Project Background
The British Council supports international cultural exchange by creating opportunities for artists, cultural professionals and organisations to build connections, share knowledge and develop lasting relationships between the UK and China.
Bookshops are more than retail spaces. They are cultural platforms that connect writers, translators, editors, publishers and readers, while creating space for ideas, public conversation and community engagement. However, literature professionals in the UK and China often have limited opportunities to spend time within one another’s literary ecosystems, build sector relationships and explore collaboration in context.
Across Lines & Shelves responds to this gap through short, bookshop-supported residencies. By placing literature professionals within host bookshops and connecting them with local literary networks, the programme supports first-hand learning, professional exchange and the development of ideas that can grow into longer-term UK-China partnerships.
The Residency
Across Lines & Shelves is a pilot programme designed to strengthen connections between the UK and mainland China literature sectors. Through an open call, four literature professionals representing literary organisations will be selected: two based in the UK and two based in mainland China.
Each participant will undertake a short residency attached to a host bookshop in the other country. The programme will support two China-based participants to visit the UK and two UK-based participants to visit mainland China. Participants will be matched with host bookshops that can offer relevant local context, networks and sector connections.
During the residency, participants will spend time with the host bookshop, attend relevant literary events, meet writers, translators, publishers, festivals and other sector professionals, and gain insight into the host country’s literary landscape. The residency is intended as a period of research, exchange and relationship-building rather than the production of a finished work.
Each participant will receive a travel grant of up to £3,000 to support return economy travel, six nights’ accommodation, local travel, food and other eligible incidental costs.
Bookshops as Hosts and Connectors
Partner bookshops will act as hosts, connectors and collaborators according to their capacity and areas of interest. They will help participants understand the local literary context, spend time within the bookshop’s programme and operations, and connect with relevant people and organisations. Where appropriate, participants may also observe or take part in events and public programmes during their stay.
The programme also creates an opportunity for participating bookshops to expand international networks, exchange approaches to programming and audience development, and explore future collaboration with literature organisations in the UK and China.
Open Call
Applications will be welcomed from representatives of literary organisations, bookshops, publishers, festivals, cultural venues and other relevant literary-sector platforms based in the UK or mainland China. Applicants should be in a position to represent their organisation and develop future programmes, partnerships or sector-facing initiatives arising from the residency.
The open call is launched now and will close on 17 November 2026, 10 am GMT/6 pm CTS, with residencies completed by 30 June 2027.