The Modernist Essay at Universita’ di Pisa

On October 21-22, 2024, the University of Pisa hosted a workshop titled “The Modernist Essay,” as part of the MA Degree Course in Euro-American Languages, Literatures, and Philologies. The workshop was led by Paolo Bugliani and Roberta Ferrari and spanned two sessions. Session 1 (Monday, October 21st): The Modern EssayThis session examined the evolution of […]

Joost de vries and Thijs Lijster in conversation.

As part of the University of Groningen’s Arts Festival, that took place September 2024, EBB consortium member Thijs Lijster had a public conversation with Joost de Vries. Joost de Vries is an acclaimed novelist and essayist, and adjunct editor-in-chief of the Dutch weekly magazine De Groene Amsterdammer. His books, including The Republic and Higher Powers, have been translated in over […]

Essay Events in Ghent

The inaugural Essays Beyond Borders (EBB) transnational meeting took place in Ghent, Belgium, from September 12th to 14th, 2024. Hosted by Ghent University, the event brought together project participants to explore the contemporary state of the essay, with a special emphasis on its role within a planetary context. A highlight of the event was the […]

Essay Workshop in Ljubljana (starting October 2024)

The Slovene Writers’ Association, in collaboration with the universities of Malta, Ghent, Groningen, and Pisa, as part of the Erasmus+ project “Essays Beyond Borders,” is organizing an essay workshop. The workshop will take place mostly on Mondays at 5 PM at the Slovene Writers’ Association premises, Tomšičeva 12, Ljubljana, and will run until the end of the year.

The workshop will be led by writer, editor, and professor Andrej Blatnik, with contributions from various experts in writing and the thematic fields that the workshop essays will address.

The recommended topics for writing are environment and space, but other socially relevant themes are also welcome.

To participate in the workshop, submit either a text you would like to improve during the workshop, approximately 10,000 characters in length (shorter and longer texts will also be considered), or a thousand-character outline of a text, along with another finished piece of writing. Please also include a brief description of your previous work and background.

Applications should be sent to kreativnopisanje@gmail.com by October 1, 2024.

The workshop begins on October 14. Participation is free, but if there are too many applicants, participants will be selected based on the texts they submit and the relevance of their topics.

EBB partners with Heritage Malta for Essay Workshops

Essays Beyond Borders is pleased to announce a collaboration with Heritage Malta in the delivery of essay writing workshops for the general public in Malta, to be held between September and November 2024. The workshops, which are designed and facilitated by Prof. Mario Aquilina from the University of Malta, will be held in five different […]

13th September 2024: Ghent Roundtable on the Essay with Stefan Hertmans

At a time when all information is immediately available to us, the essay offers the freedom to wander, to let opinions clash and to embrace uncertainty. But why and for whom are essays written? And what makes a good essay? We want to address those questions with Stefan Hertmans, among others. On September 13, 2024, […]

EBB Launch Groningen

On 23 May the Essays Beyond Borders project was launched in Groningen with ‘The evening of the essay’. The event was hosted by the University of Groningen and organized together with book shop Godert Walter. After introducing the project and telling something about the plans for the coming years, Thijs Lijster (philosopher, essayist and member […]

Winners of the EBB writing competition for Post-Secondary Students in Malta announced.

The three winners of the first EBB essay competition for Post-Secondary Students in Malta have been announced. In no particular order, the winning essays are ‘The Temple’, by Julian Vella from De La Salle College; ‘On Art’, by Corinne Vella from De La Salle College’ and ‘Of Lost Appreciation’, by Mila Scicluna Bartoli from Gian […]

Essay writing workshops in English for Post-Secondary Students in Malta

Between January and April 2024, Professor Mario Aquilina delivered workshop series in essay writing at four Post-Secondary schools in Malta. Each series consisted of a total of 3 hours of contact time focusing on writing about place from a personal perspective.  The participants read and discussed a number of well-known essays to then explore ideas […]

Workshops fully booked 

The Creative Writing Workshops on Essay and Place to be offered by Mario Aquilina in September-November 2024 for writers and members of the general public are now fully booked. People interested in putting their names on the waiting list or who would like to have precedence when another workshop is offered should send their details […]