Two new events. Same awesome community.
Plus hear about our amazing salon held in Berlin
Dear Friends,
Welcome to our April newsletter! We’re delighted to bring dispatches from our wonderful Berlin salon as well as two new programs we’re introducing this month.
What we’ve been up to:
Berlin!
Over 70 people joined us for drinks and cake, a walking & writing workshop, our live salon and a literary tour of Berlin. We were wowed by our readers and inspired by what we learned. We loved meeting everyone and plan to return in 2026.
Our attendees gave us 100% positive feedback, like: ‘Lovely organization, clear communication, really professional and yet humble and low-key. I was very impressed!’
What’s next:
Open Mic Pop-up Salon: London
When: 24 April 2025, 7pm GMT
Where: All Good Bookshop, London
Come along for a night of friends, drinks and literary delights, cohosted with Insurgent Press. Prices from £5. Only 7 places left so book soon!
NEW Café Littéraire: European Book Club
When: 6 May 2025, 7pm GMT
Where: Online
We’re delighted to invite you to the first quarterly edition of Café Littéraire: European Book Club.
The Book Club is FREE for Supporters. Sign up here to become one:
Each quarter, we’ll discuss a book by a European author:
1. A book from the International Booker Longlist or Shortlist from this or past years
2. A classic European text in translation
3. A gem of European literature you may not have come across before
4. A book by a current or past Nobel Prize recipient
Your host will be 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 The Details by Ia Genberg.
In this 2024 International Booker-shortlisted book, a famous broadcaster writes a forgotten love letter; a friend abruptly disappears; a lover leaves something unexpected behind; a traumatised woman is consumed by her anxiety.
We hope you’ll join us!
NEW Online Prose Poetry Workshop
When: 8 June 2025, 7pm CET
Where: Online
Prose poetry is a unique genre that blends the narrative feel of prose with the imagery and rhythm of poetry. This intimate online session is designed to introduce and deepen your understanding of the form. Through exercises and close reading, you’ll gain the skills to craft evocative, imaginative and emotionally resonant prose poems.
Julie Irigaray is a French Basque writer based in Birmingham, UK. Her pamphlet Whalers, Witches and Gauchos was published by Nine Pens (2021) and her poetry has been featured on BBC Radio 4. Her poems, articles and translations have appeared in over 60 publications (The Rialto, Ambit, Magma) and her poems have won or been finalists in 19 poetry competitions, including The Bridport Poetry Prize 2024. She works as a creative writing tutor at City Lit and the Midlands Arts Centre.
Annual Salon in Brussels
When: 12-14 September 2025
Where: Full Circle, Flagey, Brussels
Over 50 people have already booked! We’ll be joined by writers from Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Estonia, UK, The Netherlands, Italy, Slovakia and Norway.
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
Dining, cocktails and other opportunities to meet writers from across Europe
We would love for you to join us! All are welcome, wherever you live. For more information and tickets:
Become a Supporter
EWS is dedicated to creating opportunities for writers to meet, learn and develop their writing and writing life. We are working hard to make EWS sustainable and available to as many writers as possible.
To help, you can become a Supporter. Perks include:
Early booking for our events (w/ a better chance of reading)
Discounts from literary organisations
Access to members-only content like our Book Club
(Our newsletter will always be free.)
We hope you will join us for one of our events. We very much want to meet you all!
The EWS Team
