Literature Ireland, in association with the Belgrade Irish Festival, is delighted to announce Ben Keatinge as the 2026 Irish Writer-in-Residence in Belgrade, Serbia. Ben will spend a period of five weeks living in the Serbian capital, during which time he will develop a sequence of poems inspired by the life and research of Serbian-American engineer and inventor, Nikola Tesla.
Announcing the award, Sinéad Mac Aodha, director of Literature Ireland, said: ‘We are delighted to offer this special residency to Ben Keatinge, a poet who already has a creative connection with the Balkans. We wish him and his host, festival director Jas Kaminski, an inspiring and fruitful experience.’
Ben has a long-running relationship with the Balkans. From 2007 to 2016, he taught English literature at the University of North Macedonia, and since then, much of his creative work has centred on the history and geography of the region. During his residency, Ben will be given a unique opportunity to immerse himself in the rich cultural offerings of Serbia, and participate in the vibrant community attached to the annual Belgrade Irish Festival.
Ben Keatinge
Ben Keatinge was born in Dublin in 1973 and educated at the School of English, Trinity College Dublin. He won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 2022 and received a Dedalus Press Poetry Mentorship in 2021. His poems have been featured in The Irish Times, Irish Independent, and Poetry Ireland Review, as well as several anthologies. From 2007 to 2016, he worked as a university lecturer, teaching English literature in North Macedonia while studying Macedonian and travelling extensively. He was also an International Research Fellow at the New Europe College, Bucharest in 2015. In 2025, he was named joint-winner of the Ireland Chair of Poetry inaugural pamphlet competition with his Balkan sequence, Waiting for Goran at the Broz Café.
Posted to News on 18 Feb 2026.