Who we are
Annejet van der Zijl
Sonny Boy
‘Sonny Boy’, the title of an Al Jolson song from 1928, was the nickname given to Waldemar Nods and Rika van der Lans’ little boy. 1928 was the year their impossible love began, a love they kept alive against all the odds. The contrast could not have been greater: Waldemar was a seriousminded black student from Paramaribo in Surinam, not yet twenty, son of a gold prospector and grandson of a woman who had yet to free herself from the chains of slavery; Rika was the daughter of a Catholic potato wholesaler, warm-hearted and obstinate, a married mother of four, approaching forty when they met. She was his landlady. When he moved in she had only just left her husband and was penniless, living with her children in a tiny rented apartment in The Hague.
Jurriën Hamer
Waarom schurken pech hebben en helden geluk
For centuries philosophers have debated the existence of free will. Biologists and neurologists have declared it an illusion for decades. The evidence against free will grows with every year: we are a product of our genes, our history and our surroundings. And yet this myth seems to hold more influence than ever – in our criminal justice system, our economy and our quest for happiness.
Iki Freud
Men and Mothers
A book for and about sons but also for the mothers of those sons. Where Sigmund Freud once described the way men interacted with their fathers, Iki Freud turns her gaze to their mothers. Sons can also develop a symbiotic bond with their female parent. This leads to identification with the mother instead of the father and is often correlated with either homosexuality, or sexual perversion – which is problematic when it becomes compulsive and exclusive.
Maxim Februari
Give us a break
In liberal democracies, human behaviour is regulated by the justice system. This way of establishing and maintaining norms is now being replaced with data-driven technologies in the rush to meet simultaneous crises. Written with erudition and wit, 'Give Us a Break', by judicial philosopher Maxim Februari, examines how this digitalization is rapidly transforming democracy, basic rights and the rule of law in practice.
Translation Database
NEWS - 14.01.2024
Ronelda S. Kamfer as writer in residence
The Dutch Foundation for Literature is pleased to welcome Ronelda S. Kamfer to Amsterdam, where she will reside as a writer-in-residence for three months. Kamfer is one of today’s most significant South African writers.
NEWS - 12.12.2023
Translation Grants
As a result of the fifth and sixth meeting of 2023, 86 grants were awarded to foreign publishers of Dutch literature. The translation grants are intended for the translation of Dutch graphic novel, fiction, children’s books, non-fiction and poetry. In total € 272.957 has been granted for the translation of the following titles:
NEWS - 27.11.2023
Peirene Stevns Prize 2024
Attention translators: the Peirene Stevns Prize 2024 is now open for translators from Dutch to English. The prize is part of Peirene Press, an independent publisher of new voices and stories from across the world, publishing books from 25 countries and 20 different languages. This year’s prize is aimed at emerging translators from Dutch to English.
NEWS - 23.08.2023
Romkje de Bildt new managing director
On 1 November, Romkje de Bildt becomes the new managing director of the Dutch Foundation for Literature. She succeeds Tiziano Perez, who announced in April that he will be leaving after ten years at the head of the national cultural foundation.