BRIEF HISTORY
The College of Eastern Europe (KEW) was founded as an institute for public diplomacy in 2001 by Jan Nowak-Jezioranski, a Polish war hero and head of the Polish section of Radio Free Europe. Since 2014, KEW has been the owner of the Wojnowice Castle near Wroclaw where the foundation is headquartered. The renaissance 15th century castle is a unique place on the map of Poland and Eastern Europe.
KEW organizes various cultural, artistic and scientific events in the castle. The main literary events include the Translation Seminar “Translators without Borders” and literary residencies. In addition, we organize concerts, art exhibitions, literary picnics and knight tournaments with demonstrations of medieval crafts (in the late Middle Ages, the castle was the residence of knights). KEW is also the publisher of the New Eastern Europe magazine and participates actively in the European debate on foreign policy.
DESCRIPTION
One of the key areas of KEW activities is book publishing. Through the publishing house “Wydawnictwo KEW” the organization promotes Central and Eastern European literature from Belarusian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Czech, Greek, Estonian, etc. in Poland.
For the past 10 years, KEW also organizes literary residencies for writers and translators, as well as the translation seminar “Translators without Borders”. The College cooperates with organizations and associations for writers and translators from the Eastern European region, such as the Polish Literary Translators Association, the Polish Writers Association, the Polish PEN CLUB, the Ukrainian PEN Club, the Belarusian PEN Club, Polish Institutes in various European countries.
CONDITIONS
Literary residencies are organized in the renowned renaissance 15th-century Castle on the Water in Wojnowice. Peace and contact with nature are provided by the forest park surrounding the castle where you can hear birds singing, the sound of a stream and pick mushrooms in autumn. Residents can explore the literary and cultural scene of Wojnowice, Wrocław and Lower Silesia to establish new professional contacts.
In the castle there are 10 single and double rooms (Wi-Fi, TV, tea and coffee set) with bathrooms and work areas. There are 4 conference rooms, a well-equipped library with work areas, and a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Benches and tables in the park around the castle make it possible to work outside in the summer. The length of literary residencies is between 2 and 4 weeks.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Translation residencies and seminars are based on applications. Information on admissions is published on the KEW’s website: www.kew.org.pl.
ACTIVITIES
During the year, KEW organizes or co-organizes various literary and cultural events:
- The translation seminar “Translators Without Borders”
- Literary residencies for writers and translators
- Meetings with authors and discussions around books
- Night of Poetry in Kraków
- Performative poetry readings
- Concerts and exhibitions at the Castle on the Water in Wojnowice
- Literary festivals in Eastern Europe
ADDRESSES & CONTACTS
ul. Zamkowa 2, Wojnowice, Poland
Website: https://www.kew.org.pl/
Email: office@kew.org.pl
Contact: Laurynas Vaičiūnas
