Kapittel - information in English

Kapittels main venue is Sølvberget Library and Cultural Centre in the heart of the beautiful Stavanger city.

Literature and Freedom of Speech

Lyndsey Stonebridge visited Kapittel in 2024. Photo: Andrea Rocha.

Kapittel, Stavanger International Festival of Literature and Freedom of Speech, is an annual festival organised by Sølvberget Library and Cultural Centre.

Kapittel is one of the largest and most renowned literary events in Scandinavia, with a strong focus on freedom of speech and social issues.

The festival invites around 150 guest speakers and authors to our festival featuring stage conversations, lectures, readings, documentary films and a children’s program. 

Kapittel aims to present new literary voices to the audience, and to be a venue for presenting a wide range of fiction and non-fiction authors from Norwegian and abroad.

In the excess of 10 000 visitors attend Kapittel every year.

Festival theme of 2025 is The Bible

Every year the festival has a theme. In 2025 the theme is The Bible.

The Bible is said to be the world’s best-selling book – and maybe even the most widely read? Either way, it has shaped much of our Western, Protestant way of understanding the world. It’s a book that continues to influence us every single day.

For centuries, the Bible has been woven into countless works of fiction and storytelling. Looking at the literary canon, both in Norway and around the world, it’s clear that the Bible’s rich universe of ideas still matters for literature today.

It’s often been called “the book of all books.” What’s beyond doubt is that the archetypal stories it tells have shaped the lives and imaginations of people across the globe.

By choosing the Bible as a festival theme, we get the chance to revisit history and reflect on the influence this complex, sometimes controversial book has had on the development of Norway, Rogaland, and Stavanger.

And 2025 is also Stavanger’s 900th anniversary – a celebration that in itself highlights the Bible as a foundational text in our shared cultural memory. So what kind of power does the Bible hold today – in literature, religion, and politics?

Practical information

Festival passes and tickets can be purchased at kapittel.no, or at the ticket counter on the ground floor at Sølvberget (during the festival week).

Festival pass provide free admission to all events provided there are available seats. If festival pass holders want to make sure to get into certain events, they can reserve a place for 20 NOK (40 NOK for external events).

Eventual changes will be updated consecutively at kapittel.no and in social media.

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