About us
To write, one needs a room of one's own, but writing does not have to be a solitary activity. The Wordcraft Collective is a community of Brussels-based authors writing in English. It is a place for poets, novelists and storytellers, for everyone with a creative spark and an itch to compose with language. Through regular writing sessions, workshops by experienced instructors, and other social events, we aim to provide a place where you can hone your skills, share frustrations and exchange ideas.
Upcoming events
19
Festival of form: interactive poetry workshop
Pianofabriek, Rue du Fort 35, Saint-Gilles, BEThis is a paid workshop. Please register via the website.
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Writing poetry in form can seem overwhelming to people trying poetry for the first time, and even seasoned poets. Strangely enough, writing to form can be a form of liberation. Stanza structure, rhyme and rhythm create a point of focus, liberating the brain to find inventive ways of expression within the restrictions. The Festival of Form is dedicated to finding new ways of learning and creativity via traditional poetic forms.The three facilitators, all experienced poets, create a festive atmosphere of fun and investigation based on a market place idea with one poet at each stall that participants can visit and try out new or polish existing skills. No experience of writing poetry or knowledge about poetic forms needed, all will be revealed on the day.
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AGENDA⭐15.30-16:00 Three poets introduce the three forms: Emma Woodford - Ghazal, Laura Davis - Sonnet, Julia Rose Lewis - Sevenling.
⭐16.00-17:00 Market Stalls (participants should be able to visit 2 stalls and spend 30 minutes on each)
Stall 1 Sonnet
The sonnet has been around for 700 years. It’s a great way to explore emions. It includes a change in thought and ends with a change in perspective.
Stall 2 Sevenling
The sevenling form helps newer writers learn to write turns into their poems. It has been described as a poem with a twist as it explores contrasting ideas.Stall 3 Ghazal
This ancient poetic form was originally a love poem and comes from ancient Persian, Hindi and other Asian poetic traditions. The ghazal (prounounced guzzle) themes include loss oronging and is a powerful form for expressing both concern and joy.
⭐17.00-17:30 Group discussion, sharing and conclusion
OPTIONAL
⭐18.00 to 20.00 Brussels Camarade in the Arenberg room
The Brussels Camarade is a perfect follow-up to the Festival of Form as it celebrates collaborative poetry. Workshop participts are invited to watch a band of poets from Belgium and the UK perform poems written for this occasion.
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FACILITATORS:
Laura Davis is a poet who works across media. Her latest pamphlet Frayed Edges (Femmesocial Press, 2026) combines an essay with text and textile poems. She curatese Brussels Camarade. She once knitted a sonnet IG: @lauradavis1709
Julia Rose Lewis is the author of eight poetry collections, the most recent of which is Traumatism (Knives Forks Spoons Press 2026). IG: @lilysbarnmate
Emma Woodford is a British Belgian poet whose first pamphlet, Wingless I Watch was published in 2024. IG: @hibouemma
3 attendees
Bad characters, good fiction
Pianofabriek, Rue du Fort 35, Saint-Gilles, BEThis is a paid workshop. Please register via the website.
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Some of fiction’s most compelling characters are not particularly nice people. They lie, manipulate, betray, behave selfishly, make terrible choices – and yet we keep turning the page.In this 2.5-hour fiction workshop, we’ll explore what makes morally complicated and unlikeable characters work. How do you make a reader care about someone without making that character good? How can contradiction, selfishness, cruelty and self-justification give a character depth rather than simply make them unpleasant? And what happens when a writer makes the reader understand – or even sympathise with – behaviour they would normally condemn?
Through short writing exercises, discussion and practical examples, we’ll experiment with techniques for creating characters who are flawed, contradictory and difficult to judge. We’ll look at character motivation, moral ambiguity, reader sympathy and complicity, and at the gap between how characters see themselves and how others see them.
You’ll write throughout the evening, beginning with short exercises and building towards a longer piece in which you’ll put some of these ideas into practice. We’ll finish with an optional read-out, where participants can share a favourite line or short extract from something they’ve written during the workshop.
Taught by the award-winning writer and experienced teacher, Colette Victor.
You don’t need to arrive with a character or story already in mind, and no previous fiction-writing experience is required. Come prepared to create some badly behaved people.
2 attendees
Past events
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