Italian author Paolo Cognetti will be living and working as a writer-in-residence in Amsterdam from 10 to 30 September, upon invitation by the Dutch Foundation for Literature. During his residency in Amsterdam, Paolo Cognetti will work on his fourth novel and give a series of public lectures and interviews.
Paolo Cognetti (Milan, 1978) is an Italian writer and documentary maker. After completing the film academy, he focused on making documentaries for ten years – most of them about American writers. At the age of thirty, he retreated to a mountain village in the Italian Alps and dedicated himself entirely to writing.
In 2012 his debut novel Sofia si veste sempre di nero was published in Italy, his third and most recent novel The Eight Mountains (originally published in 2016) was the first to be translated into English and meant his global breakthrough. It sold almost 200.000 copies in the Netherlands alone, and was awarded the prestigious Premio Strega award, as well as the Premio Strega Giovani, and is on the shortlist of the Europese Literatuurprijs (‘European Literature Prize’). The rights of the book were sold to over thirty countries worldwide. His second novel The Wild Boy (2013) was published last June in The Netherlands (translated by Yond Boeke and Patty Kroone), translation rights of this novel have been sold to 15 countries.
Public performances
- On Tuesday 11 September Cognetti will speak with Dutch author Tommy Wieringa about the relationship of human beings with their living environment and nature, the desire for solitude but also the need for friendship and companionship. The evening is organised by De Balie and will take place at the DeLaMar Theater in Amsterdam.
- On Friday 14 September Thomas Heerma van Voss will interview Cognetti at bookstore Athenaeum (Roeterseiland) in Amsterdam.
- On Monday 17 September he will participate in a book club on his novel The Wild Boy at the International Literature Festival Utrecht; this same evening his documentary The wrong side of the bridge will be screened in TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, followed by an interview with Cognetti.
- On Tuesday 25 September he will be a guest at Boek & Meester in Rotterdam, where he will be interviewed by Ernest van der Kwast.
All events are English spoken.
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