Deep in a Norwegian forest, one thousand trees are slowly growing for a single purpose. They will become the paper for books no living adult will ever read. Every year, a famous author submits a new manuscript to a highly secretive collection, but the texts are immediately locked away in glass.
The public cannot view a single word until the year 2114. This is the Future Library, an ambitious project blending forestry and literature that completely locks out the current generation of readers.
The Century-Long Literary Secret
Conceived by artist Katie Paterson in 2014, the Future Library collects one original work annually from a major writer for a full century. Margaret Atwood was the first to submit a manuscript, titled Scribbler Moon, during a 2015 forest handover ceremony.
Over the years, authors such as David Mitchell, Han Kang, and Amitav Ghosh have handed over their works. In August 2026, Laurie Anderson was announced as the next contributor. The authors attend public events where the trees are growing, but the contents of their books remain strictly concealed from everyone.
Trees Growing For A Hundred Years
To provide the paper for the final printing, organizers planted one thousand trees in the Nordmarka forest in Norway. They will grow untouched for one hundred years. When 2114 finally arrives, the trees will be cut down and processed into paper to print limited-edition anthologies containing all one hundred manuscripts.
To fund the effort, galleries in Edinburgh, New York, and London began selling one thousand certificates printed on handmade paper. Initially priced at 625 British pounds, the cost increased to 800 pounds in 2017 and continued to rise. These certificates grant the owner one complete anthology upon publication.
The Silent Room In Oslo
While the forest grows, the physical manuscripts wait inside the Deichman Library in Bjørvika, Oslo. Katie Paterson and an architectural team designed a specific storage space called the Silent Room for the collection. The space features one hundred layers of undulating, carved wood.
This material was sourced directly from the trees originally felled to make room for the new saplings planted in 2014. Each manuscript sits inside its own dedicated glass drawer. The room opened to the public in 2022, allowing visitors to see the locked texts without reading them.
Exclusivity And Hidden Lyrics
The project keeps tight control over the stories. The only known detail from the texts came out accidentally when David Mitchell mentioned his contribution quotes the song Here Comes the Sun, which will enter the public domain before the anthology prints.
Media outlets like The Guardian call it the world’s most secretive library. Critics point out the exclusionary nature of the project. Writing for Flavorwire, Moze Halperin called the project art whose intention is to exclude a few generations and criticized the class exclusivity planned for the works even after they are released.