Andrea Gentile (Italy) and Aleksandra Zielińska (Poland) win the 2025 International Writers-in-Residence Programme in Granada
346 applications from 70 countries have been submitted for the 2026 Granada International Writers in Residence Programme.
The Granada International Writers in Residence Programme, organised by Granada UNESCO City of Literature (Culture Department of Granada City Council) jointly with the University of Granada, through three Vice-Rectorates —most notably the Vice-Rectorate for University Outreach, Heritage and Institutional Relations— as well as the Federico García Lorca Chair at La Madraza and the Corrala de Santiago, has reached its ninth edition in 2026.
The worldwide call for applications was launched last July with the essential and generous collaboration of the UNESCO Cities of Literature network, attracting an exceptionally high number of applications, surpassed only by last year’s edition.
The Jury’s Decision
The jury, composed of Carla Friebe, an independent writer based in Granada; Jesús Ortega, coordinator of the Granada UNESCO City of Literature programme at Granada City Council; and Miguel Carrera, Director of the Federico García Lorca Chair and Head of the Literature Department at La Madraza – Centre for Contemporary Culture of the University of Granada, has decided to award the 2026 Granada International Writers’ Residencies to Andrea Gentile (Italy) and Aleksandra Zielińska (Poland).
Andrea Gentile
Andrea Gentile (born in Isernia in 1985) lives in Milan. He was Editorial Director at Il Saggiatore for eleven years. He contributes to la Repubblica, Il Sole 24 Ore, and Gate, and leads courses and workshops in writing and Writing Meditation. His books include L’impero familiare delle tenebre future (il Saggiatore, 2012), I vivie i morti (minimum fax, 2018; winner of the Mondello Prize), and Tramontare (minimum fax, 2021), which together form a trilogy. In 2012, he published the novel for young readers Volevo nascere vento (Mondadori), also published in French by L’École des loisirs. In 2020, he published Apparizioni (nottetempo; winner of the Città delle Rose Prize), which explores the relationship between literature, meditation, and digital culture. An excerpt from the book was published in English in Asymptote. His forthcoming novel Oceanica (Feltrinelli, 2027) tells the story of humankind through a non-human voice.
Aleksandra Zielińska
Aleksandra Zielińska is a Polish writer, playwright and screenwriter based in Kraków. She is the author of five novels and a short story collection. Her work has been nominated for the Gdynia Literary Award, the Conrad Award and the Witold Gombrowicz Literary Award. She received the Adam Włodek Award, a scholarship from Poland’s Young Poland programme and grants from the City of Kraków. As a playwright, she made her stage debut at the National Old Theatre in Kraków with ‘Głębiej’, directed by Małgorzata Wdowik. Her plays have also been staged at theatres including Teatr Baj, Wrocławski Teatr Współczesny in Wrocław and the Mask Theatre in Rzeszów. She writes audio plays and film scripts, and has worked across different narrative forms and media. Her credits include the comic-book adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher, published by Dark Horse Comics, and work on board games set in The Witcher universe. She took part in the Ekran+ programme at the Wajda School and trained in screenwriting at the Warsaw Film School.
