User:Hebrides/Skudeneshavn International Literature and Culture festival

The Skudeneshavn International Literature and Culture festival (Skudeneshavn Internasjonale Litteratur- og Kulturfestival) (SILK) is an event held on the first weekend of November in the little town of Skudeneshavn on the island of Karmoy on the west coast of Norway just north of Stavanger. Skudeneshavn is a small town with its 3000 inhabitants, but on the island Karmøy, where Skudeneshavn is, the most southern part of the island has a population of 40000.

All the events in SILK are held in the old part of the town which consists of a lot of white painted houses and refurbished sea houses. There is room for about 100 people at each event giving a very intimate atmosphere, and authors and artists get very close to the audience, which the authors are very positive about.

Among foreign authors who have appeared at SILK are Dr. Jung Chang, Robert Fisk, Victoria Hislop, Jamie Ford, Jonathan Wilson, John Crace, Eva Gabrielsson, Karin Wahlberg, Yrsa Sigurdadottir, Jonathan Stroud, Tristram Stuart, Mansur Rajih, Max Easterman and Simon Kuper.

Four schools in Karmøy and Karmøy public library and SILK collaborate with Powys County Council in Wales, four schools in the county and The Hay Literature-and Arts Festival in an EU-funded project "STORM - STORy Matters". The project has as its main aim to increase interest in literature among children and teenagers as well as strengthening their understanding of reading.