Connecting British writers with readers and festival audiences internationally. Tweets by the bookish team.

London
Joined September 2009
📻 Available on @BBCSounds, catch a special globe-trotting episode of @BBCRadio4's The Verb, hosted by Ian McMillan, who's joined by poets and performers from Australia, UK and, following our recent UK-Brazil season, Brazil! 🔗bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00331…
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Ten years. 25 languages. One festival. Our Director of Literature, Rachel Stevens, shares what a decade of BBC Contains Strong Language has taught us about #poetry, connection and crossing borders: tinyurl.com/yc2ubpxz 📸 Ralph Taiwo - University of Salford/Brave Day.
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📻 Don't miss The Verb Around the Globe, a globe-trotting episode of the BBC Radio 4 series, hosted by Ian McMillan who's joined by poets and performers from Australia, UK and, following our recent UK-Brazil season, Brazil! 👂 18 October 2026, 17.10 🔗 bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00331s…
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The British Council has spent a decade bringing poets from around the world to BBC Radio audiences through our partnership with the BBC's poetry festival, Contains Strong Language. We've engaged poets from over 18 countries and reached more than 2 million listeners. A recent celebration featured poets from our exchanges in Jamaica, India and Brazil, alongside poets from Brazil and the north of England who collaborated on Music and Poetry of the Black Atlantic as part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture. The Brazilian poets will be featured on a special edition of BBC Radio 4’s The Verb, to be broadcast soon, and it will be available on BBC Sounds. 📸 Ralph Taiwo - University of Salford/Brave Day, and Rachel Stevens - British Council.
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🌟 Poets from Leeds and Rio de Janeiro united for Music and Poetry of the Black Atlantic – exploring culture, identity and poetry through creative exchange. 🔗 Just one part of our continuing work with BBC and the Contains Strong Language festival: ow.ly/jWYa50ZWcRN
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BREAKING NEWS The 2026 #NobelPrize in Literature is awarded to the Canadian author Anne Carson, “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.”
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📚 Why do books matter in divided times? 🏆 Our award-winning podcast, Our World Connected, speaks to the award-winning translator and writer Deepa Bhasthi and extraordinary author, Elif Shafak. 👉 Tune in: britishcouncil.org/research-… #OurWorldConnectedPodcast
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What happens when a 10 minute break becomes a global moment? Join the British Council & National Literacy Trust's GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ attempt for most people reading online in 12 hours. Sign up here: ow.ly/UG0W50ZTPHH #Take10GoesGlobal
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Congratulations to Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza, winner of this year's @CainePrize for African Writing!
Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza has been announced as the 2026 Caine Prize winner for his outstanding short story, ‘The Blue Fighter’, published by The Shallow Tales Review in 2025. Read his short story via the link in our bio. #CainePrize26
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In the latest episode of #OurWorldConnectedPodcast, Elif Shafak and Deepa Bhasthi, winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize, reflect on how stories can help us stay curious, compassionate and connected in a divided world. Listen here: britishcouncil.org/research-…
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Festival Co-Director Manisha Chaudhry reflects on the India–UK Publishing Fellowship and its role in widening the space for independent publishing. Applications are now open. Apply Now! jaipurbookmark.org/india-uk-… #jaipurbookmark2027 #jbm2027 #jaipurliteraturefestival
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Are you a library rat or a guilty owner of an unread pile? In the lead-up to World Mental Health Day, with @Literacy_Trust we're aiming to set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most people reading online in 12 hours. Join us: tinyurl.com/22y5fn47
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The Jhalak Prizes for Children’s & Young Adult literature, poetry and prose are now open for submissions!
Second Decade of the Jhalak Prize Opens Submissions With A ‘Powerful’ Cohort of Judges - mailchi.mp/f04d7a40d139/jhal…
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Publishing thrives on connections: between people, ideas, languages, and markets. The fellowship offers an opportunity to look beyond familiar markets, broaden publishing perspectives, and turn industry conversations into new possibilities.
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Opportunity for independent publishers from the UK and India! We're delighted to be partnering with @JaipurBookMark for a 3rd edition of the India-UK Publishing Fellowship. For more details see jaipurbookmark.org/india-uk-…
When publishers come together, literature crosses borders. Apply now! jaipurbookmark.org/india-uk-…
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🌟 In partnership with #EnglishPEN, we’re thrilled to announce the winners for PEN Presents: Brazil, an iteration of the ongoing #PENPresents award for sample translations, which we supported as part of #UKBrazilSeason. Discover the winners: ow.ly/WlLf50ZGqOV @LitBritish
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Congratulations to all the writers shortlisted for the 2026 Caine Prize for African Writing!
The Caine Prize for African Writing is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2026 edition: 🇰🇪Gladwell Pamba 🇨🇲Melara Mvogdobo 🇳🇬Akinwande Jordan 🇪🇬Yasmine Zohdi 🇿🇼Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza For more, visit: caineprize.com/shortlist #CainePrize2026
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📢 Expressions of Interest for the UK/Nigeria Season of Culture 2028 are open! We'd like to hear about projects and ideas that build creative connections between the UK and Nigeria. Deadline: 14 Sept 2026 Find out more: bit.ly/4g9rCQx
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Just a few hours left for UK publishers to apply to our #PublishingFutures programme in Sharjah. Deadline: 12 August at 23.59 BST / GMT+1 Full details: arts.britishcouncil.org/get-…
📣Opportunity for UK publishers A delegation of 6 UK publishers will be selected via open call to participate in the British Council's #PublishingFutures programme in Sharjah at the start of the Sharjah Publishers Conference. 📅Apply by 12 August 🔗arts.britishcouncil.org/get-…
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From Workshop to Anthology Series 📚 | Mame Bougouma Diene Mame Bougouma talks about his experience of the writers’ workshop in Zanzibar. 🎥 Hear an extract from ‘A Slaughter Stained Winter’, forthcoming in the Caine Prize anthology. Watch on YouTube via the link in our bio.
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