Barcelona UNESCO City of Literature International Writing Residencies

The Barcelona Institute of Culture, within the framework of the Barcelona, UNESCO City of Literature programme, has opened the call for the 2026 international writing residencies at Vil·la Joana. The initiative aims to promote literary creation and foster exchange with other centres and creators from around the world.

The residencies, aimed at writers and translators from outside Catalonia and of any nationality, offer stays in Vil·la Joana, in Vallvidrera, one of the sites of the Museu d’Història de Barcelona and the place where the poet Jacint Verdaguer spent his final years. 

The 2026 edition includes eight residency periods, with a maximum of three residents per session, who will have accommodation, workspaces, and a programme of activities to connect with the city’s literary network. These residencies are open to writers from outside Catalonia of any nationality and in any language, with a fiction (poetry, narrative, drama or audiovisual script) or non-fiction (essay, chronicle) writing project, as well as literary translators with a translation project in any of the aforementioned genres. In all cases, the project must be related to the city of Barcelona in some way.

The selection process is open to writers and translators over the age of 18. Authors of literary works in the genres of narrative, poetry, journalism, drama or audiovisual script or comic, as well as literary translators, who have at least one work published under their name, with the corresponding ISBN or a work or script that has been premièred, are eligible. Translations and articles published in the press are not deemed to fulfil the “own publication” requirement.

The Barcelona Vil·la Joana Writing Residency programme offers those selected accommodation and an individual workspace with an internet connection, as well as a kitchen and communal spaces shared with the other two resident writers. In addition, the organisers will agree an agenda of activities and meetings to put the residents in touch with Barcelona’s literary network, as well as members of the general public interested in literature. 

Interested parties must submit an application via the Barcelona, UNESCO City of Literature website (https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/ciutatdelaliteratura). The application form must include information regarding the applicant's artistic biography, as well as documentation certifying they have an original published work stating the author, title, publisher, year of publication and ISBN.

In addition, the following documents must be attached:

– Photocopy of DNI/NIE/passport

– Excerpt of the piece you will be working on during the residency (5-10 pages of 2,100 characters).

The documents may be submitted in Catalan, Spanish or English.

The application submission period closes on 16 January 2026.