News

Nachoem Wijnberg wins P.C. Hooft Prize

16 December 2017 - Awards, Authors and General

Poet Nachoem Wijnberg will receive the P.C. Hooft Prize, one of the most prestigious prizes for literature in the Netherlands, on 24 May 2018. According to the jury, reading Wijnberg is “to enter a sharp way of thinking in a flawless and dangerous language.” The annual award, worth 60.000 euros, is alternately awarded for prose (fiction), essays (non-fiction) or poetry.

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Taalunie Playwriting Prize to Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer

15 December 2017 - Awards, Authors and General

This year, the Taalunie Playwriting Prize – worth 10.000 euros – has gone to novelist and poet Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (1968) for his play De advocaat (‘The Lawyer’). The jury stated that “De advocaat balances magisterially on the thin line between tragedy and comedy, realistic drama and meta-consideration, slapstick and emotion.”

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Roel Schuyt wins the Dutch Foundation for Literature’s Translation Prize 2017

9 December 2017 - Translators, Awards and General

Roel Schuyt (b. 1948) has been awarded the Dutch Foundation for Literature’s Translation Prize 2017. Since the 1990s he has translated work by a wide variety of writers from Central Europe, including Danilo Kiš, Dubravka Ugrešić and Borislav Čičovački, as well as young authors such as Goce Smilevski and Olja Savičević. He also wrote translation history by being one of the first to translate the work of Nobel Prize candidate Ismail Kadare directly from the Albanian. The prize, which includes the sum of €10,000, was presented in Amsterdam on Friday 8 December, during the Literaire Vertaaldagen.

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Charlotte Köhler Prize to Alfred Schaffer

24 November 2017 - Awards and Authors

Dutch poet Alfred Schaffer has been awarded the Charlotte Köhler Prize for Mens Dier Ding (Man Animal Thing). This poetry collection met with instant acclaim: it was nominated for the VSB Poetry Prize 2015 and awarded the Awater Poetry Prize 2014, the Paul Snoekprijs 2016, and now the Charlotte Köhler Prize - worth 15.000 euro. A French translation is in preparation. Alfred Schaffer (1973) is currently based in South-Africa, where he works as a lecturer at Stellenbosch University.

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Vondel Translation Prize to David McKay

14 November 2017 - Press releases, Translators, Awards and International

The Vondel Translation Prize goes to David McKay for War and Turpentine, his English translation of Oorlog en terpentijn by Stefan Hertmans. The prize, worth € 5,000, will be presented in London on 1 March 2018.

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International Dublin Literary Award

6 Dutch language novels on the 2018 longlist

12 November 2017 - Awards

Dutch authors Herman Koch, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Tommy Wieringa and their translators Sam Garrett (Koch and Wieringa) and Michele Hutchison (Pfeijffer) have been nominated for the longlist of the International Dublin Literary Award, with €100,000 the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for a single work of fiction published in English.

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Koos Meinderts wins Golden Slate Pencil

4 October 2017 - Awards

The 2017 Golden Slate Pencil has been awarded to Koos Meinderts for his children’s book Naar het noorden (To the North). This prestigious prize for the writer of the best Dutch children’s book of the year was presented at the launch of Dutch Children’s Book Week. The Dutch Foundation for Literature featured this title in its spring brochure Children’s Books from Holland.

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Tangram Cat wins Golden Paintbrush

26 September 2017 - Awards

The Golden Paintbrush 2017, the most important Dutch prize for an illustrator of children’s and young adult literature, goes to Martijn van der Linden for Tangram Cat. The book’s author Maranke Rinck has already won a Silver Slate Pencil for her part in this remarkable collaboration.

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European Literature Prize 2017

Grief Is the Thing with Feathers

11 September 2017 - Press releases, Translators and Awards

The jury of the 2017 European Literature Prize has chosen to honour British author Max Porter and his Dutch translator Saskia van der Lingen for Verdriet is het ding met veren (De Bezige Bij), the Dutch translation of the novel Grief Is the Thing with Feathers. The author will receive a sum of €10,000 and the translator €5,000. Chair of the jury, poet and novelist Anna Enquist, will present the prize to Porter and Van der Lingen on Thursday, 2 November, at the opening night of the Crossing Border Festival in The Hague.

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Follow-up to Flanders and the Netherlands

Guest of honour in Germany

7 September 2017 - General, International and Press releases

‘This Is What We Share. Flanders and the Netherlands, guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair’ is to have a sequel. Several dozen Dutch and Flemish authors will be making appearances in cities across Germany in the coming months, from the International Literature Festival Berlin via Leipzig and Munich to the Harbourfront Festival in Hamburg.

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Anne Frank’s legacy shields refugees

10 July 2017 - General

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the first publication of Anne Frank’s diary. Her story was the inspiration for Amsterdam City of Refuge, which offers a safe haven to persecuted writers and which is hosted by the Dutch Foundation for Literature in the former house of the Frank-family, where Anne Frank started her diary before they went into hiding. Deutsche Welle’s Fred Muvunyi talks with poet Lety Elvir and the Foundation’s managing director Tiziano Perez about the City of Refuge-project.

