The Swiss literati convened in Solothurn over the weekend for the 24th writers' festival, with over 50 authors making the trip to the small baroque town.

Around 8000 visitors attended this year's festival, with 500 people crowding into the inaugural session alone, where author Martin Suter read from his German-language bestseller "A perfect friend".

The festival, the biggest of its kind in Switzerland, is intended as a launching pad for German-speaking authors, who use the opportunity to present their latest works.

This year, the focus of seminars and workshops was on Yiddish literature, and the work of columnists.

The task of translating literary works also came under the spotlight, as authors from such countries as Romania, Israel, the USA and Guatemala travelled to Solothurn to take part in the event.

Fourteen writers from the country's three other linguistic regions were invited to attend the three-day event, adding colour to the podium and round table discussions.

swissinfo with agencies

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative