100 years since the death of Franz Kafka (1883-1924), the University of Oxford will celebrate the life and work of one of the most influential writers of all time. The #OxfordKafka24 campaign will include a new free exhibition at the Bodleian’s Weston Library, Kafka: Making of Icon (30 May-27 October 2024); and a University-wide series of academic and public events over 2024 exploring Kafka’s global appeal. To encourage students and members of the public to engage with his work, a new limited-edition imprint of The Metamorphosis will be given to every Oxford student; and copies will be distributed to schools and libraries around the county of Oxfordshire for #OxfordReadsKafka.
Oxford is the natural home for a centenary celebration of Franz Kafka: the Bodleian Libraries have the world’s largest Kafka archive; and the University is a leading centre for Kafka studies led by the Oxford Kafka Research Centre. Franz Kafka was unanimously chosen by the University as the next author in the Bodleian’s Great Writers series which launched with Chaucer: Here and Now in December 2023.
