The Heaney-Miłosz Residency
A celebration of the friendship of Czesław Miłosz and Seamus Heaney
The Heaney–Miłosz Residency aims to support writers, who are at the early to mid-stages of their careers.
The residency provides writers with the space and time to develop their work in the beautiful surroundings of Kraków city.
Literature programme
The residency is a collaboration between the Estate of Seamus Heaney, Kraków Festival Office (KBF) – operator of the Kraków UNESCO City of Literature programme, and the Irish Embassy in Poland.
The Heaney – Miłosz Residency celebrates the friendship between the two Nobel Laureates, Seamus Heaney and Czesław Miłosz.
Commitment to human rights
Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1980, Miłosz is one of Poland's most renowned writers, with whom Seamus Heaney forged a deep friendship.
The works of both authors grow out of difficult experiences of conflict and adversity, and they are also linked by a commitment to dignity and human rights.
>> Read Seamus Heaney's affinity with Poland remembered on RTÉ.ie.
2023 Heaney-Miłosz writer-in-residence
Alice Lyons
Irish poet, Alice Lyons was selected for the first edition of the Heaney-Miłosz Residency in 2023.
“Kraków is a place where arts, culture and intellectual life are really valued, with no shame about it”.
2025 Heaney-Miłosz writer-in-residence