We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the second year of ULYSSES’ SHELTER, a project supported by Creative Europe that will give exchange residency opportunities to young writers and translators from Wales, Croatia, Greece, Serbia and Slovenia.

Ulysses’ Shelter is the second stage of a project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union aiming to build a network of exchange literary residencies across Europe and designed primarily for young writers of prose and/or poetry and literary translators. It is led by the Croatian publisher and literary agency Sandorf and managed jointly by Literature Across Frontiers and Wales Literature Exchange in Wales. The other partners are Krokodil in Belgrade, Serbia, Thraka in Larissa, Greece, and the Slovene Writers Association in Ljubjana, Slovenia.

The literary residency programme will be hosted in two ways: a live programme taking place on the island Mljet (Croatia), in Ljubljana (Slovenia), in Larissa (Greece), in Belgrade (Serbia) and several locations in Wales, and a digital programme that will connect young authors and translators. The project focuses on audience development and transnational mobility for young authors and will allow young authors and translators to work, perform and present themselves in different social and cultural contexts. The residencies can bring new opportunities and possibilities to establish contact with other authors, translators, editors, publishers and/or representatives of various literary organisations from Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Wales and Greece. The residencies will be accompanied by a supporting programme of activities and events aimed at specific local target groups. While the virtual residency option of the programme is a necessary contingency provision for the current Covid-19 situation across Europe, it is also a good opportunity for writers and literary translators who, for a variety of reasons, would not be able to travel or spend two weeks away from home but who would like the opportunity to participate in an international programme and engage in literary exchange with other writers, and we welcome applications from young writers in this category. We particularly welcome applications from writers/translators from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in Wales.

The theme of the second year of the Ulysses’ Shelter project for the selected residents will be to reflect on the challenges of the pandemic and the isolation it has imposed on individuals. Writers may require isolation and solitude in order to produce a literary work, but with mandatory isolation now facing society at large, some writers have not been able to focus on their work, and, on the other hand, their previous experiences have made them more resilient and adaptable to the current conditions of working. The selected residents will be invited to respond to the phenomenon of isolation and its impact on creative work, and contribute with their pre-pandemic and lockdown experiences.