Nottinghamshire Literary Map

Named UNESCO City of Literature in December 2015, it's no wonder Nottingham is renowned for its impressive literary heritage, nurturing creative community and immersive literary venues. A place many famous authors have called home over the centuries – from ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’ romantic poet Lord Byron to controversial author D.H. Lawrence, Alan Sillitoe, J.M. Barrie and Graham Greene.

Explore the Nottingham City of Literature Map and uncover the city’s literary heritage step by step. From cosy bookshops and literary landmarks such as the D.H. Lawrence Museum and The Arboretum to the places and people that have played an important role in our heritage – you will discover a side of Nottingham you haven’t seen before.

Just make your way along the map at whatever pace you like, and dive into the world of literature.

👣 Download and print the map (recommended print size A3)

Want to get into the spirit of things and explore the worlds created by Nottinghamshire writers and the wonderful stories set in our beautiful city and county? Check out the Nottingham Recommended Reading list below!

Fiction

Jon McGregor, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, (2002)
Dorothy Whipple, Someone at a Distance (1953)
Alan Sillitoe, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, (1959)
C.J. Tudor, The Chalk Man (2018)
Clare Harvey, The Gunner Girl, (2015)

Non-fiction

Polly Atkin, Some of Us Just Fall: On Nature and not Getting Better (2023)
Graham Caveney, The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness: the Memoir of an Adolescence, (2017)
Gregory Woods, Homintern: How Gat Culture Liberated the Modern World, (2016)
Norma Gregory, Jamaicans in Nottingham, (2015)
E.C. Brewer (ed. Susie Dent), Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, (20^th edition, 2018)

Poetry

Rory Waterman, Come Here to this Gate, (2024)
Lila Matsumoto, Two Twin Pipes Spout Water, (2021)
Panya Banjoko, Some Things, (2018)
Georgina Wilding, Hag Stone (2022)
Hongwei Bao, Self-Portrait as a Banana (2025)

Children’s / Young Adult

Holly Jackson, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, (2019)
Robert MacFarlane, The Lost Words, (2017)
Kim Slater, Smart, (2015)
Darren Simpson, Scavengers, (2019)
Rob Lloyd Jones, The Story of Robin Hood, (2014)