Word in Progress (WIP)

WIP stands for “Work In Progress” in Paris, and since 2016, for "Word in Progress" in Luxembourg. Usually, on the second Tuesday of each month, from November to May, WIP Luxembourg invites you to discover three texts in the making and their authors. The idea is simple: come and join us for this special edition and listen to unpublished texts in a friendly atmosphere. After each reading, you can share your impressions with the author and the audience. To help create a dialogue, an “author-killer” stands by the writer and channels the crowd’s passion and discussion.

French, Luxembourgish, German, even English: each Word In Progress is dedicated to one of the country’s spoken language. On July 10, 2021, WIP Luxembourg features 3 English-language authors: Nicolas Calmes, Mary Carey and Amela Skenderović. 

Nicolas Calmes

Two things were key in the development of Nicolas Calmes and his poetry: video games and skateboarding. Young Nicolas explored many a virtual world, of which Tony Hawk’s Underground 2. The game introduced him to skateboarding, which would become a staple in his life. Besides redefining Nicolas’s perception of his environment and sense of self, skateboarding introduced him to punk rock and hip hop. Nicolas writes to a hip hop beat ever since, and his choice of words is characterized by the brutal honesty and inherent criticism of punk mentality. Although he loves to toy around with the drums and the mic, he is neither a trained nor a remotely passable musician. He is currently following a Master’s degree in Art, Literature and Society at Maastricht University. He did a Bachelor in English Studies at the University of Luxembourg.

Awards
- 2nd place Prix Laurence 2016 (The Street of the Castle, published in Prix Laurence – D’Laureaten 2015/2016)
- 1st place Prix Laurence 2017 (What I Did, published in Prix Laurence – D’Laureaten 2016/2017)
- Prix du Public Prix Laurence 2017

Mary Carey 

Mary Elizabeth (Grimbly) Carey, now Dubrulé, hails from Toronto, Canada. Her life shows even more variation than her names. She moved to Luxembourg in 1990, has worked as a journalist and a corporate writer; she started the Creative Writing Club of Luxembourg; right now, she is finishing a novel and thinking about other future projects all involving the one great passion of hers: writing!

Amela Skenderović

Amela Skenderović, a Bosniak author born and raised in Luxembourg, writes about migration, otherness and growing up between two cultures in the Grand-Duchy. When she’s not thinking about writing, she teaches English.