Correntes D'Escritas Literary Festival

The Correntes d'Escritas Literary Festival began in 2000. It is held every year in February. The first edition marked the centenary of the death of Eça de Queirós, an illustrious son of the city. The festival quickly established itself as the largest national meeting for Portuguese and Spanish-language literature. This event strengthens the relationship of Póvoa de Varzim and its people with literature and writing.

It goes even further, providing an opportunity that takes Póvoa de Varzim beyond its borders. The multiculturalism of the festival is due, in a first phase, to the fact that there is a direct relationship with the Iberian-related countries of Africa and South America, in addition to Spain.

The name of the Literary Festival seeks to reflect the connection, the creation of "currents" of union that allow the rapprochement between countries that have so much in common: linguistic heritage, literary heritage, Iberian expression, Latin culture, multiculturalism and the passion for writing and literature.

The Festival revolves around a diverse programme that brings together writers, readers, publishers and translators from the Portuguese and Spanish language literary sector. The programme is diversified into debates, literary round tables, book presentations, autograph sessions, book fair, film, theatre and poetry sessions, among others.

Correntes D'Escritas in figures

• 20 editions
• 83000 visitors between 2014 and 2019
• 150 books launched between 2014 and 2019
• +500 literature professionals present between 2014 and 2019
• 50 television/radio programmes broadcast live between 2014 and 2019
During the week in which the festival takes place, the city dresses up in literature. Everywhere, literature contaminates the city, with reading hubs appearing all over the city, wandering book readings in the street and speakers corners for poetry.

Several initiatives during the Literary Festival seek to ensure the active participation of the community: The children's programme seeks to attract young people by placing writers in schools, organising workshops for families, and storytelling sessions. Local commerce is involved and promotes the "My store is a bookstore" initiative – temporary installation of small bookstores in the city's commercial establishments on the days of the event.

Despite being a literary festival, the opportunities for integration with other creative sectors allow greater diversification of the programme. Other disciplines come together in illustration and photography exhibitions, film sessions, concerts in Portuguese and Spanish. Cinema is one of the areas that creates synergy with literature and the Correntes d'Escritas Festival. There is a section in the festival’s calendar dedicated to the seventh art in all editions of the festival. It comprises film sessions curated by the Cineclube Octopus cinema club. The Prómúsica Association, which promotes the School of Music, Orchestras, the Band and the International Music Festival, provides the musical component of the Festival.

The Festival is also the stage for encouraging literary production. Four prizes are awarded, with different objectives. The Casino da Póvoa Literary Prize is intended for Portuguese-language or Spanish-language writers. This prize enhances production, promotes and encourages the dissemination of authors, with recently published works, in the universe of Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries. The Fundação Dr. Luís Rainha Prize aims to encourage the production of knowledge about Póvoa de Varzim. The Correntes d' Escritas Porto Editora Illustrated Children’s Story Prize and the Correntes d’Escritas Papelaria Locus Literary Prizes are aimed at children and young people, awarding prizes for, respectively, children's stories by primary school students and poetry by young people aged between 15 and 18 years.

The Correntes d'Escritas Literary Festival promotes networking between professionals in the Portuguese and Spanish-speaking literary sector – writers, publishers, translators, booksellers and critics. There have been 110 book presentations, 62 round tables and dozens of debates on the sector's challenges in the last five years. 


The promotion of literature is also ensured thanks to the strong media campaign promoted by the Festival. Since 2014, 50 live television and radio programmes have been broadcast from the Festival, including the "Governo Sombra" programme, which won the Best Radio Show award, with an audience of over 50,000 listeners.

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