European Writer in Residency Ciara Broderick starts at UCL

Irish writer Ciara Broderick arrives at UCL today (28 April 2025) to begin her month-long stay as 2025 European Literary Map of London Writer in Residency. 

During her stay, Ciara will be working on an original piece of writing - to feature on the Institute's European Literary Map of London - exploring the multi-generational experiences of Irish immigrants coming to London.

Commenting on the project on the occassion of her selection as Writer in Residence, Ciara said:

This is an excellent opportunity to represent the Irish language on the Map. While Irish is a recognised European language, it is often excluded from the conversation on languages of the continent. It is a particular passion of mine to build on the work of others in raising the profile of Irish in popular culture and showing the nuance and beauty of the Hiberno-English vernacular as it exists today.                                                           

The work I intend to create [during the residency] is based on the theme of “Poverty and Plenty” and is a work of short fiction loosely connected to a novel-length project I am currently working on [...] The story will highlight that, for immigrants, all is fiction.

Ciara was selected from a shortlist of ten writers from across Europe. The judging panel was led by former BBC journalist and Director of the European Literature Network, Rosie Goldsmith, together with UCL faculty members and the EUNIC London Presidency. The public submission process was open to any writer of any age writing in any language from anywhere in Europe.

During her residency, Ciara will engage with expertise at UCL to inform her writing, develop new EU-UK connections and support UCL students interested in pursuing writing as a career. She will also participate in a public event "Mapping the City: European Writers in London", alongside other shortlisted writers, hosted at Europe House.

Links

• Event, 14 May 2025: Mapping the City: European Writers in London 
• UCL European Literary Map of London
• UCL European Institute
• UCL Faculty of Arts & Humanities
• Ciara Broderick

Image

• Ciara Broderick. Copyright: Ciara Broderick

The European Institute is grateful for the support of UCL Grand Challenges, UCL Global Engagement and UCL London Office, and the partnership of Rosie Goldsmith, the European Literature Network, Goethe-Institut London and EUNIC London, in helping to make the Residence possible.