Berlin, January 15th, 2026
Dear literary freelancers,
The schreiben&leben consultation programme was launched in autumn 2016. For almost ten years now, we have been offering you free individual consultations on all topics related to freelance literary work, and the Industry Meetup Literature will also be entering its tenth round in May. In addition, the Berlin Literature Calendar, the literaturstadt.berlin website, the joint ticketing system, occasional info-sessions, group consultations, and, last but not least, our newsletter are all part of our project as a source of information for freelance literary workers.
What you don’t normally need to worry about: schreiben&leben relies on on project funding from the European Union and the Berlin Senate, which is approved for three years at a time. Every three years, we submit a new funding application, and only continuous successful work increases the chances of renewed funding. If the application is approved, a new project begins, further developing our tried and tested services, as well as adding new components.
“schreiben&lebenPLUS” ends at the end of January 2026 – and in February, “schreiben&lebenExTRA – Sharing expertise, building resilience” begins.
On the one hand, we are doing everything we can to ensure that the transition goes smoothly for you. However, there is a small gap in the consultation calendar—unfortunately, no individual consultations will be possible until around mid-February.
On the other hand, we are using the opportunity of the project change to not simply continue as before. With new enthusiasm and a fresh perspective, we are trying to further develop our services. Below, I will give you an insight into what will change and, ideally, improve.
Sun and moon: industry meetup and winter school
The annual Industry Meetup: Literature, which takes place in May, continues to enjoy great popularity among participants. Until now, it has been everything in one: a networking venue, a forum for cultural policy discussions, a project bazaar, but also a place to improve one’s professional expertise in workshops and lectures. The programme has become so dense and full (sometimes with three events happening at once!) that we have decided to spread it out and turn it into two events: The industry meetup (which takes place this year on the 7-9 May) will now focus more on networking and exchange. Proven formats such as the Barcamp and speed matching will continue to have their place here. In addition, the Winter School, a two-day event with longer workshops, will take place for the first time on November 6 and 7, 2026. The Winter School will take an in-depth look at digitality, AI, and other topics that literary freelancers have to constantly adapt to, which was not possible at the industry meeting. Literary freelancers will thus enter the darker months with fresh inspiration and newly acquired, in-depth knowledge.
We believe that both formats will complement each other perfectly.
Knowledge all year round: New webinar series
New input will not only be available twice a year in the future: a new series of 90-minute webinars on career-related topics will ensure that you can acquire useful skills and qualifications even when there is no industry meetup or winter school coming up. The webinar format will ensure that even more literary freelancers will have the opportunity to participate in our programmes in the future.
News from the advice centre: Open group consultation and info bytes
As many of you have noticed, our individual consultation programme is enjoying steadily growing popularity. The downside is that consultation sessions are often quickly booked up and long waiting lists arise. Unfortunately, our financial and time capacities are limited, so we cannot increase the number of individual consultation sessions indefinitely. In order to be able to offer our services to as many people as possible in the future, we will be holding open group consultations at the beginning of each month in our office in Berlin-Schöneberg. Here, many typical questions on career-related topics can be answered, so that you no longer have to wait forever for an individual consultation appointment. Very specific questions can still be clarified in individual consultations.
For topics that are of interest to many, such as current stipend/grant announcements, we are planning “Info-Bytes”: introductory short presentations followed by a Q&A session. More in-depth questions can then be clarified in individual consultation appointments at a later date.
Second round of mentoring
In mid-2026, our mentoring programme for people affected by classism will enter its second round. Once again, five authors will have the opportunity to receive intensive support and coaching from an experienced mentor for one year. Feedback from the first round of the programme was very positive, but the programme will be further developed in many details. If you don’t want to miss the call for applications, subscribe to the schreiben&leben newsletter.
SuL on the go: The new schreiben&leben podcast
Last but not least, we want to share the collective expertise of our consultants and other successful literary freelancers in the form of a regular podcast. In particular, we want to address frequently asked questions and challenges faced by young professionals in order to make their first years in the literary professions easier.
We hope that with our new and existing services, we will be able to meet your needs for professional support and assistance even better than before, so that you can navigate the turbulent times in our industry with strength and resilience!
Warm regards,
Moritz, Selma, Laura and Magda
(The schreiben&leben team)
PS: We are always open to your feedback. Please feel free to share your opinion with us, either in the anonymous feedback forms following our events and consultations, or by email at any time.
Header image (c) Natalia Reich
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