Writer’s residency in Brussels with Passa Porta

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 Full details 

The National Centre for Writing is collaborating with the International House of Literature Passa Porta and Flanders Literature to offer a month-long writing residency in Brussels in 2026. The exact date of the residency will be agreed by Passa Porta with the successful applicant.

The residency is part of an exchange with the National Centre for Writing, who will hosting two writers from Flanders in Norwich in April 2026.

About the residency

Passa Porta is a multilingual house of literature at the heart of Brussels, providing a showcase, a platform and a workplace for literature. It includes a literary stage, a multilingual bookshop, a corner for reading, conversation and rendezvous, space for workshops, offices, and a flat for a writer in residence. Passa Porta has a broad network of contacts with the press, publishers, translators and cultural organisations in Belgium and abroad.

Every two years, the Passa Porta Festival draws about 100 Belgian and international writers, thinkers and artists to Brussels, bearing witness to their love of the written word, shining their light on hot topics, and paying tribute to the best new literature from around the world.

This residency will offer the writer a quiet place to write. However, there will be the opportunity to take part in public events in Flanders and Brussels, as well as to meet and collaborate with fellow authors and translators.

The writer in residence will be expected to devote most of their time in Brussels to working on a manuscript. In their letter of application, they should present a concise and concrete plan of work regarding their stay. The author will be asked to mention Passa Porta in the final publication of the manuscript they worked on during their stay.

Passa Porta may invite the writer to play an active role during one or more of its public events, to present themselves to the Belgian audience in a video interview, or to write a short text reflecting on a topic close to their heart. These small assignments are not an obligation and will be remunerated accordingly.

You can find out more about Passa Porta’s residency programme on their website.

 

Travel and accommodation

The writer will be offered free accommodation in a self-catering flat at the Passa Porta house of literature. This distinctive and comfortable flat has a floor area of 90 sq. m. is situated above the Passa Porta Bookshop in Rue Antoine Dansaert / Antoine Dansaertstraat, close to the Grand Place. The flat comprises a large living room, a study, a dining room, a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen.

It is equipped with an internet connection, printer and, if required, a laptop. A telephone is available at the guest’s expense.

 

 

The National Centre for Writing will cover the cost of train travel to and from Brussels and Passa Porta will pay a stipend of 1200 euros towards living expenses. The writer should take out their own travel and health insurance for the period of their journey and stay.

How to apply

This opportunity is open to writers based in England. It is open to writers of novels, short stories, poetry or literary non-fiction. Authors working on a manuscript as part of academic research do not qualify. The author must have had at least one work published by a literary publisher (not self-published).

Writers wishing to apply for the residency should send their application to residencies@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk.

Applications should include:

  • A covering letter explaining:
    • Why you wish to take part in the residency, what you will bring to it and what you hope to get out of it.
    • A description of the manuscript or project on which you will work.
    • Why Brussels, and any Norwich connections
  • A curriculum vitae listing your publications in your own and other languages.
  • A short writing sample (up to 1,000 words).

 

The deadline for applications is Monday 1 September 2025. The selection will be carried out jointly by Passa Porta and the National Centre for Writing, and the successful applicant will be informed by the beginning of October 2025.

Any questions? Please contact info@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk.

 

 

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