Future Library

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Future Library is a 100 year long public artwork unfolding in Oslo by artist Katie Paterson. The handover ceremony takes place the following year.

FUTURE LIBRARY
A new public artwork by Scottish artist Katie Paterson will unfold over the next 100 years in the city of Oslo, Norway. Every year from 2014 to 2114, a writer will be commissioned to contribute a new text to a growing collection of unpublished, unread manuscripts held in trust in a specially designed room in the new public library Deichman Bjørvika until their publication in 2114.

In 2014 a forest of 1000 trees was planted in Nordmarka, just outside Oslo. It will be 100 years before the trees are cut down to provide the paper on which the texts will be printed as a limited edition anthology of books – a Future Library for the city of Oslo – read for the first time in 2114. The first contributor to the library was Canadian author Margaret Atwood (2014) followed by British novelist David Mitchell (2015); Icelandic poet, novelist, lyricist Sjón (2016); Turkish author and political commentator, Elif Shafak (2017); South Korean novelist Han Kang (2018); Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgård (2019), Vietnamese American writer and poet, Ocean Vuong (2020), Zimbabwean novelist, playwright, and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga (2021). Conceived by Katie Paterson, Future Library is commissioned and produced by Bjørvika Utvikling, and managed by the Future Library Trust. The room in the Deichman Bjørvika is designed by the artist and architects Atelier Oslo and Lund Hagem. The project is supported by the City of Oslo, Agency for Cultural Affairs and Agency for Urban Environment. FRAMTIDSBIBLIOTEKET

Et nytt kunstverk av den skotske kunstneren Katie Paterson, skal gradvis vokse fram i Oslo de neste hundre årene. Og hvert år skal en forfatter få i oppdrag å bidra med en ny tekst til en bok (eller bøker), som inntil den skal trykkes i 2114 vil bestå av en voksende samling av 100 upubliserte og uleste manuskripter. Samlingen skal oppbevares i et spesialdesignet rom i det nye Deichmanske bibliotek i Bjørvika som åpner i 2018. Tusen trær er nå plantet på Vettakollen i Nordmarka, og om hundre år skal disse trærne felles for å bli til papir til en bokantologi som påbegynnes i år, men som det først vil bli mulig å lese i 2114. Den første forfatteren som bidro med en tekst var den kanadiske forfatteren Margaret Atwood (2014), deretter fulgte den britiske forfatteren David Mitchell (2015), den tredje var den islandske dikteren, roman- og tekstforfatteren Sjón (2016), den fjerde var forfatteren og den engasjerte politiske kommentatoren Elif Shafak (2017), og den femte var den kritikerroste forfatteren Han Kang (2018) fra Sør-Korea. I år er det Karl Ove Knausgård (2019) fra Norge, den syvende forfatteren er den vietnamesisk-amerikanske forfatteren Ocean Vuong (2020), og åttende er zimbabwansk forfatter og dramatiker Tsitsi Dangarembga (2021). Forfatterne overleverer sitt manuskript året etter at deres deltakelse har blitt annonsert. . Framtidsbiblioteket er utviklet på oppdrag fra og produseres av Bjørvika Utvikling og blir forvaltet av Stiftelsen Framtidsbiblioteket. Stilleommet i Deichman Bjørvika er designet av kunstneren og arkitektene Atelier Oslo og Lund Hagem Arkitekter. Prosjektet støttes av Oslo kommune ved Kulturetaten og Bymiljøetaten.

19/05/2026

The last few years we have started a new Future Library tradition: we invite book clubs and reading groups around the world to read the works of the authors, to engage with their writing more deeply before each Handover Ceremony.

Last year we shared our reading list for Tommy Orange, who will be attending this year to pass on his manuscript. We put together a reading list that features some of his short stories and which also contextualizes his work via interviews. This year we also share a similar list for the 12th author, Amitav Ghosh.

Do you have a book club or reading group? If you plan to read for Future Library, contact us at [email protected] and you will also later be invited to a private video call with artist Katie Paterson and Future Library Trust Chairwoman Anne Beate Hovind, where they will share and answer questions about the project.

And remember, you can also stream the Handover from anywhere in the world. More info and link coming later!

Each reading list can be found at tinyurl.com/FL2025reading and tinyurl.com/FL2026reading

11/05/2026

Welcome to the Future Library Handover 2026! We are excited to share the program, which this year also includes events in the days leading up to and following the official Handover Ceremony.

These events are free with no registration necessary (with the exception of Monday's symposium, for which there is registration and a small lunch fee).

Thursday, 25th June, 18.00: Book launch of Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh, the 12th author — his newest novel. Hosted by and at Melahuset, with books for sale by Prismatic Pages.

Saturday, 27th June, 21.00: An evening in the forest with Nordic Black Xpress, performing an adaptation of Amitav Ghosh's Jungle Nama.

Sunday, 28th June, 10.00: Handover Ceremony in the Future Library Forest, when Amitav Ghosh and Tommy Orange will present their manuscripts.

Sunday, 28th June, 14.30: Placing of manuscripts in the Silent Room, followed by conversations with both authors, together with Professor Helge Jordheim and author Katrine Nedrejord.

Monday, 29th June 10.00-16.00 at Nordic Black Theatre: What Can Art Do for the Future?
Join the association of Long-term Art Projects, including the Future Library, for a symposium that unites creatives, thinkers, policymakers, and the public to explore how art is essential to imagining possible futures and catalyzing governance for intergenerational fairness. Registration and lunch fee details forthcoming.

Photos from Norwegian Embassy in Australia's post

07/05/2026

Please join us!

Amitav Ghosh on India and the Emergent World Order

06/05/2026

Our latest Future Library author Amitav Ghosh on Bloomberg's Weekend Interview -- listen at the link.

Amitav Ghosh on India and the Emergent World Order The Kolkata-born novelist discusses writing at a time of crisis, exploring past lives and making the US his home.

30/04/2026

Open call! This Long Now Lab invites you to submit a concept for a new way of marking, experiencing, or making sense of time. This Lab is open to everyone, from precocious kindergarteners to prestigious watchmakers, from engineers to essayists to experimental artists. Reviewed by leading artists, philosophers, and technologists, the top 25 most compelling concepts will be included in a Long Now print book and digital anthology, added to the permanent collection of The Long Now Foundation library and archive. We will additionally select the top three concepts for follow-on investment and development into a working prototype.

Long Now Lab 001.1: Book of Time This Long Now Lab invites you to submit a concept for a new way of marking, experiencing, or making sense of time. This Lab is open to everyone, from precocious kindergarteners to prestigious watchmakers, from engineers to essayists to experimental artists. Reviewed by leading artists, philosophers,...

25/04/2026

Photos from The Long Now Foundation's post

22/04/2026

22/04/2026

Does this perhaps imply that he is hopeful about the future despite his dire predictions?

“I think it’s what Antonio Gramsci said: ‘Pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will’.

07/04/2026

"The Future Library is not a novelty. It’s one node in a quiet, distributed network of people building arks for deep time — an effort so diverse and beautiful and strange that it serves as hope-filled ballast amidst the drama and chaos of our current moment."

The Ark Builders Edition On deep time, global hiding places, and the case for forgetting.

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