are distributed overseas three times a year; an annual anthology, New Writing, a showcase for contemporary British writing for sale overseas and in Britain published in association with Vintage publishers; directories of postgraduate courses and of short courses in literature and creative writing in Britain; a series of Contemporary Writers brochures each devoted to a single author produced in conjunction with Book Trust and a listing of literary festivals. We also produce bibliographies on topics such as The Novel in Britain since 1970 and Poetry in Britain and Ireland since 1970 ranging in length from 84 - 124 pages. The Literature Department provides an information service to our overseas offices and has links with all the main literary organisations in the UK and can refer enquiries to them for advice where appropriate. It is essential that we are kept up to date with information on authors, so if you know of an author who has been successful in events for you please send information so we can add this to our CV files and database.

		Please contact The Literature Department, The British Council, 11 Portland Place London W1N 4EJ Telephone 0171 930 8466