Welcome to Hald

Since 1999, the Danish Centre for Writers and Translators has offered Danish authors, translators and illustrators free working residencies at the old manor Hald Hovedgaard, situated 10 kilometres from the town of Viborg, in the middle of Denmark.

Each year 220-240 Danish authors, translators and illustrators spend usually one or two weeks in working residency in one of the main building’s 8 rooms or in one of the separate, little houses known as “The Blacksmith’s House” or “The Chapel”.

Hald Hovedgaard has established itself fundamentally as a centre for Danish authors and translators, but writers from abroad have also found their way to Hald.

These foreign authors have either come to Hald in connection with proper writers’ retreats like The Danish-American Writers’ Retreat that was held in May 2007, or in connection with author and translator exchange programs such as Baltic Ring III.

Inviting foreign writers to Hald has proven to be a fruitful experience. It is always inspiring for Danish authors to meet colleagues from other countries and other cultures; and what better way than to live next door to them for a week or two in the beautiful setting of the old manor that houses the centre?

Likewise, it is good for writers from abroad to visit Denmark and learn something about Danish writers and Danish literature. 

The summer of 2009 we saw the launching of the program “International Residency for Writers at Hald”, called H.A.L.D. (Housing Authors & Literature, Denmark).

The H.A.L.D. programme was successfully repeated in 2010-2016.

In March 2019 a new, international summer residency programme, Among the Danes, was announced.

Further information on this program is found here: http://haldhovedgaard.dk/among-the-danes

The Among the Danes programme was due to the Covid-19 situation cancelled in 2020 and 2022, but successfully continued in 2022 and will also be continued in 2023.

The Call for applications for Among the Danes 2023 is planned to be announced January 13 2023.