The Walberberg Seminar is the largest and longest running annual Literature seminar held overseas. The 2006 seminar ran from 26-29 January and was held in the Akadamie Schmockwitz, outside Berlin. The seminar was chaired by Glenn Patterson on the theme of ‘Home?’. Writers who took part were: Louise Doughty, Carlo Gebler, Romesh Gunesekera, Sinead Morrissey and Adam Thorpe. The seminar was attended by approximately 45 participants from Germany and neighbouring countries, including a broad mix of academic critics, professors of English (with many from the younger generation), publishers, journalists and translators.

The Walberberg Seminar was founded by Malcolm Bradbury, who Chaired the first seminar, in 1986. Since then the Seminar has been held every year and has introduced a large number of contemporary British writers to a German audience. Chairs of the seminar, in succession to Malcolm Bradbury, have been A S Byatt, Valentine Cunningham, Christopher Hope, Andrew Motion, Paul Muldoon, Caryl Phillips, Michele Roberts, Ali Smith and Marina Warner. In its early years the seminar took the generic theme of Contemporary British Writing, but more recently it has focused on specific themes connected with contemporary literature such as Translation and Contemporary Writing. The seminar has been especially important in recent years in introducing new British writers into the teaching curriculum in German Universities, new authors who have been published in translation in Germany and has also encouraged the teaching of Creative Writing in Germany.