LITBEL project examines Latvian literature as a cultural, social, and policy resource, joining poetics, personalities and canon dynamics with the periodical press, digital environments, and public culture. It also investigates reading in Latvia today, a complementary diaspora library/community study, and publisher interviews on print–digital transitions, a qualitative programme on creative writing in the digital age. Scholarly outputs include 4 monographs, a collective Handbook of Latvian Literature (Brill), a collective Introduction to Literary Studies, and 15 Scopus/WoS/ERIH+ articles, enhanced Literatura.lv, organizing of two large-scale conferences. Public engagement features a museum programmes and festivals, and citizen-science activities. Policy briefs and pilot collaborations with libraries, schools, and publishers translate findings into practice. 

Special attention is given to the impact of digital environments on the literary ecosystem within the work package “Digital Environments and the Literary Ecosystem”, led by researcher Elīna Vikmane from the Institute of Arts and Cultural Studies at LAC in cooperation with researchers from ILFA UL and the National Library of Latvia. The work package also involves research assistant and doctoral candidate Ance Kristāla and includes biographical interviews with writers on their digital and AI-related practices, mapping of creative tools and workflows, survey implementation, and the development of analytical reports and good-practice guidelines. Students and early-career researchers will also be involved, strengthening future research capacity in Latvian literary and cultural studies. 

Elīna Vikmane (Lead project participant) 

Ance Kristāla (Project participant-student)