Creative Writing Barcelona

Gypsy Lounge: An Open Mic at [BackStory] Bookshop

**Saturday, May 30th at 1800.** Welcome back to another wonderful event at [Backstory] Bookshop, celebrating great poetry, storytelling, and music! 🎙️Gypsy Lounge isn't just an open mic; it's a vibrant celebration of diversity, creativity, and connection. Whether you're eager to share your newest creation or want to bask in the ambiance of artistic expression, Gypsy Lounge is your sanctuary. We will be signing up artists day of the event. Just come by 15 minutes before 6 pm, on the evening of the open mic. The first 8 artists will get to sign up. Each performer will have 7 minutes to share their work or perform 2 songs. Performance slots are **limited,** so PLEASE come early. Also, this event is **not managed** by BackStory, so if you have any questions, please DM us on our Instagram account @gypsy_loungebcn. Come early to meet new friends 😊. A gentle reminder for our poetry night attendees: The beauty of an open mic is the unpredictability of content. As we do not moderate performer choices, some material may be best suited for adult ears. Those attending with children, please be advised. **Sign Up:** **On arrival, first-come basis.**

Monthly poetry and journaling (May) - Imperfection

✨📖 **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). Together, they invite us to pause, reflect, and connect more deeply with ourselves and the world around us. **Come and spend an evening with poetry, reflection, and gentle creativity**, and discover new dimensions of your life along the way ✨

Celebrating the Year of Gaudí: An Evening with author Gijs van Hensbergen

In 2026, Barcelona marks the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death — a year in which the city has also been designated World Capital of Architecture by UNESCO, placing it at the heart of a global conversation about one of history's most extraordinary creative minds. To celebrate, we are welcoming one of the world's leading authorities on Gaudí and Barcelona's modernist architecture for an evening of conversation, stories and discovery. **Gijs van Hensbergen** is a Dutch art historian, Hispanist and author whose work has brought Gaudí to readers around the world. Trained at the Courtauld Institute of Art, he wrote the first critical biography of Antoni Gaudí, widely praised as the definitive account of the man and his work. He has since written on Gaudí's Sagrada Família for Bloomsbury, appeared on CBS 60 Minutes, BBC Radio 4 and TV3, and lectured at institutions including the Museo del Prado, the National Gallery London and the Reina Sofía. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Times, the Wall Street Journal and El País, among many others. This evening, in conversation with moderator **Nick Lloyd**, Gijs will take us behind the stones and spires — into the life, obsessions and genius of Gaudí, and what it means to be in Barcelona during this once-in-a-century year. Nick Lloyd is a writer, historian, and founder of Spanish Civil War Tours, a project dedicated to bringing the stories of the conflict to life through guided visits to key sites across Catalonia and Aragón. Over the years, his work has helped connect countless visitors with Spain’s complex past, weaving together the political, cultural, and personal dimensions of the war. This event is made possible thanks to ***Seven Dreams of Gaudí***, an ambitious concert project co-created and produced by Renée Cooke, premiering at the Palau de la Música Catalana as part of the Year of Gaudí celebrations. Find out more at [sevendreamsofgaudi.com](http://sevendreamsofgaudi.com/). **[ORDER GIJS BOOKS HERE](https://backstorybookshop.shop/browse?s=Gijs+van+Hensbergen&post_type=product&dgwt_wcas=1)**

Wednesday Write-In @Laie Bookstore

Need some inspiration and/or dedicated writing time for your current WIP? Grab your laptop or notebook and join us at Simply show up at Laie Bookstore (we'll be upstairs). Feel free to jump into working on your own writing project immediately, or wait until the quiet time starting at 5:30. at 5 pm for a bit of writer chat, before diving into an hour and a half of focused writing time. At 7, we head to a nearby bar to discuss how it all went.

Backstory Talks: Seth Insua

**[BUY THE BOOK HERE!](https://backstorybookshop.shop/product/8-lives-of-a-century-old-trickster/)** We're thrilled to welcome Seth Insua to Backstory for an evening dedicated to his debut novel *Human, Animal*. This is a rare chance to hear Seth speak about the book, the writing process, and the stories behind it — followed by an open Q&A where the audience leads the conversation. Come with your questions, your thoughts, and your copy to get signed! ### **About the Author** Seth Insua is an Anglo-Spanish writer and artist, born in Kent in 1989. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a First in English Language and Literature. His debut novel *Human, Animal* was published by VERVE Books in 2025 and by Letras de Plata in Spanish the following year. He lives between Newcastle upon Tyne and Madrid. ### **About the Book** Dairy farmer George Calvert is fighting to keep the family business afloat. Resistant to change, he refuses to face the reality of his failing farm, his elderly mother's declining health, and his troubled relationship with his youngest son Tom. Newly returned from university, Tom is quietly guarding the truth of his gender identity. When animal rights activists break into the cowshed and Tom appears to side with the protesters, father and son lock horns — and a decades-old secret begins to surface. *Human, Animal* is a deeply moving story about a family struggling to find connection in a changing world. A BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick with Sara Cox, shortlisted for the inaugural New Adult Book Prize and for Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, it has been praised by Russell T Davies as "beautifully, skilfully told — remarkable, inspirational writing."

