Young, emerging poetry and short story writers from Malta, Cyprus, Turkey, Italy and Greece will be mentored in creative writing by a UK author through workshops and the web. The best works will be published on the web and/or in book form.
We have identified a group of talented young writers in collaboration with the English Literature Department of Athens University. George Szirtes, our UK mentor, ran a three-day workshop in Athens in February and Haris Vlavianos, an established poet, translator and publisher and Theodoros Grigoriadis, one of Greece’s leading young authors, take on the roles of Greek mentors and co-ordinator for the project.
This project will offer creative writing opportunities and training to emerging authors, engaging them in a cross-Mediterranean collaborative process. It will introduce them to other literary cultures and inspire them to explore the importance of language and translation. We aim to promote interaction with UK authors and the UK Literary scene.
The first phase of the project has now come to a close – the workshop's over, the writers have submitted their work. We thank all of the young writers who participated. Congratulations to the four who have been selected to attend the Mediterranean Festival of Emerging Literature taking place in Malta in November 2004. They are:
There, they'll perform their work and have the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with young writers from other Mediterranean countries taking part in the project.
