And the second featured author for our Annual Salon is...
Plus an opportunity to win their book, courtesy of Fitzcarraldo Editions!
Dear friends,
The days are getting lighter, birds are singing and our next in-person literary salon is just around the corner!
If you’re anything like us, this winter has been one of work, reading and dreaming of brighter skies. If you’re a parent, it probably means making plans for Easter break. If you’re Iranian, it means sprouting lentils and figuring out what decorative dishes you haven’t broken over the past year that can be used in your Nowruz haft-sin.
And if you follow European Writers Salon, it means a host of literary events to drink, write and chat with other writers.
We’re excited about:
A just-announced walking tour and workshop to go along with our Pop-up Salon in Berlin
Another featured author for our 3-day Annual Salon in Brussels
Pop-up Salons we’re planning in Paris, Madrid and Copenhagen
As always, thank you being a part of our community. We hope to see you soon!
Events
Walking, Walls and Writing
When: 27 March 2025, 2pm CET
Where: Meet at Lettretage, Berlin
Although our Pop-up Salon in Berlin is now sold out, we are also offering a writing workshop hosted jointly with our friends at Berlin Writers Workshop.
We’ll stroll the area around Léttretage, following writing prompts from authors including Döblin and Benjamin.
The area around the Léttretage is a particularly rich space of historical memory, both hidden and public. The spaces we’ll visit—parks, railways stations, squares and churches—are at once fixed locations and liminal spaces, spaces of travel and contested meaning. We will travel through four locations: the Nordbahnhof, the Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer, the Zionskirche and Rosenthaler Platz.
We’ll read and discuss our excerpts and take notes that can be used as the basis for future writing.
3-day Annual Salon in Brussels
When: 12-14 September 2025
Where: Full Circle, Flagey, Brussels
Introducing our second featured guest: Balsam Karam
Plus—win her book!
We are delighted that in addition to Kit de Waal, we will be joined in Brussels by author Balsam Karam.
Balsam Karam is of Kurdish ancestry and has lived in Sweden since she was a young child. She made her literary debut in 2018 with the critically acclaimed novel, Event Horizon, which was shortlisted for the Katapult Prize and won the Småland Literature Festival’s Migrant Prize.
Her second novel, The Singularity, originally published in Sweden in 2021 and by Fitzcarraldo Editions in 2024, was shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Literature, the August Prize, and Svenska Dagbladet’s Literature Prize.
Balsam will join our panel on Saturday evening to discuss our theme of Rooted/Unrooted.
On Monday we will open a competition to win a copy of The Singluarity, kindly offered to one lucky winner by Fitzcarraldo Editions.
We’ll announce more featured authors soon, so stay tuned!
The Salon
Tickets for our Annual Salon are now on sale—over 50 people have booked so far! We’ll be joined by writers from Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Estonia, UK, The Netherlands, Italy, Slovakia and Norway. We cant wait to meet everyone.
Held at beautiful Full Circle in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco district of Flagey, our Annual Salon will feature:
An open mic salon where you’re invited to share your work
Readings and talks from acclaimed writers, including the wonderful Kit de Waal, Balsam Karam and more to be announced
A day of writing workshops and informative panels
A walking tour of Brussels with Brussels by Foot (optional extra)
Writing sessions in cafes and parks
A dinner, lunch, cocktail hour and other opportunities to meet, charm and bond with other writers from across Europe
We would love for you to join us! All are welcome, wherever you live. For more information or to book tickets:
Online open mic salon
When: Tuesday, 8 April 2025, 7-8:30 pm CET
Where: Online via Zoom
Booking is open for our quarterly online salon hosted by Kik Lodge. Expect a wealth of wonderful readings and the usual highly serious quiz, this time on the theme of graveyards. There are only 2 spots left, so act fast (you can join the waitlist if you miss out).
Open mic pop-up salon: London
When: 24 April 2025, 7pm GMT
Where: All Good Bookshop, Turnpike Lane, London
Come along for another night of friends, drinks and literary delights, cohosted with the rebels at Insurgent Press.
Details and tickets here. Prices start from £5. Only 10 places left so book soon to hear some brilliant writers read!
Interested in organising an EWS event in your city?
One way we hope to support writers is by creating grassroots networks and events.
If you’re interested in organising an EWS event in your city, we’ve created a set of guidelines and an application process. Please get in touch if this is something you’d like to do!
We are currently in conversation with writers about hosting grassroots events in Brighton and Tbilisi. Could your city be next?
Become a Supporter
EWS is dedicated to creating opportunities for writers to meet, learn and develop their writing and writing life.
The more people can attend, the more interesting and varied our events will be, creating greater opportunity to connect and learn from each other. We are working hard to make EWS sustainable and available to as many writers as possible.
We invite you to become a Supporter of European Writers Salon. Perks include:
Early booking for our events (plus a better chance at a reading spot)
Discounts from literary organisations
Access to members-only content like our EWS Book Club (coming soon!)
NB: our newsletter will always be free.
6 weeks left to enter the Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction
ICYMI, we’ve teamed up with the lovely folks at the Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction.
Among the fantastic prizes, one shortlisted author will win a free ticket to our Annual Salon in Brussels, plus the opportunity to read.
Supporters of EWS get 10% off entry.
That’s it for now! Wishing you a wonderful March.
Warmly,
Deborah, Roya, Eleonora, Katherine and the rest of the EWS Team
