Mission Statement
The Reader Berlin is a platform for all writers, offering community, development and support.
Founded by Victoria Gosling in 2011, The Reader Berlin has been hosting creative writing workshops, seminars, readings, and get-togethers for over a decade. Our tutors include award-winning authors and publishing professionals who offer expert insight, advice and encouragement to emerging writers. If you’ve never written before, our tutors are well-versed in helping students to unlock their creativity. If writing is everything to you, then we’d very much like to meet you too. We take writing – but not ourselves – seriously.
Berlin is our home and we’re very much part of the international community of writers here. Writing can be joyous but it is solitary; we aim to bring writers together, to share contacts and build bridges to the publishing industry. Our tutors have taught in MFA programmes, publish books, write for international publications, and contribute to journals and magazines; their guidance and experience are invaluable.
We work with all kinds of writers – from those just starting out to published authors. Our alumni have won awards, started their own magazines, been published in print and online, gone on to undertake Creative Writing MAs and MFAs, and won publishing deals with major publishing houses.
At the Reader, we’re committed to creating a supportive environment for writers from all backgrounds. We believe the fees we charge for our workshops and services fairly reflect the value of what we offer, while also endeavouring to make what we do affordable for as wide a range of writers as possible. Our tutors choose course materials carefully with inclusivity in mind. We stand against racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, and all other forms of discrimination, and have recently instigated a more formal feedback system to make our workshops a safer and more welcoming place.
What started life as a single workshop in the cellar of a Kreuzberg bookshop has evolved to encompass The Berlin Writing Prize, international writing retreats, open mics, book swaps, and much more. At the heart of what we do is the belief that writers can and should help one another, and that with one another’s support we can become better writers.
