Creative Writing Barcelona

Gypsy Lounge Open Mic @BackStory Bookshop

**Saturday, October 17th at 18:00.** Welcome to another wonderful event at [Backstory] Bookshop, celebrating poetry, storytelling, and music! 🎙️Gypsy Lounge is a monthly open mic and a celebration of diversity, creativity, and connection. Whether you’re eager to share your latest work or simply soak up the atmosphere of artistic expression, Gypsy Lounge is your space. Artist sign-ups will take place on the evening of the event, so just come by at around 17:45 if you'd like to share. The first 8 artists will get to sign up, and each will have around 6-7 minutes to share their work. Performance slots are limited, so please come early. Also, this event is not managed by BackStory, so if you have any questions, please DM @gypsylounge_bcn on Instagram. A gentle reminder to attendees: The beauty of an open mic lies in the unpredictability of the content. As we do not moderate performer choices, some material may be best suited for adult ears. Those attending with children, please keep this in mind. **Sign-ups:** On arrival, on a first-come basis.

Monthly poetry and journaling (October) - Home

✨📖 **Writing Through the Year** is a monthly gathering for journal-keepers, poetry lovers, and anyone craving a gentle, reflective, creative ritual 🖊️🌿 In each session, we read a small selection of modern poems and let them guide us into reflective writing with curated journaling prompts These gatherings are not about writing “well” or analysing poetry, but about noticing what moves us and giving ourselves space to explore it on the page. 💭📓 No writing experience is needed, just curiosity and a pen and notebook. Each edition has its own theme. Past sessions have included **Burning the Old Year** (January), **Love Letters to Friends** (February), and **Everyday Joy** (March). In the October edition, we'll explore what **home** means to us. **Come and spend an evening with poetry, reflection, and gentle creativity**, and discover new dimensions of your life along the way ✨

Writing Quick and Dirty

**This meetup is for** **anyone—anyone** **at all—who enjoys playing around with words in a safe and welcoming environment. You’ll be given a prompt (usually one word, such as “playground” or “shiver”) and time to express yourself in writing in response to it. Anything goes: prose, poetry, lists, letters, lyrics; any form which calls to you and requests expression.** **After we have finished writing together, you will be invited to share your piece with the group. Reading is optional, but other writers’ responses are a gift to you.** **We offer our responses to this newly-written work in the form of what stayed with us, what we remembered from the piece, what resonated with us. This is not a writing class, but learning what other writers remember in your piece will guide you in the craft of writing.** **We treat all writing as story, literature or fiction, whether imagined or remembered. This is liberating for the writer, as you are free to write and it will never be considered to be “about you.” The first person is always just a character.** **Please bring your own writing equipment. It is helpful to come on time so you can hear the prompt and have enough time to write. Please buy a drink or snack from Charcha, our generous host.** **I am a certified Affiliate in the Amherst Writers and Artists Method, a writing process which has been used worldwide, with diverse populations, to create safe, supportive writing environments. I welcome you to let your creative spirit bloom with us!** **https://amherstwriters.org/**

Read, write, discuss, share - Theme tbd

Craft Corner: Writers on Writing

**[BUY THIS MONTH's BOOK HERE](https://backstorybookshop.shop/product/save-the-cat-writes-a-novel/)** For writers and readers alike, Craft Corner is a book club focusing on the craft of writing, creativity, and the writing life. We’ll discuss craft, inspiration, discipline, and the realities of the writing life — open to writers at any stage as well as curious readers interested in how stories are made. ## **About the Host** **Olivia** is a writer based in Barcelona, where she has lived for the past seven years. Originally from the United States, she studied creative writing as an undergraduate and later completed a master’s degree in translation at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. A jack of all writerly trades, she has published poetry and nonfiction and is currently navigating the querying process for her first novel.

Writing Quick and Dirty

**This meetup is for** **anyone—anyone** **at all—who enjoys playing around with words in a safe and welcoming environment. You’ll be given a prompt (usually one word, such as “playground” or “shiver”) and time to express yourself in writing in response to it. Anything goes: prose, poetry, lists, letters, lyrics; any form which calls to you and requests expression.** **After we have finished writing together, you will be invited to share your piece with the group. Reading is optional, but other writers’ responses are a gift to you.** **We offer our responses to this newly-written work in the form of what stayed with us, what we remembered from the piece, what resonated with us. This is not a writing class, but learning what other writers remember in your piece will guide you in the craft of writing.** **We treat all writing as story, literature or fiction, whether imagined or remembered. This is liberating for the writer, as you are free to write and it will never be considered to be “about you.” The first person is always just a character.** **Please bring your own writing equipment. It is helpful to come on time so you can hear the prompt and have enough time to write. Please buy a drink or snack from Charcha, our generous host.** **I am a certified Affiliate in the Amherst Writers and Artists Method, a writing process which has been used worldwide, with diverse populations, to create safe, supportive writing environments. I welcome you to let your creative spirit bloom with us!** **https://amherstwriters.org/**

Vamos a comentar nuestros relatos/cuentos

Os propongo una actividad basada en comentar relatos/cuentos que hemos escrito en casa con tiempo y calma. Para el domingo 18 de octubre vamos a escribir sobre "No me pongais tantas normas que no me da tiempo a romperlas" Escribe con total libertad usando tu creatividad Escribe, canta, declama lo que te surja del alma. Eso sí con un máximo de **dos páginas** (Arial, 12 pt y 1,15 espacio ). Nos encontraremos en la cafetería viena las 11.30h.

