About
Making room for women writers & reshaping the literary ecosystem
W.Write works to make more room for women writers while reshaping the practices and institutions that influence whose work is published, translated, reviewed, taught, and remembered.
Literature shapes how we see the world
The stories we read shape our understanding of the world. That’s why it matters whose stories are told and whose are missing.
Who has the opportunity to write, reach readers, and become part of our shared literary culture?
When some voices are missing, we all miss out.
Making room for women writers
What does it take for a woman to write and for her work to be seen, recognised, and remembered?
“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”
– Virginia Woolf
Nearly a century ago, in her famous essay A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf argued that women needed more than talent to write: they needed the conditions that made creative work possible. Her words remain relevant today and inspire W.Write.
Today, having a room of one’s own means more than physical space. It means having the time, independence, resources, and opportunities to create. But individual opportunities are not enough if the wider literary ecosystem remains unequal.
From opportunities to lasting change
W.Write supports women writers through creative camps, family-friendly residencies, mentoring, professional networking, and international exchanges, with particular attention to emerging writers, mothers and other carers, and those facing additional barriers.
At the same time, this initiative brings together writers, publishers, educators, researchers and cultural organisations to examine and address inequalities across the literary sector. Research and lived experiences inform educational activities, resources, and approaches that encourage fairer practices.
A European collaboration
Running from 2026 to 2029, W.Write brings together organisations from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, and Spain, drawing on their diverse experiences, expertise, and perspectives on the challenges women writers face.
Working across borders allows us to learn from one another, test ideas in different contexts, and develop approaches that others can adapt and build on. Together, we want to create change that reaches beyond individual writers, organisations, and countries.
W.Write is co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe programme.
Partners
Kultúrkombinát (KK)
Kultúrkombinát Kft. (KK) is a Hungarian cultural enterprise founded in 2009, with literature and book culture at the heart of its work. Since 2011 it has run the Margó Literary Festival, one of Hungary’s most significant literary events, held three times a year with sell-out programmes of readings, discussions and book launches for audiences of 8,000 to 10,000.
Its work reaches well beyond the festival. The Margó Prize, presented since 2015, supports outstanding emerging prose writers, and the Margófakt programme brings alternative literature classes to secondary schools, reaching around 400 students per session and using contemporary writing to open discussion on the issues young people face. Alongside its festivals, KK co-creates Könyves Magazin, a leading Hungarian cultural platform with more than 300,000 monthly readers.
Student Cultural Centre of Novi Sad (SCCNS)
The Student Cultural Centre of Novi Sad (SKCNS) was established by the Republic of Serbia in 1993 as an institution dedicated to student welfare, with the aim of fostering the cultural development of young people and promoting artistic creativity.
The mission of SKCNS is to nurture, develop and promote artistic practices, with a particular focus on the work of young artists, while also supporting established artists working across classical and contemporary art forms. As an open platform for artists, creatives and audiences of all generations, SKCNS provides a space for encounters, connections and dialogue, where new ideas, projects and artistic initiatives take shape.
SKCNS’s programme encompasses a wide range of artistic disciplines, including music, theatre, film, visual arts and literature. In addition to its year-round programme, which features more than 400 events annually, SKCNS organises several well-established festivals: Rhythm of Europe (Ritam Evrope), Novi Sad Comic Book Weekend (Novosadski strip vikend), the Contemporary dance festival Tanz Platz (Festival savremenog plesa Tanz Platz), the theatre festival Upad and the To Be Punk Festival.
Beletrina Digital
Beletrina Digital is an innovative Slovenian digital cultural platform developed by Beletrina, one of the country’s leading publishing houses. Bringing together e-books, audiobooks, films, podcasts, and original editorial content, it offers audiences a diverse range of cultural experiences in one digital space. Building on pioneering initiatives such as Biblos, Slovenia’s first e-book lending and purchasing platform, and AirBeletrina, an established online literary and cultural magazine, Beletrina Digital bridges traditional publishing and contemporary digital innovation. Through its activities and international collaborations, it promotes cultural diversity, accessibility, and new ways of connecting literature and the arts with audiences across borders.
Transitions (TOL)
Transitions is a Prague-based nonprofit media development organization dedicated to strengthening the professionalism, independence, and impact of journalism in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. For over 25 years, we have pursued this mission through journalism training, mentoring, media development programs, media literacy initiatives, and the publication of Transitions magazine.
Agencia EFE
EFE is the world’s leading Spanish-language news agency, with more than 85 years of experience in independent and reliable journalism. Its international network of over 2,000 professionals operates in 110 countries, producing multimedia news content that reaches media outlets and audiences worldwide.
Launched in 2018, Efeminista is EFE’s platform dedicated to gender equality, feminism and women’s rights. Through news, interviews, reports and multimedia storytelling, it raises awareness of gender inequalities, addresses gender-based violence, amplifies women’s voices and promotes their representation across all areas of society, combining rigorous journalism with a gender-sensitive and human rights-based approach.