The writers’ residence in the guest house of Zsolnay Cultural Quarter has been welcoming authors since 2021. Debüt Prize-winner Lea Nagy arrived in Pécs in July, and she was immediately struck by the elegance of the city. She wrote several poems and produced a number of video recordings. She was followed by László Kürti (both Kürti and Nagy are KMI 12 authors), who likewise found the Cultural Quarter inspiring and wrote many poems, much to his readers’ delight. Among the KMI authors, Laura Iancu was the third writer of residence. She only spent a week in Pécs, but she was able to take full advantage of the chance to work in a peaceful atmosphere.

Dramatist and novelist Ákos Németh spent a week in August and another in September at the Writers’ Residence in Pécs. He has had a long work relationship with the National Theater of Pécs and the Bóbita Puppet Theater, and he has served as a member of the jury for the Pécs National Theater Festival several times. During his stay in Pécs this time, he was finishing a screenplay, and he also wrote some fiction.

Zoltán Szalay came to stay at the Writers’ Residence in Pécs from Dunajská Streda in Slovakia. He was going to visit last year, but his plans fell through due to the pandemic.  It is a lucky coincidence that the Pécs Litliterary festival was held during his stay in Pécs, so he also made an appearance at the event. His new volume, Senki Háza [No Man’s Land] was launched at the Holiday Book Week, and he talked about it at the PécsLit festival in conversation with Zoltán Ágoston, editor-in-chief of Jelenkor.

Rebecca Salentin, another writer in residence in Pécs, arrived from Dresden. Much as Lea Sauer had done the previous year, she participated in the PestText program. Salentin, who used to run a café and bring up her children, changed the course of her life at the age of 40, when she sold the café and decided to dedicate her life to writing and organizing literary events. Her travelogue Klub Drushba, which offers a narrative of a journey she took of 2,700 kilometers lasting four and a half months, was published this year. The journey led through countries of the former Soviet bloc, from Eisenach to Budapest. Officially, Salentin was the thirteenth person who was able to finish the journey (nota bene alone and on foot), which was established in 1983.