Future Library, Katie Paterson from Katie Paterson on Vimeo.

Scottish artist Katie Paterson has launched a 100-year artwork called Future Library. A thousand trees have been planted in Nordmarka, a forest just outside Oslo, which will provide paper for a special anthology of books to be printed in one hundred years time. Between now and then, one writer every year will contribute a text, with the writings held in trust, unpublished, until 2114.

The unread manuscripts will be held in trust in a specially designed room in the New Deichmanske Public Library opening in 2018 in Bjørvika, Oslo. Intended to be a space of contemplation, this room - designed by Paterson - will be built from wood from the forest. The contributing authors’ names and titles of their works will be on display, but none of the manuscripts will be available for reading – until their publication in one century’s time.

The prizewinning author, poet, essayist and literary critic Margaret Atwood has been named as the first writer to contribute to the project, she will handover her manuscript at a ceremony in 2015.

Whether or not people will still be reading in 2114 - let alone books - Future Library is testament to the enduring appeal of printed literature.