Our story
In the winter of 2019, a small group of writers came together to start a regular group where we give each other feedback. Hailing from different backgrounds and age groups, and writing in different genres (from poetry, through travelogues, to novels and short stories), we managed to find kinship and a sense of a creative family. Our group of 10 or so writers meet bi-weekly in the café of Hotel L'Esperance in the centre of Brussels (during the pandemic, we met online). Having recognised that Brussels hides many more creative souls looking for a harbour, we decided to start the Wordcraft Collective
WHO WE ARE
KATJA KNEŽEVIĆ
Poetry instructor and Co-founder
Katja Knežević is an award-winning poet and short story writer. She holds a Master’s degree in English and French literature. In 2012, she won the 'Sea of Words' literary competition organised by IEMed and the Anna Lindh Foundation with her short story, 'Invisible mother'. In 2014 she won the Croatian national Young Poet Laureate award, with the manuscript “Birches made of glass”. The collection was subsequently published in April 2015. She writes in English and Croatian. Her poetry and prose have appeared in anthologies such as 2019 Brussels Writers' Circle and So Long as You Write, as well as literary magazines Tether's End, Thimble, Popshot Magazine and Molecule Lit Mag.
MATILDA SEVÓN
Co-founder
Matilda Sevón is a Finnish writer based in Belgium. She is working on a middle-grade fantasy novel about the power of words, and also occasionally writes crime fiction. She has participated in several writing courses, and regularly reads articles and listens to podcasts about writing. She is particularly interested in the interplay between characterisation and story structure. She is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She has a Master's degree in philosophy and works in communications at a Think Tank in Brussels. She can be found on Bluesky at @tuulimatilda.bsky.social.
CAROL VALLET
Co-founder
Carol Vallet is a French/Brit based in Brussels. She teaches Primary school children and frequently creates class projects inspired by well-known children’s authors. Encouraging children to read and write is her day to day and she writes short stories based on life experience in her free time. She has lived in Britain, France, Japan and Italy and her writing is often inspired by these places.
COLETTE VICTOR
Creative writing and storytelling instructor and Co-founder
Colette Victor is an award-winning author whose works include Head Over Heart (Chicken House, 2013) and What to do with Lobsters in a place like Klippiesfontein (Cargo Publishing, 2015). In 2018, Colette won the BBC World Service & British Council International Radio Playwriting Competition for her radio play, By God’s Mercy. She was an Imison Award 2020 shortlistee for best original script by a writer new to radio for the same play. She earned her MA degree in Creative Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2019. She’s an experienced writer of many years and a trained creative writing teacher. Colette has extensive experience in coaching new writers, teaching workshops, organising writers’ retreats and giving constructive criticism.
EMMA WOODFORD
Co-founder
Emma Woodford is a Belgian/Brit who is passionate about reading and writing poetry and hosting the occasional poetry workshop. She is a Gingko Environmental Prize runner up and has been published in online journals such as Quarter(ly) and Academy of the Heart and Mind. Emma is an active member of Poets for the Planet and often writes nature poems as well as poetry about family, travel and belonging/not belonging. Emma lives in Flanders with her Dutch/Belgian family and works in a different Brussels think tank than the other co-founders.