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Silberne Feder 2017 for Anna Woltz

5 July 2017 - International and Authors

Gips oder wie ich an einem einzigen Tag die Welt reparierte by Anna Woltz and her translator Andrea Kluitmann (published in Germany by Carlsen Verlag) has been awarded the 2017 Silberne Feder. The German association of women doctors selected Woltz’s book from a record number of over 100 submissions.

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Following The Spotlight in Frankfurt 2016

New books

27 June 2017 - International

More than 300 Dutch and Flemish books have been published in Germany last year. Especially younger authors claimed their place in the spotlight. Here are some of the books that have proven to be successful, both in terms of reviews and sales. We will be happy to discuss these or other new titles at the upcoming fair in Frankfurt.

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Silver Slates and Paint Brushes 2017

23 June 2017 - Authors

This week the winners of the Zilveren Griffels (Silver Slates) and Penselen (Paint Brushes) were announced. The Griffel Jury awarded seven children’s books Zilveren Griffels, recognition from the book trade for the best children’s titles of the past year. The Penseel Jury awarded two Zilveren Penselen and two Zilveren Paletten.

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Two awards for Frank Westerman

21 June 2017 - Awards

Two prizes in a row this week for Dutch non-fiction author Frank Westerman! His book Een woord, een woord received both the Brusseprijs for the best journalistic book of the year and the Bob den Uyl-prijs for the best travel story of the year.

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Nominations IBBY-Honourlist 2018

20 June 2017 - General

Every two years IBBY publishes the Honourlist, a list of high-quality children’s and youth books published in IBBY’s more than seventy-five countries. The national sections of IBBY nominate one book for each category that excels in text, illustrations or translation.

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ESLT Summer School

European School of Literary Translation

20 June 2017 - General

At the beginning of June an exciting new international initiative dedicated to the training of emerging literary translation teachers was launched, the European School of Literary Translation. ESLT aims to support professional literary translation by creating a sustainable pan-European infrastructure for the education of literary translation teachers. ESLT will contribute to enhancing the quality of literary translations and, consequently, to the promotion of European cultural and literary diversity and the European ideal of a shared European culture.

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L’automne sera français

Julia Deck, Atiq Rahimi and Olivier Rolin awaited at the Amsterdam writers’ residence

9 June 2017 - Press releases and General

Three French writers will be staying in the Netherlands as writer in residence this autumn, at the invitation of the Dutch Foundation for Literature: Julia Deck, Atiq Rahimi and Olivier Rolin. Work by all three had been translated into Dutch. At a Sunday morning reading in Athenaeum Boekhandel in Amsterdam, led by Margot Dijkgraaf, the authors will give further insights into their work. The three French residencies will take place as part of an intensive campaign by the Foundation over the coming two years to increase interest in Dutch-language literature in France. Last week minister Bussemaker gave the starting shot for the campaign during ‘Le Boekenbal’.

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‘Le Boekenbal’

Start of literary campaign Les Phares du Nord in France

31 May 2017 - General

Following the success of the Netherlands and Flanders as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Dutch Foundation for Literature and Flanders Literature will be concentrating on France over the next two years: the second biggest book market in Europe and the fifth biggest in the world. With an intensive campaign entitled Les Phares du Nord, the two literature foundations aim to achieve substantial growth in the number of literary translations into French as well as greater visibility for Dutch-language authors in France. The starting shot of the campaign will be fired this coming Thursday, 1 June, during ‘Le Boekenbal’ in Paris.

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Libris Literature Prize awarded to Alfred Birney

9 May 2017 - Awards

Alfred Birney has won the prestigious Libris Literature Prize - worth 50.000 euro - for his novel De tolk van Java (The Interpreter of Java). It is the second award that Birney receives for his book, in which he tells the story of his father who fought against alternating enemies in the independence war in former Dutch-Indies.

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Jamal Ouariachi wins EU Literature Prize

25 April 2017 - Awards and International

With his fourth novel, Een honger (A Hunger), previously awarded with the Dutch BNG Bank Literatuurprijs, Jamal Ouariachi wins the European Union Prize for Literature. “Besides exploring the nature of love and examining the wisdom and folly of development aid”, the jury praised _A Hunger _ for delivering “a fierce polemic against rigid sexual mores and is above all an exhilarating tour de force.”

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Gouden Lijst goes to Benny Lindelauf

25 April 2017 - Awards and Authors

The Gouden Lijst, a Dutch prize for youth literature for ages 12 to 15, is awarded to Benny Lindelauf for Hoe Tortot zijn vissenhart verloor. Ludwig Volbeda provided the tale about war and friendship with beautiful illustrations. An English and German translation are to be expected at Pushkin Press and Jacoby & Stuart.