Wednesday Write-In @Laie Bookstore

Need some inspiration and/or dedicated writing time for your current WIP? Grab your laptop or notebook and join us at Simply show up at Laie Bookstore (we'll be upstairs). Feel free to jump into working on your own writing project immediately, or wait until the quiet time starting at 5:30. at 5 pm for a bit of writer chat, before diving into an hour and a half of focused writing time. At 7, we head to a nearby bar to discuss how it all went.

Read, write, discuss, share - theme TBD

Gypsy Lounge: An Open Mic at [BackStory] Bookshop

**Saturday, June 27th at 1800.** Welcome back to another wonderful event at [Backstory] Bookshop, celebrating great poetry, storytelling, and music! 🎙️Gypsy Lounge isn't just an open mic; it's a vibrant celebration of diversity, creativity, and connection. Whether you're eager to share your newest creation or want to bask in the ambiance of artistic expression, Gypsy Lounge is your sanctuary. We will be signing up artists day of the event. Just come by 15 minutes before 6 pm, on the evening of the open mic. The first 8 artists will get to sign up. Each performer will have 7 minutes to share their work or perform 2 songs. Performance slots are **limited,** so PLEASE come early. Also, this event is **not managed** by BackStory, so if you have any questions, please DM us on our Instagram account @gypsy_loungebcn. Come early to meet new friends 😊. A gentle reminder for our poetry night attendees: The beauty of an open mic is the unpredictability of content. As we do not moderate performer choices, some material may be best suited for adult ears. Those attending with children, please be advised. **Sign Up:** **On arrival, first-come basis.**

Book Launch: Thundery At Times - Katie Annice Carr

Join Katie Annice Carr, author of [Moderate Becoming Good Later](https://backstorybookshop.shop/product/moderate-becoming-good-later/), for the launch of [Thundery at Times: Loss, Hope and an Unfinished Kayaking Adventure](https://backstorybookshop.shop/product/thundery-at-times/). Experience captivating readings and stories from this honest, humorous memoir—as seen on BBC Travel Show—tracing her shift from Barcelona motherhood to tackling her late brother Toby's unwritten book and Shipping Forecast kayaking challenge. She confronts grief, identity shifts, and inelegant paddles to uncover resilience, joy in nature and a sense of hope in adversity. Enjoy the storytelling and Q&A.

poENtry Slam - Poetry Slam in English in Barcelona

We are back on Thursday the 28th of May at our new 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-2026-05-28-20-00) 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 8€ (At the door 10€) **Tickets via the BCN studio only, or 10€ at the door. More info and tickets Link on our Instagram account and website.**

Disparador de escritura creativa. Martes

¡Bienvenido a nuestro **taller disparador de relato corto** de los martes! No importa si tienes experiencia o si acabas de empezar. Todo lo que necesitas es algo para escribir y ganas de pasar un rato agradable compartiendo tu pasión por la escritura. El moderador planteará una consigna y dará entre 20 y 30 minutos con el objetivo de que estructures un relato (poema, reflexión, ensayo...). Después cada participante leerá su texto en voz alta y lo comentaremos entre todos. Una manera divertida de mantener en forma el «músculo» creativo y de encontrar tu propia voz literaria, mientras aprendemos unos de otros. Taquilla inversa. Se paga según la satisfacción.

Disparador de escritura creativa. Martes

¡Bienvenido a nuestro **taller disparador de relato corto** de los martes! No importa si tienes experiencia o si acabas de empezar. Todo lo que necesitas es algo para escribir y ganas de pasar un rato agradable compartiendo tu pasión por la escritura. El moderador planteará una consigna y dará entre 20 y 30 minutos con el objetivo de que estructures un relato (poema, reflexión, ensayo...). Después cada participante leerá su texto en voz alta y lo comentaremos entre todos. Una manera divertida de mantener en forma el «músculo» creativo y de encontrar tu propia voz literaria, mientras aprendemos unos de otros. Taquilla inversa. Se paga según la satisfacción.