Welcome!

The internet is, first and foremost, a medium of information. The world-wide web will, in the near future, be increasingly employed for the exchange of information, as a source of information and as a data store, accessible at any time. Literature in Nordrhein-Westfalen should also profit from the versatility of this medium.

Towards the end of 2001, the first step was taken to ensure this by presenting authors from NRW on the net. This was followed at the end of 2002 by the creation of the database of literary institutions. Through this website, the many diverse aspects of literary life in Nordrhein-Westfalen are only a mouse click away.

In Autumn 2003, our Author’s Database was expanded to incorporate a Database with Press photos, which makes it easier for authors to present themselves in the media. It enables editors and event organisers to download high quality photos from the database. This service is free to authors and potential users.

Special thanks must go to the Ministry for Culture, Sport and Urban Development in NRW (Ministerium für Städtebau und Wohnen, Kultur und Sport des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen) and the Arts Council (Stiftung Kunst und Kultur) in Düsseldorf, without whose support this website, which will be continually updated up to the end of 2003, would not have been possible. The Westfälisches Literatubüro in Unna is responsible for the conception, planning and realisation of this project.

If you would like to find out more about the many different possibilities offered by this site- for example the various search functions or how the portraits are compiled - please click here .

The creation and upkeep of the databank is reliant upon the co-operation of authors and literary institutions in NRW. Therefore, we would encourage you to draw the attention of authors and institutions you know to this site and send them the address - please click here .

If you yourself are interested in being included in this site, find out here which requirements you fulfill and how you can send us data and, should it be the case, what you need to take into account.