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Nooteboom wins Mondello Prize

19 April 2017 - Awards, International and Authors

The International Literary Prize Mondello goes to Dutch author Cees Nooteboom. The award ceremony will take place during the Salone Internazionale del Libro in Turin (Turin Bookfair) on Sunday May 21st. On this occasion he will talk with Ernesto Ferrero, Italian writer and literary critic, for an open public meeting at Sala Azzurra.

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In Other Words

Poetry translation project

19 April 2017 - Events and General

From the 30th of May till 4th of June, Poetry International will bring approximately 20 of the most prominent contemporary poets worldwide to Rotterdam for the 48th Poetry International Festival. This means it’s time for a new edition of the translation project In Other Words.

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Grants 2016

29 March 2017 - Grants awarded and General

All in 2016 awarded Translation Grants (and other grants) can be found in the annual report of the Dutch Foundation for Literature.

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German Prize for ‘Gips’

20 March 2017 - Awards and International

Dutch children’s author Anna Woltz and translator Andrea Kluitmann have been awarded the Katholischen Kinder- und Jugendbuchpreis for Gips oder Wie ich an einem einzigen Tag die Welt reparierte (Plaster Cast or How I Fixed the World Within A Day). The prize of 5,000 euro goes to both author and translator. Anna Woltz previously also received the Gouden Griffel, a prestigious Dutch award for children’s literature, for this novel.

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Nomination Magnesia Litera Prijs

Dutch success in Czech Republic

9 March 2017 - Translators, Awards and International

Great success for Madla de Bruin-Hüblová and her Czech translation Pole je tento svět of the Dutch novel The field by Dola de Jong. The novel is nominated for the Magnesia Litera Prize, together with work by Irish author Sara Baume, Tunesian writer Hédi Kaddou, and their translators. The classic The Field was rediscovered in 2015 by Amsterdam based publishing house Cossee, and will or has been translated into nine languages, including English, German, French and Swedish.

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Special mention Dutch app

Bolognarazzi Digital Award

6 March 2017 - International and General

The BolognaRagazzi Digital Award for the most innovative mobile app or web product for children is awarded on an annual basis by Bologna Children’s Book Fair in partnership with Children’s Technology Review. Out of 152 entries from 32 countries, the jury has chosen the winners of the Bolognarazzi Digital Award. In addition to the winners, six digital works received a special mention and some works were selected for a short-list. Een verre reis a children’s story of Dutch writer Toon Tellegen (Querido Kinderboek) produced by Yip Yip was chosen for a special mention.

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Flemish-Dutch success at world’s largest book fair

1 March 2017 - Events, International and General

The Flanders-Netherlands Guest of Honour programme at the Frankfurt Book Fair was a resounding success. In 2016, under the motto This Is What We Share, Flanders and the Netherlands organised the Guest of Honour programme at the largest trade book fair in the world. The ambitious programme ensured that more than 450 Dutch-language books were translated. The number of literary translations into German tripled compared to previous years. A new generation of writers was also successfully introduced into Germany. These are some of the conclusions of an evaluation conducted by the Flemish Literature Fund and the Dutch Foundation for Literature.

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Mingler connects art and science

Virtual meeting place

15 February 2017 - General

The Young Academy and the Society of Arts of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences have joined forces to develop Mingler: a virtual meeting place that encourages interaction and synergies in scientific and artistic research. A goldmine for scientists and artists seeking to collaborate across institutional boundaries.

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Sherill Tippins at NIAS

14 February 2017

American writer Sherill Tippins will work as writer in residence at The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS-KNAW) in Amsterdam from February until June 2017.

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Ester Naomi Perquin

New Poet Laureate of the Netherlands

27 January 2017 - General

Ester Naomi Perquin has been appointed as the new Poet Laureate of the Netherlands for a period of two years. Perquin’s great experience of the literary world makes her perfectly suited to the role of poetry’s ambassador in the Netherlands. She has edited a literary magazine, hosted a national radio show, written columns, compiled a poetry calendar and served as the Poet Laureate of Rotterdam. Perquin does not, however, limit her activities to poetry and literature; two years ago, for instance, she wrote the memorandum of basic principles for Rotterdam’s cultural policy.

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Presentation Dutch issue Five Dials

25 January 2017 - Events and International

On February 1st Five Dials and guest editor Philip Huff will present it’s Dutch issue. The issue is devoted to introducing English-language readers to authors who haven’t yet become established in translation. It will serve as a showcase of the finest young authors writing in Dutch today.

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Launch PETRA-E European Network

Expansion learning track for literary translators

18 January 2017 - Translators

On January 1, 2017 nine European organisations officially launched the PETRA-E Network for the Education and Training of Literary Translators. The partners will expand, implement and further develop the PETRA-E Framework, the result of the successful Erasmus+ funded PETRA-E project (2014-2016), and will provide a collaborative space for the discussion of related topics.

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For questions concerning the activities of the foundation please contact Romkje de Bildt or Teun Grondman.

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