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The Estate of Seamus Heaney, together with the Kraków City authorities, Kraków UNESCO City of Literature and the Embassy of Ireland in Poland, are pleased to launch an open call for the second edition of the Heaney-Miłosz Residency Programme at the former apartment of Polish poet and writer Czesław Miłosz in Kraków, Poland.Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1980, Czesław Miłosz is one of Poland’s most renowned writers. Described by Seamus Heaney as a “veteran of turmoil”, Miłosz experienced first-hand the devastation of war and occupation in Central and Eastern Poland. These experiences, as indeed his Polish-Lithuanian heritage, vividly shaped his writing.
Czesław Miłosz resided at his apartment in his adopted home city of Kraków, Poland, for the last decade of his life. There, he and Seamus Heaney – both Nobel Laureates – cemented their friendship. Their respective works were shaped by experiences of conflict and adversity, but also underpinned by a shared commitment to human dignity and rights, while celebrating the plurality of identity.
About the Residency
The Seamus Heaney – Czesław Miłosz Residency aims to support emerging writers, resident in Ireland, to further develop their work. It is intended that the Residency will also provide the basis for deepening further the many literary links between Ireland and Poland.
As the first writer-in-residence of the Heaney-Milosz Residency, Alice Lyons spent six weeks in the former apartment of Czesław Miłosz in Krakow city centre in October-November 2023. Alice Lyons is an Irish writer, originally from the USA, who has lived in the west of Ireland for over 20 years. Author of three books of poetry and one novel, she is the recipient of several awards both in Ireland and the USA for her work.
Kraków was designated as a City of Literature when it joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2013. The designation recognises the rich literary heritage of the city and its status as a leading Polish academic and intellectual centre. Major international literary festivals such as the Conrad and Miłosz Festivals are hosted annually in the city, alongside book fairs, a range of different residencies and wide-ranging cultural initiatives. The Kraków UNESCO City of Literature program is operated by KBF – a municipal institution responsible for cultural activities in the city.
The selected Residency writer will be based at the Miłosz apartment in Kraków city centre for a period of four to six weeks in Autumn 2025. The Residency will coincide with the annual Conrad Festival (October annually).
The principal aim of the Residency is to support an emerging writer with both the creative space and time to focus on their writing. In order to assist in further developing the literary links with Krakow and the region, a limited number of public engagements in Krakow will also be requested of the chosen writer during the Residency period. This may include talks at Festival events, engagements with academia and young writers, and/or engagement with the local community. Upon completion of the Residency, the Residency writer will be asked to provide a written reflection of their experiences in Kraków and/or Poland. This reflection may be used for publication/promotional purposes.
The selected candidate will be supported during the Residency period by both Kraków UNESCO City of Literature Office and the Embassy of Ireland in Warsaw and the Estate of Seamus Heaney. This will include full accommodation at the Miłosz apartment for the period of the Residency and a stipend of 250 EUR/weekly. Flights and transfer costs to and from Kraków will also be covered.
Who May Apply?
The Residency is open to early to mid-career writers, who are focussed on creative writing, including poetry in particular.
To be eligible to apply, applicants must:
- Be resident on the island of Ireland.
- Provide evidence of previous publication in Ireland or internationally.
The following would also be considered desirable for applicants:
- Good knowledge of and/or interest in Poland or Central Europe more broadly;
Making an Application
To make an application, writers should provide:
- An application form including a proposal or draft of writing already begun that they wish to develop during the Residency;
- A detailed CV, setting out writing achievements to date and including details of any previous residencies or writing fellowships received.
Applications should be sent to residencies@miastoliteratury.pl by Monday, 21st of October Applications will be accepted by email only. Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted. Informal inquiries in advance of the closing date may be made to Elżbieta Foltyniak, elzbieta.foltyniak@kbf.krakow.pl
Assessment Process
A Board, comprised of both Polish and Irish representatives, will review applications. The Board will include representatives from the Estate of Seamus Heaney, Krakow UNESCO City of Literature and external literary experts. The Board will shortlist applicants based on the following criteria:
- Record of applicant
- Quality of proposal and relevance to the aims of the Residency programme
- Potential impact of Residency on the writer’s own creative practice and/or on furthering literary links between Poland and Ireland.
A final shortlist may be created with the possibility that shortlisted candidates may be invited to interview. Final decisions, based on the above criteria, will be communicated by end of January 2025.
The programme is individual in nature; each of the chosen candidates will work for six months on a translation under the guidance of an experienced translator of high standing within the professional community, on a “Master and Pupil” basis. The emerging translators will also attend a weekend of special seminars covering copyright law and the relationship between publishers and translators. The programme will conclude with a public presentation of the translations produced within the programme, approximately one standard page in length, to students of the Translation Studies Faculty at the Jagiellonian University.
The aim of the programme is to train a new generation of translators to bring foreign-language masterpieces to the Polish reader, in order to guarantee high-quality translations of ambitious literature and also to popularise a wide range of world literature among Polish audiences. The programme also gives young translators the opportunity to network with publishers and professional colleagues.
Participants in the programme are selected through an open, nationwide, two-stage competition ( 1. The candidates submit a sample translation for assessment; 2. Those whose translations qualify, are interviewed by a judging panel).
The programme includes:
- Individual work with a mentor on a specific text that has not been translated before. Approximately 5–10 hours a month
- Learning about the publishing market and the professional environment. Weekend seminar series organized by the Translation Studies Faculty of the Jagiellonian University and the Polish Literary Translators’ Association, covering: first steps within the literary translation market; how the publishing market operates; and the basics of copyright law for translators.
Mentors participating in the 4th edition (2024/25):
- Katarzyna Sarek (Chinese)
- Jerzy Koch (Dutch)
- Anna Wasilewska (French)
- Tomasz Kwiecień (Italian)
- Wojciech Charchalis (Portuguese)
- Joanna Kornaś-Warwas (Romanian)
The deadline for submitting applications is October 15.
For more information in Polish click here>>
The Translatorium mentoring programme is organized by the Kraków Festival Bureau (which runs the Kraków UNESCO City of Literature programme), the Translation Studies Faculty of the Jagiellonian University and the Polish Literary Translators’ Association.
Our programme partners are: Nanjing Creative Center, the Institut Français in Poland, Literatuur Vlaanderen, the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the Center for Expertise in Literary Translation, the Embassy of Brazil in Warsaw, the Instituto Guimarães Rosa, the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Italian Cultural Institute in Kraków.