2023 international author residency exchange
We teamed up with Barcelona UNESCO City of Literature for an international residency exchange in 2023, sending Devon author Lucy Holland to Barcelona for her first international writing residency in June, before bringing Catalan writer Míriam Cano to Exeter in October.
Lucy Holland in Barcelona
Lucy Holland is the author of The Times bestselling Sistersong, a reimagining of the folk ballad ‘The Twa Sisters’, encompassing fantasy, historical fiction and trans representation. The book was a finalist for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award and the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 2022.
As Lucy Hounsom, she wrote the Worldmaker Trilogy. Her first book, Starborn, was shortlisted in the 2016 Gemmell Awards for Best Fantasy Debut. She worked twelve years in corporate account sales for Waterstones Booksellers before becoming a full-time author.
Lucy co-hosts the intersectional feminist podcast Breaking the Glass Slipper, which combines her passion for elevating the voices of women and marginalised creators with a love of speculative fiction. The podcast won Best Audio in the 2019 British Fantasy Awards.
Lucy lives in Devon with a black cat and a bedroom full of books. The landscape of the UK’s West Country is very much a part of her writing.
On location: Vil.la Joana
Vil·la Joana was the final home of the writer Jacint Verdaguer. Today, Vil·la Joana acts both as a memorial and as a house of literature: a space that emphasises the value of the literary word through the figure of Verdaguer. The writer acts as a prism through which we see Barcelona’s reality as a literary city and the phenomenon of the universal literary experience. Find out more about Vil·la Joana here.
The Residency
Lucy stayed at Vil·la Joana for some time to write, while also taking part in some activities in Barcelona.
Míriam Cano in Exeter
Míriam is a journalist, writer and translator, and a lecturer at the Bloom School where she gives seminars on Poetic Reading and Creation.
She also works with several Catalan cultural media outlets as a columnist and literary journalist. Notable in her career as a writer are several collections of poems, among them Buntsandstein (Red Sandstone, Viena, 2013), winner of the 2012 Martí Dot prize, Ancoratge (Anchorage, Terrícola, 2016), and Vermell de Rússia (Russian Red, laBreu Edicions, 2020).
She also wrote the short story “La Comuna de París” (The Paris Commune) in the jointly authored volume Cremen Cels (They Burn Skies, laBreu Edicions, 2017), a project in collaboration with Martí Sales and Antònia Vicens.
As a translator she rendered into Catalan works by authors including Emily Dickinson, Albert Camus, Sandra Cisneros, Maggie Nelson, Lauren Groff, Martha Nussbaum, Joana Russ and John Ashbery. She is also the coeditor of the magazine Carn de Cap.
Follow Míriam on Instagram!
On location: The Writers Block
The Writers Block is a 3-bedroom apartment above the Library in Kingsbridge. In the heart of the town adjacent to the market square, with allocated parking, it's the perfect location for a writing retreat. Within walking distance of the bustling high street, and only a short drive to many of the South Hams' areas of outstanding natural beauty, it provides a calming space for aspiring authors offering plenty of inspiration.
A huge thank you to Libraries Unlimited for providing Míriam with the use of The Writers Block during her time in Devon!
When in Exeter…
During Míriam’s stay, we were delighted to link her up with local organisations for activities.
She took part in workshop sessions with students from the University of Exeter’s Modern Languages and Publishing courses, sharing her thoughts on translation.
On National Poetry Day, our pals at Bookbag hosted a wonderful evening of poetry and conversation with Míriam and local academic Bryar Bajalan. It was a truly special evening!
Thanks to our friends at Bookbag, The Devon & Exeter Institution, Exeter Cathedral, Custom House, University of Exeter, and Bendene Townhouse for making Míriam’s visit so fruitful!
