Collective residencies / CATALAN PEN international residencies for young writers. Third edition / Olot
SZYMON OPRYSZEK
From Monday, 2 June 2025 to Monday, 9 June 2025
Bio
Szymon Opryszek is an independent reporter and author of books. Author of the reporter series "My crime is my passport" awarded the Pen of Hope by Amnesty International. He specializes in Latin America, migration, human trafficking and the climate crisis.
Project
"For centuries, Europe has been a center of science, culture and knowledge. It exported ideas, laws, governance, and excess manpower across the continent. Today, Europe is in crisis. It became a fortress of paradoxes, strongly guarded against the «invader». But nobody asks the question where the phenomenon of mass migrations came from and what impact the policy of broadly understood Europe had on it". In his series of articles, Szymon Opryszek would like to show "Europe's schizophrenia on a few specific socio-economic phenomena".
My experience in Olot as a resident was great. First of all, I had great conditions in the hotel to focus on my work, the surrounding nature and bike trails were conducive to work. The availability of bikes and a swimming pool meant that I could relax from work in an active way, which is not common at other literary residencies. I don't see any disadvantages and I felt very well taken care of the whole time. The residency was very well organized: the time devoted to mentoring meetings and free time were super coordinated.