58th International Writers’ Meeting, Bled, Slovenia: NEVER AGAIN – LITERATURE IN MEMORY
PEN Slovenia, in cooperation with the PEN International Writers for Peace Committee, will organise the 58th International Writers’ Meeting in Bled, Slovenia, taking place from 13 to 16 April 2026.
The meeting will centre on the PEN International Writers for Peace Committee, whose General Assembly will be held on 14 April 2026 (9.00–17.00 CET) at Hotel Park, Bled, in a hybrid format, allowing both in-person and online participation.
The public programme will take place on 15 April in Sežana, the birthplace of Slovenian poet Srečko Kosovel, and will feature public round tables and discussions. The final day, 16 April, will focus on young voices and the centenary of Slovene PEN, with events held at the National and University Library in Ljubljana. The 13th Faces of Peace Festival will take place on 15–16 April 2026.
Programme overview
• 13 April – Arrival of delegates (Bled)
• 14 April – Writers for Peace Committee General Assembly; evening opening ceremony and reception (Bled)
• 15 April – Round tables in Sežana: Never Again – Memory in Literature; AI – Erasure or Redesign of Humanity?; evening literary-musical event
• 16 April – Morning in Bled; afternoon transfer to Ljubljana; round table Young Voices Across Borders: Literature as Activism
• 17 April – Departure of delegates
Round table themes
• Never Again – Memory in Literature: literature as witness to past and present atrocities, resistance to war, memory, identity, and the power of words against violence.
• AI – Erasure or Redesign of Humanity?: artificial intelligence, power, democracy, freedom of expression, and the future of the human voice in literature.
• Young Voices Across Borders: Literature as Activism: literary activism, freedom of expression in the digital age, multilingualism, and international collaboration among young writers.
A Bled Meeting Anthology 2026 will be published. Written contributions (maximum 4,000 characters including spaces) are welcome in English, French, Spanish, or Slovenian, in any literary form related to the three themes. Deadline: 1 March 2026.
The registration fee (without accommodation) is €250, covering catering, local travel during the meeting, conference materials, and organisational costs. Online participation is free of charge. Special accommodation rates have been secured at Hotel Park, Bled.
Registration and hotel booking will close on 15 March 2026 (online only).
The meeting will be held under the honorary patronage of H.E. Mrs Urška Klakočar Zupančič, President of the Parliament of the Republic of Slovenia. Further programme details will follow soon.
We look forward to welcoming you in Bled or online.
Germán Rojas
Chair, PEN International Writers for Peace Committee
Vice-President, PEN Chile
Tanja Tuma
President, Slovene PEN
Vice-Chair, PEN International Board
Neja Repe
Coordinator, Slovene PEN Office