Opportunities for writers in Europe
Our first monthly round-up of literary events and opportunites, online and in person
Dear Friends,
Our goal is ‘Connecting Writers in Europe,’ and we are always seeking new ways to do this.
Starting this month, we’ll send out a monthly round-up of events and opportunities. We hope over time, that this will be THE place to find out what’s going on around Europe. (This will be in addition to our regular newsletter because we ran out of space!)
If you or your organisation would like to feature in the listings, please get in touch. We’re looking for:
Competitions and submission opportunities (open to Europe-based writers)
Residencies, conferences and retreats taking place in Europe
Online events at Europe-friendly times
Local events in European cities
Writers looking for writing groups/places to stay/ house swap/people to meet etc.
If there are other things you’d like us to feature, get in touch!
Competitions & Submission Opportunities
Frazzled Lit have a short story competition open in June for stories 750-2000 words
Lit Namjooning is open for submissions until July 3 – send your quiet pieces on self-care.
The Berlin Literary Review is open for submissions of fiction, poetry and travel writing.
New UK poetry magazine, The Aftershock Review is dedicated to exploring the aftershocks of experience and trauma. They are open for queer working class poetry for an anthology and general submissions. Details here.
An intriguing submission call from Netherlands-based 13 Tracks – Writing and art inspired by music. Each issue is based on a specific 13tracks playlist, which inspires the content. If you’re interested in contributing to the website, listen to the 13tracks edition 18 playlist, get inspired by one of the tracks and submit a proposal by 31 July.
Fahmidan is open for your submissions year-round and always pays writers. They accept poetry, flash, fiction and non-fiction.
Neither Fish Nor Foul is open for fiction submissions (50-1000 words) until 25 August with the theme of cake.
Conferences & Festivals
Dublin: International Dublin Writers Festival is 19-22 September and is an opportunity for writers everywhere to connect with the literary culture of Dublin and to learn from experts and peers.
Florence: There is a Publishing Day event organised by the Florence Literary Society on October 25, 2025. It will be a lively and practical day for writers of all genres, focused on navigating the world of publishing – from traditional to indie to hybrid pathways.
Portugal: The Disquiet International Literary Program is in Lisbon for the 13th year from 22 June to 4 July and features free public events including readings and performances in bookstores and venues throughout the city.
Switzerland: Geneva Writers' Conference is later this year on 14-16 November. Expect a fun weekend of English-language workshops and panel discussions led by authors, agents, and publishers working in a range of genres.
Birmingham: Birmingham Literature Festival will take place from the 9–13 October 2025. To get a taste of the event, check out last year’s programme on their home page.
Residencies & Retreats
Italy: Writer and EWS Steering Group Member, Catherine McNamara hosts writing retreats for individual writers near Venice. Contact her for more information about availability.
Brussels: Every year Passa Porta receives up to 9 foreign writers in residence, who will receive a 1-month stay in a spacious apartment and a stipend. Passa Porta can also involve you in Belgian cultural life and the network of the House of Literature. Literary authors can apply in July and August for a residency the following year. Send a CV, a list of publications and published translations, and a 1-page description of the writing project you wish to work on during the residency to residences@passaporta.be.
Greece: We’re dreaming of a trip to Naxos for these writing retreats recommended by one of our followers.
Switzerland: The third annual Sogn Andriu Short Story Retreat will take place in the mountains of Switzerland 19-26 October.
Switzerland: Applications for the Jan Michalski Foundation-funded residencies (including travel and stipend) are open until 27 August – beginners can also apply.
In-person Events
Berlin: Join the Berlin Writers Workshop for their monthly picnic gathering for readers and writers in Tempelhofer Feld. Next one 18 June.
Paris: Our Paris contingent will visit Paris Lit Up on 19 June. Email us for details if you would like to join: contact@saloneurope.org.
London: Early Morning Risers should check out Write and Shine, whose workshops usually happen 7am. On 23 June there is a Solstice Retreat.
London: The European Poetry Festival is on during June, and we’ll be there 30 June at The Poetry Cafe. Join us if you can! Email contact@saloneurope.org if you’d like to hang out before/after/during.
Gloucester: We love what Dialect Writers are doing! Join them on 2 July for an afternoon retreat.
Amsterdam: Join the International Writers Collective where award-winning poet and journal editor Tammy Lai-Ming Ho will give a masterclass on 5 July from 17:00-18:30 at Studio BloemDwars in Amsterdam
Online Courses & Events
Online: Matt Kendrick has a series of live workshops over the summer at European-friendly hours.
Online: Elizabeth Castillo has a 2-part workshop with Fahmidan Education on 12 and 19 July that is ON SALE. It's on writing the ocean: ecopoetry & prose.
Online: Broken Spine has an online poetry open mic on 3 July.
Member Postings
Looking for Beta readers! Follower Shannon Savvas is a Kiwi writer based in Cyprus. She says ‘After a long break in my writing, I am trying to get going again, but have no access to objective beta readers. If anyone is willing to sporadically read my work to give criticism, I would be grateful and happy to reciprocate. If there is already a reading group around, perhaps I could join in.’ She writes novels and short stories. Email Shannon at shannonsavvas@gmail.com.
Berlin: If you’re in Berlin, make sure to subscribe to follower Bettina Rolyn’s newsletter covering English language literary arts/adjacent events
Amsterdam: If you’re a local writer in Amsterdam and you’d like to join a small group of writers organising an EWS event, get in touch contact@saloneurope.org.
Athens: If you’re a local writer in Athens and you’d like to join a small group of writers organising an EWS event, get in touch contact@saloneurope.org.
If you would like to post something in our next newsletter, email contact@saloneurope.org.
EWS Events
For details of our own events, check out our latest newsletter.
That’s it for now! We would love to know what you think of our endeavours—tell us in the comments.
See you next month,
The EWS Team
Thank you for including Sogn Andriu! Our July retreat is full so we’re really looking forward to adding the October event
So happy to see this. Not much of a presence from Spain or Barcelona: wondered about that. Maybe I can help. I moved to Barcelona three months ago (I’m American, with dual citizenship—Swedish). Still getting to know the city including its literary life.