#FreeAllWords: International Text and Translation Fund of the European Writers‘ Council (EWC) gives a voice to authors from Belarus and Ukraine
Grażyna Plebanek, President
Grażyna Plebanek is a member and co-founder of the Literary Union, an association of Polish authors. She is a novelist, screenwriter, author of literary essays and short stories. She has written filmscripts in France and Poland for Netflix, Canal Plus, and ARTE. She has won several prizes for her plays. “Black Lights” based on her text had its premiere at the Avignon Theatre Festival (2023). Plebanek publishes in Polish, English, French, Dutch, Vietnamese and soon also in German. She has regular columns in the biggest Polish newspapers: daily “Gazeta” and weekly “Polityka”. A native of Warsaw, she lived in Stockholm for 5 years, since 2005 she has been living in Brussels.
EWC BOARD & Team
Maïa Bensimon, Vice President
We are at a time when authors should be strongly united to face major technology changes and protect their ART rights (Authorisation, Remuneration and Transparency) and all humans rights, first and foremost freedom of expression.
Maïa Bensimon, raised in a family of teachers and art lovers, is highly attached to Culture and Education. She has worked as an attorney for 10 years in the field of intellectual property rights, before starting advocating for authors as in-house counsel for the French Societe des Gens de Lettres (www.sgdl.org) since 2015, then for the French federation of authors in the Book Sector (www.conseilpermanentdesecrivains.org) as secretary general, then for EWC, as Vice President since 2019. She has published a little more than a dozen articles on intellectual property related issues.
Monika Pfundmeier, Vice President (2nd)
“Courage creates future. There is no future but the one we shape. Words are the very first to spark thoughts, inspire and build a base for future concepts. Our/Writers‘ words & work create value and enable profits. Facing the challenges especially towards cuts into creators rights, digitalisation and Machine Generated Output /AI its crucial to protect our minds, work and us against exploitation to be able to keep our ability to shape with our work A and OUR better future.
Monika Pfundmeier is publishing as a German Writer since 2016 and was awarded for her second book as „one of the strongest voices of Germanys young contemporary literature“. She joined German Authors’ Association – VS/Verband dt. Schriftstellerinnen und Schriftsteller. Also the Association of German Crime Writers SYNDIKAT e.V. as part of the board and started to work on improving Authors Rights. EWC Board Member since 2023).
In her past she managed as a consultant projects in finance and IT, improving /designing working and production processes, lead change management projects.
Claus Ankersen, Board Member
We are at a crossroad. Books, reading, poetry and literature have never been more important as critical infrastructure of the future. And if we want human-made poetry and literature, we need to take care of the poets and the writers, secure artistic freedom of speech, facilitate excellent working conditions, socially and economically. Observe strict opt-in authorization, remuneration and transparency in relation to AI and streaming.
It is time to focus on the writer. To put the writer in front. To acknowledge the penultimate importance of the penned word and its creators is to acknowledge the human flame. No writers no books.
Claus Ankersen is a writer, poet, artist, performer, literary activist, and translator from Denmark. He writes bilingually and works internationally, having performed his poetry at literature festivals in more than 20 countries around the world. He is the author of 19 books, and selected material has seen translation into Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Czech, Ukrainian, Romanian, German, Urmurt, Bulgarian, English, Uzbek, Spanish, Malayalam, Chinese, Macedonian, Greek and Turkish. He has contributed to various international anthologies as well as published full collections of original poetry in Ukraine (2016), India (2018, 2021), and Romania (2019). His latest book is the novel, Dø død, lev liv / Die death, live life (2025).
Claus holds a degree in Anthropology from University of Copenhagen and have served as President of Danish Authors of Fiction and Poetry since 2022. He is a founding member of the international poet network, Poets of The Planet (POP).
Photo credit: Kim Wendt
Eystein Hanssen
Board Member since 2019, Vice President 2021-2025 supports the project of Freeallwords – text and translation fund established by EWC to support Belarusian and Ukrainian writers.
Conor Kostick, Board Member
The EWC has done amazing work to benefit writers worldwide and I welcome the opportunity to give back some time and energy to the organisation on behalf of the Irish writers. If not for the EWC, Ireland would not have a PLR scheme and individual Irish authors have also gained enormously in contract negotiations from being able to cite EU laws influenced by the EWC .
In a world that is growing dark – from environmental hardship, the rise of fascism, and the encroachment of AI – there are communities who represent hope. I believe writers’ organisations provide a hopeful, positive community and are important not only for the day-to-day interests of writers but for all of society.
Sebastià Portell, Board Member (since 2025)
… is a Catalan writer and translator. Author of the novels Les altures (2022, shortlisted for the Òmnium Award for Best Novel of the Year), Ariel i els cossos (2018) and El dia que va morir David Bowie (2016, Time Out Barcelona Award for Artist of the Year). He has also written short stories, theater plays and several non-fiction books, and curated Amors sense casa (2018), the first anthology of Catalan LGBTQ poetry. His works have been translated into Galician, Italian and Spanish.
Nicole Pfister Fetz, Secretary-General
“Doing the rights thing since 1977, the slogan of the EWC, will also be my future guiding principle. In times of upcoming generative Informatics as so-called AI, it becomes more important to defend writers and their human created contents. I am ready to dedicate my passion and my political skills to serve and promote the needs and interests of European writers.”
Nicole Pfister Fetz has a University degree in history of art and history. She has published numerous articles in the fields of the history of art, cultural studies and the politics of literature and is a guest lecturer at various universities and colleges – among others, for cultural lobbying at the University of Basel. She has established and maintains cultural-political and interdisciplinary networks on a regional, national, and international level, brings in broad knowledge of cultural support and promotion and is experienced in leadership and management. Also, her scientific and journalistic activities are clear benefits.
Nina George, President of Honor, Commissioner of Political Affairs
… is a multiple-awarded and international bestselling novelist. As the Political Commissioner of the EWC, she focuses on intellectual property rights, the digital economy and the importance of writers’ work for society, democracy and opinion forming. In 2022, she was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for her honorary work in the field of literary politics.
Zsuzsánna Dóczy, Coordinator, EWC Secretariat
Please contact Mrs. Dóczy for all requests concerning the EWC
Board 2025-2027 at one glance
Grażyna Plebanek: President
Maïa Bensimon: 1st Vice President (re-elected, Vice President 2021-2025)
Monika Pfundmeier: 2nd Vice President (since 2023 Board Member 2023-2025)
Members of Board:
Claus Ankersen (since 2025)
Eystein Hanssen (re-elected, Part of the Board since 2021, 2nd Vice President since 2023-2025),
Conor Kostick (since 2025)
Sebastià Portell (since 2025)
Secretary General: Nicole Pfister Fetz.
Coordinator EWC: Zsuzsánna Dóczy.
Commissioner for Political Affairs: Nina George (since 2023)
Presidents of Honour
Nina George, President of Honour, Commissioner of Political Affairs
… is a multiple-awarded and international bestselling novelist. As the Political Commissioner of the EWC, she focuses on intellectual property rights, the digital economy and the importance of writers’ work for society, democracy and opinion forming. In 2022, she was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for her honorary work in the field of literary politics.
Miguel Ángel Serrano, President of Honour
… is an awarded Spanish poet, novelist, and essayist. He has a lasting career as a consultant in communications and strategy. Mr. Serrano has a Ph. D. in Economic Sciences and Business Administration. He is an expert in stakeholder analysis and strategy. He has been Secretary General of Asociación Colegial de Escritores de España for five years, and Vice President of EWC from 2021 to 2023, President 2023-2025.