agenda

Writer in residence programme 2018

Hugh Aldersey-Williams as WiR in Amsterdam

2 December 2018 - 15 January 2019

British author, journalist and scientist Hugh Aldersey-Williams will be living and working as a writer-in-residence in Amsterdam from 2 December 2018 to 15 January 2019, upon invitation by the Dutch Foundation for Literature. During his residency in Amsterdam, Aldersey-Williams will do research for his new book Dutch Light (working title), about the life and work of Dutch Golden Age astronomer, mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens.

Hugh Aldersey-Williams (1959) studied natural sciences at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of several bestselling books exploring science, design and architecture and has curated exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Wellcome Collection.

Work

His book Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements was a Sunday Times bestseller and has been published in many languages around the world. In 2016 his latest book Tide. The Science and Lore of the Greatest Force on Earth appeared, a cultural history of notable tidal episodes in history, from Caesar’s thwarted invasion of Britain to the catastrophic flooding of Venice, and interwoven with a rich folklore.

Public interview

On Wednesday 9 January 2019 Fabian Kraemer and Hugh Aldersey-Williams will talk on Christiaan Huygens and the culture of ‘popular’ science in Amsterdam. The interview starts at 17.00 and is English spoken. Free entrance but reservations are necessary. Please sign up via the Spui25 website.

More information