Prima Vista

The Tartu International Literary Festival Prima Vista is the oldest and largest literary festival in Estonia and a highlight of Tartu as a UNESCO City of Literature. Initiated in 2004 as a joint venture of local literary organisations, it has expanded year by year to showcase leading authors from Estonia and abroad. Today, the festival attracts an audience of around 10,000 people of all ages and backgrounds. Held across diverse locations, from educational and cultural institutions, bookshops, and museums to cultural factories, community societies, cafés, and shopping centres, Prima Vista thrives on open collaboration and a growing network of partners. It has twice received the City of Tartu’s annual cultural prize, as well as the EFFE Label for 2024–2025.

The festival features numerous readings, book presentations, lectures, workshops, and family events designed to connect writers with readers and highlight a diverse range of literary forms. Over the years, Prima Vista has been honoured to host acclaimed international figures including Umberto Eco, Sofi Oksanen, Bruce Sterling, John Cooper Clarke, Wolf Biermann, Klaus-Peter Wolf, Olga Tokarczuk, Mererid Hopwood, Knut Ødegård, Halyna Kruk and many others. Above all, the festival is dedicated to literature and the written and spoken word, while its program also incorporates concerts, film screenings, exhibitions, and interdisciplinary art forms linked to literature. Prima Vista continuously explores new ways to present literary works, inspire writers, and engage new audiences.