EWC BOARD & Team

Sebastià Portell, EWC PRESIDENT (interim)

I believe in literature and culture as a form of conversation, and we have the responsibility to help ensure that this conversation takes place under the best possible conditions, with all its complexity and all its nuances, in a context of equity and full freedom of expression.

Sebastià Portell 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.

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.

Conor Kostick, Board Member
… is Writer, Historian and Disputes Officer for the Irish Writers Union.

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.

Nicole Pfister Fetz, Secretary-General

Doing the rights thing since 1977, the slogan of the EWC, is my guiding principle as Secretary General. Defending human writers and the value of human created works is crucial in these times. Therefore, I am dedicating 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.

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.