‘Writing (on) the urban question’ is a unique interactive writing workshop to learn novel writing techniques and enhance your written work. It is specifically tailored for doctoral students and early-career academics working on urban issues. The workshop is led by the creative writer, literature consultant, project manager and urban activist, Sarah Butler, based in Manchester, the UK.
Target audience — The 3-day workshop is an interdisciplinary event that aims to bring together promising junior researchers from across Belgium and Europe, and from a variety of disciplines – including human geography, urban studies, sociology, spatial planning, and politics – at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel to work on urban issues. The workshop is suitable for scholars who want to improve their writing and explore their creativity.
About the trainer — Sarah is a novelist with accompanying practice in socially-engaged, place-specific writing. She is fascinated by the relationships between stories, places and communities. Her work explores identity, belonging, landscape and home. Sarah has a particular interest in urban spaces and urban change.
More information about Sarah Butler’s work:
http://www.urbanwords.org.uk | http://www.sarahbutler.org.uk
Workshop content — Participants will explore their own writing styles and consider how creative writing techniques can help enliven and embolden their academic writing. The programme consists of indoor desk-based writing exercises and discussions, as well as writing activities out and about in Brussels, using the city as a rich context to practice a different form of writing.
A detailed programme of the workshop will be available by early March 2023 but we can share already that the workshop focusses on three different themes:
Day 1 (22.03.2023): Writing and Place
Day 2 (23.03.2023): Writing Processes and Techniques
Day 3 (24.03.2023): Writing and the City
Participation and application process — If you are interested in participating in this exciting workshop, please send your short CV and a one-page motivation letter (both in pdf format) to the Centre’s coordinator (Lena.Imeraj@vub.be) with the email’s subject mentioning: ‘Writing Workshop application - NAME’ by January 29th 2023. In the motivation letter you should briefly explain your interest in the workshop and the focus of your current writing.
You will be notified of the outcome of your application by February 16th 2023 at the latest. The main criteria for acceptance relate to the stage of your research and the focus of your writing. For quality purposes we can accommodate up to 15 people.
Organiser — Writing (on) the Urban Question is organised and sponsored by the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies.
Date and venue — The workshop will take place from Wednesday, March 22nd to Friday, March 24th 2023 in Brussels.
Registration fee — The workshop is free for all participants.