International residency grant for new literary formats and creative curatorial approaches in literature 2026
The Künstler:innenhaus Lauenburg and the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media (Behörde für Kultur und Medien Hamburg), in cooperation with the Literaturhaus Hamburg, are offering a new fellowship for international curators in the field of literature for 2026.
We are looking for new, creative and experimental literary formats. The duration is 4 months. International and national literary curators or collectives with at least 2 years of practical experience are eligible to apply.
Residency fellowship for new curatorial approaches in literature
This fellowship is aimed at all those who understand literature not only as text, authors and translators, but also as a social, creative practice that opens up a space of potential for community, discussion and utopias. In the fields of art and theatre, unlike in literature, curating is already a natural part of artistic practice. Therefore, the new residency is explicitly aimed at literary curators. We invite anyone who curates literature, who wants to rethink the status quo of readings, who needs time for questioning and research, who wants to find new spaces, audiences, voices and forms of literature. We encourage you to throw everything you know about literary events overboard and break new ground.
Criteria and scope of the fellowship, selection process
International and national literary curators or collectives with at least two years of practical experience are eligible to apply. Please note that we are unable to increase the fee for collectives.
People who receive another residency grant at the same time are not eligible to apply. Furthermore, no study projects can be funded.
The fellowship is open to applicants regardless of age or place of residence.
The period of stay for the residency fellowship holders at the Künstler:innenhaus Lauenburg is 4 months from May to September.
The fellowship holder receives a monthly grant of 1000 € net for the duration of the fellowship.
Travel expenses to and from the location will be covered once. A monthly ticket for public transport will be provided on site.
We try to enable as many applicants as possible to participate and to respond to individual life situations. Please contact us if you have any questions.
The fellowship includes free use of the flat and studio. Electricity supply for flat and studio, internet as well as telephony in the German Festnetz are also free of charge.
We offer the opportunity to curate three literary formats, two of which will be in Hamburg in collaboration with the Literaturhaus Hamburg and one at the Künstler:innenhaus Lauenburg. A budget is available for this purpose.
The fellowships are awarded by a jury of experts in January of the fellowship year.
Expectations towards the fellows
We assume that the vast majority of the residency period will be spent in Lauenburg, which means a minimum of 50 %. The fellowship period is May to September.
During their stay at the Künstler:innenhaus, the fellows are expected to create and curate at least three new, experimental literary formats. The adaptability and possibility of continuing formats is welcomed.
We are looking for individuals who are open and communicative, interested in interacting with other fellows, local people and institutions, and curious to get to know Hamburg as a literary location.
Fellows must provide proof of their own liability insurance. (This can be submitted at a later date.)
Application and selection procedure
Incomplete applications or applications that do not comply with the specifications will not be considered. Thanks to the funding provided by the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media for the fellowship, the €10.00 processing fee does not apply in this case. The checkbox at the end of the application form can be ignored.
We only accept applications via the online form on our website.
Please combine the following application documents into one PDF (max. 15 MB file size) and upload it.
- Description of the planned curatorial project during the fellowship (max. 1 Din A4 page)
- Curriculum vitae with artistic career (max. 1 Din A4 page)
- Prizes and scholarships (max. 1 Din A4 page)
- Portfolio to present projects with illustrations, text or work samples (at least 5, max. 10 Din A4 pages). The number of illustrations may vary, but the 10 pages must not be exceeded.
- Links to video and/or audio works (max. 5 works) via e.g. Vimeo, Soundcloud, or youtube can be included directly in the the form, link must be accessible at least until end of March 2026.
- Please name the PDF with: Lastname_Firstname_Curation_year.pdf