Since its founding in 2009, John Cabot University's Institute for Creative Writing and Literary Translation has become a thriving community of and for writers in Rome. With workshops in the major genres (fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction) and literary translation, the Institute is the place for creative writing students to spend serious time on their writing as they get to know the Eternal City.
In Summer 2026, the Institute welcomed as Writer in Residence Italian author Andrea Bajani, winner of the Premio Strega, Italy’s most important annual literary prize, for his novel L’anniversario (The Anniversary, Feltrinelli, 2025). Bajani teaches creative writing at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Visit the Admissions page and learn how to apply.
For further information about the Institute for Creative Writing and Literary Translation, please contact the Director, Professor Shannon Russell.
Emily WilsonDate and place: TBA
Emily Wilson is Department Chair and Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, holding the College for Women Class of 1963 Term Professor in the Humanities.
Wilson attended Oxford University (Balliol College BA in Classics and Corpus Christi College MPhil in Renaissance English Literature) and Yale University (PhD in Classics and Comparative Literature). She has been named a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome in Renaissance & Early Modern scholarship, a MacArthur Fellow, and a Guggenheim Fellow. She has published four books on ancient literature, philosophy, and translation, an edited volume on tragedy, and many essays and articles, as well as verse translations of Seneca, Sophocles, Euripides, and Homer.
Join a thriving community of writers at John Cabot University’s Institute for Creative Writing and Literary Translation in the heart of Rome! Since 2009, our program has offered workshops in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and literary translation, making it the perfect place to hone your craft while immersing yourself in the Eternal City.
May 28: Creative Writing Launch Event with Chiara Barzini
June 1: Reading by Alessandro Ceschi from his Prize-Winning Memoir
June 4: Translation and Reading Event with Giovanna Vivinetto and Gabriella Fee
June 9: Master Class for Creative Writing Students with Andrea Bajani
June 10: Poetry Reading by Allison Grimaldi Donahue
June 15: Reading by Writer in Residence Andrea Bajani
June 18: Writer in Residence Talk with Andrea Bajani
June 24: Roman launch of Moira Egan's new book of poetry, The Furies
June 25: Creative Writing Showcase with students and professors
May 29: Opening Event of the Institute: Hollie McNish Spoken Word Poet Event
June 3: Nicole Sealey, Writer in Residence, Reading
June 4: Master class for all Creative Writing students with Writer-in-Residence Nicole Sealey
June 9: Nicole Sealey, Writer's Talk
June 12: Translators' Roundtable with Literary Translators: Enrico Terrinoni (Translator of James Joyce) and Iolanda Plescia (Shakespeare, Virginia Wolf), Moderator: Will Schutt
June 16: David Starkey Reading
June 19: Charmaine Wilkerson Reading
June 26: Closing Event: Creative Writing Showcase
