This morning, poet Tõnis Vilu was announced as the 2025 Tartu City Writer at the L. Koidula and J. V. Jannsen Memorial Square.
Mayor of Tartu Urmas Klaas, who presented the city writer’s scholarship, said: “It is entirely appropriate to start the Year of the Book with the announcement of a new city writer. We have many good writers in Tartu, and now there are already a whole number of city writers who have brought literature closer to the city’s residents with their activities. I also wish Tõnis Vilu a creative year in the role of city writer,” added the mayor.
The representative of the selection committee, Krista Ojasaar, explained the choice of city writer as follows: “Tõnis Vilu’s poetry is fresh and playful, each collection of poems is like a new page, not a repetition, he invents a new language and approach each time and pushes the boundaries of poetry. This is also evidenced by the fact that he has received the Gustav Suits Poetry Prize twice – an achievement that no other poet has yet to show. The themes of his poetry speak directly and precisely to the present day, he is able to engage readers of all ages, but especially young people.”
In the beginning of the Estonian Book Year, city writer Tõnis Vilu wanted to emphasize that this is not only the year of books, but also the year of our soul story. “I consider the spiritual support found in literature – its ability to make us question and expand our minds – to be one of the most important for me. I believe that with such a purely human key it is possible to speak to all kinds of people, from schoolchildren to grandparents. I would like to try my hand at it.”
The city writer plans to publish a collection of poems and work on a new manuscript this year. “I also want to go to more schools in Tartu to introduce newer Estonian poetry and create a monthly book club where poetry is discussed based on mental health issues. At the beginning of February I will participate in the Circa Seven Celsius winter school of the Baltic young writers’ network, and in the second half of the year I want to be in residency abroad to work on my texts and introduce Estonian literature there.” Tõnis Vilu described his plans.
Tõnis Vilu is a poet who has published eight poetry collections, several of which have received awards, including the Gustav Suits Poetry Prize twice (“Kink psühholoogile / A Gift to a Psychologist” and “Kõik linnud valgusele / All Birds to the Light”). His poetry has been translated into nine languages. Frequent themes in Tõnis Vilu’s texts include mental health, politics, language and close relationships between people.
14 writers applied for the 2025 City Writer competition.
The City Writer Scholarship is a scholarship awarded in cooperation with the City of Tartu and the Tartu Kultuurkapital to a person engaged in fiction or journalism of cultural value, who enlivens the literary life of Tartu and helps shape the reputation of the city of Tartu as an international city of literature.
The amount of the scholarship in 2025 is 19,680 euros, which is paid in equal monthly installments.
Tartu’s previous city writers have been Kristiina Ehin (2017), Mika Keränen (2018), Vahur Afanasjev (2019), Carolina Pihelgas (2020), Juhan Voolaid (2021), Paavo Matsin (2022), Mart Kivastik (2023) and Maarja Pärtna (2024).