Even more events for European writers??
Plus a new course—don't miss out!
Dear Friends,
We hope you’ve been having a lovely spring. We at EWS have been taking advantage of the weather and soaking up more culture.
Katherine visited Fenix, a new museum of migration in Rotterdam. Its opening exhibit, ‘All Directions’, explores its theme: ‘For as long as humanity has existed, we've been migrating.’
And Roya attended National Writers Conference on the lovely University of Birmingham campus. The poet Liz Berry spoke in her keynote speech about literary community, and how it can be a bright spot in an often frought landscape.
Both of these events speak to what EWS is about, as well as our theme for this year’s Annual Salon, ‘Rooted, Unrooted’. At a time when so much feels like it’s fracturing, it seems people are reaching out for connection, something we find really hopeful.
It was with that sense of hope that we started EWS. We wanted a place where writers from across Europe could meet and exchange ideas. So we decided to make one. Liz Berry spoke of how simply reaching out and showing up can change a writer’s life. It’s certainly changed ours, and we hope it will add to yours too.
There are lots of ways to participate in EWS, now including a salon in Madrid, a Paris night out and a new writing course! We hope to see you at one of our events soon.
And if you share our desire to connect writers in Europe and want to help, please consider becoming a Supporter.
New Events
Meet-up: Paris Lit Up
When: 19 June 2025, 7pm CET
Where: Culture Rapide, Paris
This month we’re teaming up with the popular open-mic night Paris Lit Up—and taking some spots at the mic. To join our friendly Paris contingent for this event, email contact@saloneurope.org.
Café Littéraire: European Book Club
When: 8 July 2025, 6pm GMT/7pm CET
Where: Online
Join us for the second quarterly edition of Café Littéraire: European Book Club. Each quarter, we’ll discuss a book by a European author. Your host is Eleonora Balsano, an Associate Director of EWS and host and producer of Chosen Tongue, a podcast dedicated to translingual writers and their journeys.
This quarter’s book is Natalia Ginzburg's The Little Virtues.
(If you buy with the link above, we earn a small commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.)
Between 1944 and 1960, Natalia Ginzburg wrote The Little Virtues, a collection of eleven vivid portraits of life that are central to her legacy as one of the greatest Italian writers of the twentieth century.
Book Club is always FREE for our Supporters and has a small charge for others. We hope you’ll join us!
Pop-up Salon: Madrid
When: 16 October 2025, 8 pm CET
Where: Desperate Literature, Madrid
We are so delighted to host an open mic salon in partnership with international bookstore Desperate Literature.
We'll listen to excellent readings, drink wine and get to know writers from Madrid and across Europe in Desperate Literature’s lovely new premises. Ticket prices include wine and soft drinks.
We’ll also arrange informal drinks on the evening of Wednesday 15th and a writing or literary walk on the morning of Friday 17th (at additional cost), so keep this in mind when booking travel and accommodation.
Who’s Speaking to Us and How? A Prose Writing Workshop
When: 25 September 2025, 6pm GMT/7pm CET
Where: Online
Some of you may know Graham Mort from our online salon, where he wowed us with his poetry. Graham is emeritus professor of Creative Writing at Lancaster University, an extraordinary professor at the University of the Western Cape, and a Higher Education Teaching Fellow. We are delighted that he will teach an online class for us in September for writers of all levels of experience.
Who's Speaking to Us and How? will be a friendly and interactive workshop for prose writers who want to take a fresh look at point of view in their narratives.
Places are limited, so book early. We hope to see you online!
Don’t forget to book!
Grassroots Salon: Brighton
When: Thursday, 26 June 2025, 7:30pm GMT
Where: Afrori Books, Brighton
Join EWS and your local hosts Anika and Jack for Literary Mixer, an evening of writing, games and chat in the heart of vibrant Brighton. This is our first EWS Grassroots Salon—run by local writers and supported by us. For those who’re interested (and weather permitting), we’ll also meet earlier for a stroll by the sea—and maybe some writing on the beach.
Online Open Mic Salon
When: 15 July 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 road signs. Reading slots are now all booked, but please come along and listen!
Brussels Salon
When: 12-14 September
Where: Full Circle, Brussels
We have a small number of places left for our 3-day Annual Salon extravaganza in Brussels, including 2 bursary places. Join 80 other writers as we explore Brussels, take part in workshops and hear keynote speakers Kit de Waal and Balsam Karam. More details here.
On the far horizon
For those who like to plan ahead, we already have a few events in the works for 2026:
Pop-up Salon: Berlin—26 March
2026 Annual Salon—Madrid, 25-27 September
Become a Supporter
EWS is funded entirely by your support, and every penny goes back into our events. Support from our patrons allows us to put on better events, and to provide bursaries for writers who couldn’t attend otherwise.
Supporters receive a few perks:
Discounts and early booking for our events (with a better chance of a salon reading spot)
Discounts from literary organisations
Free access to Café Littéraire: European Book Club
And of course, our eternal gratitude! We couldn’t do it without you. You can support us simply be becoming a paying member of our Substack.
That’s it for now! We have so much on at this point, we’ve decided to list opportunities and events around Europe in a separate newsletter later in the month. So keep an eye out!
We look forward to meeting you soon.
Warmly,
The EWS Team