poENtry Slam - Poetry Slam in English in Barcelona

We are back on Thursday the 15th of October at the amazing venue of the BCN studio in Poble-Sec. Doors open at 7:30pm. We start at 8pm! Be there early to grab a seat! Make sure you get your ticket via the **[BCN studio](https://www.thebcnstudio.com/es/events/poentry-slam-2026-10-15-20-00?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAafgejAIZsPBJITje_nIBe8hxoAiPLCoByW36tYlTHnGfA2qchID3eDIpvknig_aem_PiZ0jPjFqfpVodsvXhbqQA)** on time. This is a spoken word and poetry performance tournament in English. We will have 7 slammers this time, and we are very excited to see what they have to say! If you want to participate in the Slam, please **send us a** **private message**! You **cannot** sign up by commenting in the event, as this cannot be controlled by our team. From the audience, we are expecting them to scream, cry, laugh, enjoy! Do not miss it! Doors open at 7:30pm and show starts at 8pm. Be there early to grab a seat! Entrance online 5€ (At the door 7€) **Tickets via the BCN studio only, or 7€ at the door. More info and tickets Link on our Instagram account and website.**

Barcelona Journaling Festival * 3rd edition!

Our annual writing extravaganza is BAAAACK! ### Barcelona Journaling Festival is coming! ✍️✨ Love journaling? Curious about it? Have 35 beautiful notebooks you’re afraid to ruin? Stationery fan? Love digging deep in your self-reflection process? **You’re ONE OF OUR KIND!** [Barcelona Journaling Festival](https://journalingfestival.org/festivals/barcelona-journaling-festival/) is a weekend of writing, creativity, reflection, conversations and plenty of good reasons to put your phone down and pick up a pen. Come for the workshops, stay for the community, discover new ways to journal — or simply find out what all the fuss is about. This year's themes are: EMBRACE THE CHAOS & REWRITE YOUR STORY. We will be journaling to explore the following topics: money mindset, overcoming creativity blocks (and other blocks, too!), modern dating, grief and loss, trauma, ancestry, the wisdom of your body, rewiring your brain, shadow work, childhood memories, and how to stay in love with life when everything seems to be falling apart. *Working with others?* You'll also pick up tools for facilitating groups, using poetry therapy in coaching, and getting your book into the world through traditional publishing (using the tips from our insider!) There will be something for everyone. We'll get you pumped, inspired and full of insights. **No journaling experience required. No perfect handwriting required. Just bring yourself (we'll get a notebook or two for you – we know you'll love it!)** Let’s write it all out 💛 Get your ticket here: [journalingfestival.org](https://journalingfestival.org/festivals/barcelona-journaling-festival/)

Writing and Wine Workshop!

About the Event: This 90 minute creative writing workshop is open to all levels of writers and creatives! You will follow a series of prompts, guided writing activities, and helpful tools to get you unstuck from that writer's block! There will be some group discussions, where participants are encouraged to share their work in progress (not a finished product!) About your Workshop Leader: Kelly Knight is a creative director for artistic events in Barcelona and a creative writing teacher with over a decade of teaching experience. She is a spoken word poetry performer, actor, and published writer, with a background in print journalism. Event Address: Sant Pere Carrer Baixos 10. Cituat Villa 08003. Limited spaces are available, so please reserve with me (Kelly) prior to the event via @kelly_k_writing or WhatsApp+34 675125507. Please don't hesitate to get in touch to ask any questions! *Your €21 ticket price also includes writing materials for the workshop and one glass of wine or one soft drink. More drinks are available to buy at the venue with cash or card. These workshops are designed so that you can come to 1 or multiple events if you wish. Every workshop is different. 4 will be running every 3rd Tuesday of the month September - December 2026. €21 for 1 event. €39 for 2. €58 for 3. €77 for 4. Choose your own dates!

On the Essay - Nonfiction Writing Course in Barcelona

The essay is a famously unruly form, a tangle of the personal and impersonal. Practiced as memoir, reportage, diary, criticism, and sometimes all four at once, its method is unmethodical. No two are ever written in the same way. Over eight weeks, we’ll read writers including Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, Zadie Smith, Patricia Lockwood, John Jeremiah Sullivan, and Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, and practice writing our own essays alongside them. Rather than follow the form chronologically, we’ll move through some of the problems essayists have returned to again and again: describing the sublime, capturing another person, making art from tragedy, and creating change. We’ll read closely, discuss about works and what doesn’t, and pay attention to the choices — of voice, structure, detail, omission — that make an essay come alive. And then we’ll see what happens when we make those choices ourselves. Sign up here: https://www.backstorybookshop.studio/courses

Writing and Wine Workshop!

About the Event: This 90 minute creative writing workshop is open to all levels of writers and creatives! You will follow a series of prompts, guided writing activities, and helpful tools to get you unstuck from that writer's block! There will be some group discussions, where participants are encouraged to share their work in progress (not a finished product!) About your Workshop Leader: Kelly Knight is a creative director for artistic events in Barcelona and a creative writing teacher with over a decade of teaching experience. She is a spoken word poetry performer, actor, and published writer, with a background in print journalism. Event Address: Sant Pere Carrer Baixos 10. Cituat Villa 08003. Limited spaces are available, so please reserve with me (Kelly) prior to the event via @kelly_k_writing or WhatsApp+34 675125507. Please don't hesitate to get in touch to ask any questions! *Your €21 ticket price also includes writing materials for the workshop and one glass of wine or one soft drink. More drinks are available to buy at the venue with cash or card. These workshops are designed so that you can come to 1 or multiple events if you wish. Every workshop is different. 4 will be running every 3rd Tuesday of the month September - December 2026. €21 for 1 event. €39 for 2. €58 for 3. €77 for 4. Choose your own dates!