17Books for 17SDGs 2024
This December, Exeter UNESCO City of Literature is highlighting local literature as part of a global project with other Cities of Literature from across the world, to show how books from Exeter & Devon reflect the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The collaborative project is led by Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature. It seeks to draw attention to the SDGs and raise awareness through books and story. It also offers the chance to highlight the work of writers with ties to Cities of Literature.
From the rights of workers in the far future to the secret swimming coves of Exmoor & North Devon, 17 Books for 17 SDGs allows us to think about how all of the incredible books from Exeter & Devon can connect to this shared blueprint for peace and prosperity - for people and the planet.
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Under Current, a Cornish memoir of poverty, nature and resilience
Natasha Carthew
Natasha Carthew grew up in rural poverty in Cornwall, battling limited opportunities, precarious resources, escalating property prices, isolation and a community marked by the ravages of inequality.
Her world existed alongside the postcard picture Cornwall, where wealth and privilege converged on sandy beaches and expensive second homes.
Undercurrent is part-memoir, part-investigation, part love-letter to Cornwall.
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Shalimar, A story of place and migration
Davina Quinlivan
Beginning in colonial India and Burma, from the indigenous tribes from which the women in Quinlivan's family are descended, and reaching the streets of Southall and Ealing, the stories of her ancestors persisted in the tales, the language, the cooking and culture of her family.
Quinlivan conjures a place between continents and worlds in a lyrical debut of migration, and homecoming, marking the arrival of an exceptional new voice.
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
The Green Hill, Letters to a son
Sophie Pierce
This book is a celebration of the natural world and the role it plays in our lives and relationships, as well as examining how beauty, a sense of place and the passing seasons can help us contend with our own mortality.
Above all, though, The Green Hill is one woman’s story of navigating through trauma and loss, and towards a fragile, complicated kind of joy.
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
The Exeter Book Riddles
Translated by Kevin Crossley-Holland
Exeter has long been a place of learning and literature, thanks to the millennium old Exeter Book of riddles located at Exeter Cathedral.
The ninety-six Anglo-Saxon riddles in the eleventh-century "Exeter Book" are poems of great charm, zest, and subtlety. Ranging from natural phenomena (such as icebergs and storms at sea) to animal and bird life, and from weaponry to the peaceful pursuits of music and writing, they are full of sharp observation, earthy humour and, above all, a sense of wonder.
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goodess With A Thousand Faces: A one-of-a-kind exploration of goddesses from our ancient past
Jasmine Elmer
Jasmine Elmer explores these goddesses of our past, uncovering their truths, their rebellion and their freedom. For too long, they have been written out of history; lost to the sands of time and stamped into silence. Goddess with a Thousand Faces restores these women to their glory.
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Wild Swimming Walks, Exmoor & North Devon. 28 Coast, river & waterfall days out
Sophie Pierce & Matt Newbury
Wild Swimming Walks leads you on 28 adventures through the soaring landscape of Exmoor and North Devon. Find secret coves, remote river pools and sparking waterfalls.
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Hot Air: The Inside Story of the Battle Against Climate Change Denial
Peter Stott
Here, for the first time, climate scientist Peter Stott reveals the bitter fight to get international recognition for what, among scientists, has been known for decades: human activity causes climate change.
Across continents and against the efforts of sceptical governments, prominent climate change deniers and shadowy lobbyists, Hot Air is the urgent story of how the science was developed, how it has been repeatedly sabotaged and why humanity hasn’t a second to spare in the fight to halt climate change.
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
The Principle of Moments
Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson
6066: In Emperor Thracin's brave new galaxy, humans are not citizens but indentured labourers, working to repay the debt they unwittingly incurred when they settled on Gahraan - a desert planet already owned by the emperor himself.
The Principle of Moments is a centuries-spanning adventure unmissable for fans of the spacefaring found family of Becky Chambers, the magical London of V. E. Schwab, and the epic climate-craft of N. K. Jemisin.
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Exeter Phoenix - A Plan for rebuilding
Thomas Sharp
During the 1942 blitz, Exeter was targeted due to its rich cultural history. After experiencing city-wide devastation, Exeter became entwined with the rising Phoenix, thanks largely to Thomas Sharp’s published plan to rebuild the city.
This piece of architectural literature inspired hope in the people of Exeter that a post-war revitalisation was possible, flipping the fiery memories of the blitz only a few years prior into a roaring image of freedom.
Reduce inequality within and among countries
Lubna and Pebble
Wendy Meddour & Daniel Egneus
In an unforgettable story that subtly addresses the refugee crisis, a young girl must decide if friendship means giving up the one item that gives her comfort during a time of utter uncertainty. Lubna's best friend is a pebble.
She found it on the beach when they arrived in the night, then she fell asleep in Daddy's salty arms. Lubna tells Pebble everything. About home. About her brothers. About the war. Pebble always listens to her stories and smiles when she feels afraid.
But when a lost little boy arrives in the World of Tents, Lubna understands that he needs Pebble even more than she does…
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
The Lie of the Land - Who Really Cares for the Countryside?
Guy Shrubsole
Our landowning elite are paid billions of taxpayer pounds to be good stewards. But these same landowners have carelessly trampled over our best-loved landscapes, leaving the rivers polluted, fenlands drained, and moorlands burned.
Guy Shrubsole has travelled across Britain to expose the lie and meet the communities fighting back to restore our lost landscapes.
This is a bold, shared vision for our nation’s wild places, and how we can treat them with the awe and care they deserve.
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Mortal Engines
Philip Reeve
A steampunk-y, dystopian adventure in a world where cities are the ultimate predators.
In a dangerous future, huge motorized cities hunt, attack and fight each other for survival. As London pursues a small town, young apprentice Tom is flung out into the wastelands, where a terrifying cyborg begins to hunt him down.
Mortal Engines launched Philip Reeve's brilliantly-imagined creation, the world of the Traction Era, where mobile cities fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic future.
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Forget Me Not: Finding the forgotten species of
climate-change Britain
Sophie Pavelle
Join Sophie Pavelle on a low-carbon journey around Britain in search of ten animals and habitats threatened by climate change in the 21st century.
Like many of her generation, Sophie Pavelle is determined to demand action on climate change. In her hilarious and thought-provoking first book, she describes the trips she took to see ten rare native species: species that could disappear by 2050 and be forgotten by the end of the century if their habitats continue to decline.
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Tarka The Otter
Henry Williamson
The classic story of an otter living in the Devonshire countryside which captures the feel of life in the wild as seen through the otter's own eyes.
Tarka is born in Owlery Holt, near Canal Bridge on the River Torridge, where he grows up with his mother and sisters, learning to swim and catch fish, and to beware the hunters' cry.
His life is one of adventure and play, but soon he must fend for himself, travelling along streams and rivers to the open sea.
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Villager
Tom Cox
Villages are full of tales: some are forgotten while others become a part of local folklore. But the fortunes of one West Country village are watched over and irreversibly etched into history as an omniscient, somewhat crabby, presence keeps track of village life.
Tom Cox’s masterful debut novel synthesises his passion for music, nature and folklore into a psychedelic and enthralling exploration of village life and the countryside that sustains it.
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
War Horse
Michael Morpurgo
In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
Exeter’s own publications
The people of Exeter!
From strengthening the economy through a growing publishing industry in the South West from MA Publishing students from the University of Exeter, to the celebration of our planet from Exeter City of Literature - the publications being created in Exeter since we were established as a City of Literature in 2019 stand for many of the SDGs set out by the United Nations.
