Mr. Ishiguro was so struck by Norwich and its surrounding county that he used it as inspiration for his 2005 novel “Never Let Me Go” (though the book was actually set in East Sussex, the 2010 movie adaptation was largely filmed in Norfolk County, home to Norwich). “I love the emptiness and the atmosphere,” he said. “The scenery is quite unique. There is that feeling of being in a lost corner.”

He also admires its passionate and well-read population. “It’s always just going to be a literary scene in the best sense of the word,” he added, “where people get together and talk about writing.”

After London, Norwich was England’s most important city in the Middle Ages. A remarkable 31 medieval churches have survived. As the number of devout believers has dwindled, many of those imposing but well-preserved churches have helped nurture a literary tradition by hosting readings, salons, writing classes and theatrical productions.

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Religion figured prominently in the life and work of an early literary figure in Norwich. The mystic known as Julian of Norwich, starting in 1373, wrote her “Revelations of Divine Love,” often cited as the first English-language book by a woman to have been published. Julian lived as an anchoress, a type of religious hermit, and was likely bricked up inside a small stone cell during her 40-odd years of monastic life. Believing she was on her deathbed (this was not long after the Black Death had struck England for a second time), Julian wrote of the 16 visions of Christ she experienced.

“She is fairly unusual for that time, in that she put pen to paper herself,” said Tom Licence, the author of a book on medieval hermits and recluses. Julian’s manuscript survived for almost three centuries in the care of nuns before it was finally published in 1670. Compared with what Julian of Norwich experienced, the long waits of modern writers trying to find a publisher can seem almost reasonable.

Today, visitors to the Church of St. Julian in Norwich can walk around in a reconstruction of Julian’s cell, which is dimly lighted and hung with religious iconography. Just around the corner, Dragon Hall, a trading hall built in 1430, offers a more authentic glimpse of the city that Julian inhabited. The preserved timber-framed great hall was once a showroom for fine wines, clothing and spices.

Julian, though, would not have recognized the new glass addition to the Norwich Cathedral, a light-filled visitor and education center that was added to the 12th-century church in 2009. On a recent night it hosted a performance of Tennessee Williams’s “Night of the Iguana.” The actors sipped (fake) rum and shouted at one another in British-inflected Texas accents, as the church spires were reflected in the glass walls.

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Those interested in the cathedral’s older offerings can visit the Dean and Chapter’s Library, a secluded spot where visitors can peruse first editions of Anglo-Saxon literature and old theology texts with bindings the color of autumn leaves.

At St. Swithin’s Church, built in the 15th century and refashioned as the Norwich Arts Center in 1980, it is contemporary wordsmiths who are treated with reverence. The organization Writers’ Center Norwich hosts an event on Tuesday nights at which local writers read 10-minute excerpts of their work.

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Even when the former church turns its attention to music (indie rock bands and techno D.J.’s often play on the weekends), visitors are still exposed to wordplay. Before a recent performance by the electronic duo Gold Panda, from nearby Essex, young people in plaid vests, zebra-print onesies and ankle boots gazed inquisitively at an exhibition of typography, partly inspired by landscape paintings.

Nowhere is Norwich’s romance with the written word spelled out more clearly — and literally — than on an old electricity plant near the riverfront. In 2006 an artist took white paint and fine brushes and inscribed the entire 40,000-word English text of Sir Thomas More’s 1516 tome “Utopia” on its brick facade. Once slated for demolition, the building has become an emblem of the city’s abiding interest.

With all this literary activity, one might think that Norwich is the most well-read place in all of England — and it may well be. According to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, which opened in 2001, has been Britain’s most popular library for four years running, with about 1.5 million visits last year.

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Indeed, it sometimes feels as if the entire city is obsessed with books. The Library Bar & Grill, one of Norwich’s best-known dining spots, is in a historic building that was, in fact, once a library. The dining room is still filled with original oak bookcases, and the menu details the 19th-century membership fees: £1 for ladies, £2 for men. Entrance to the nearby Millennium Library — in a soaring, glass-fronted modern building opposite the medieval church where the 17th-century writer and physician Sir Thomas Browne is buried — is free.

After a hard day’s work, writers gather at Frank’s Bar on Bedford Street, the premier late-night spot for students of an intellectual bent. Unlike traditional pubs, the green-wallpapered bar, with its many dictionaries and Scrabble boards, stays open until 2:30 a.m. on the weekends, so the literary arguments can continue deep into the night.

On a recent fall evening, Andrew Parrott, a graduate of the University of East Anglia’s creative writing program, was speculating about why it was that Norwich is such a fantastic writing city. “There is something about the interiors of all the old buildings that forces tables to be quite close together,” he said. He glanced around, his eyes coming to rest on a tattooed woman speaking urgently to her flannel-attired companion. “It’s a really good eavesdropping town.”

IF YOU GO

National Express East Anglia (44-8456-007245; nationalexpresseastanglia.com) has frequent service to Norwich from London Liverpool Street station, with fares from £16 round trip, or $24.50 at $1.53 to £1.

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The Book Hive (53 London Street; 44-16032-19268; thebookhive.co.uk) is an independent bookstore with regular book signings, readings and events.

The University of East Anglia (Lecture Theater 1, University of East Anglia; www.uea.ac.uk/litfest) hosts readings and events, as well as literary festivals. Tickets for individual events cost £6.

Library Bar and Grill (4a Guildhall Hill; 44-16036-16606; thelibraryrestaurant.co.uk) is in a onetime 19th-century library. The modern English fare here is a better deal at lunch (three-course menu, £11.95) than at dinner.

Church of St. Julian (8 Kilderkin Way; 44-16036-22509; julianofnorwich.org).

Dean and Chapter’s Library (Norwich Cathedral; 44-16032-18327; www.cathedral.org.uk).

Norwich Arts Center (51 St. Benedict’s Street; 44-16036-60352; norwichartscentre.co.uk).

Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library (The Forum, Millennium Plain, Bethel Street; 44-16037-74709; theforumnorwich.co.uk/explore/millennium-library) is the most visited library in Britain and has regular talks and readings.