Lynthia Julius new Writer in Residence in Amsterdam
15 June 2026
From June 8 to June 30, 2026, South African poet Lynthia Julius will be staying as writer in residence in Amsterdam, upon invitation by the Dutch Foundation for Literature and Poetry International, where she has performed during the annual poetry festival.
Lynthia Julius (Springbok, 1993) is a poet from South Africa who writes in Gariep-Afrikaans. Born in Springbok and raised in Kimberley, she studied Philosophy and Creative Writing at the University of the Free State. Her acclaimed debut poetry collection, Uit die kroes (2020), explores themes of memory, family history, race, gender and belonging. The collection is also noted for its evocation of the Northern Cape landscape and its enriching use of Nama words within Afrikaans poetic expression. It received the First-time Published Author Award at the South African Literary Awards in 2021.
Her second collection, Kinderlê (2024), further established her reputation as a poet deeply engaged with history, community and cultural memory. In the same year, she was awarded the Jan Rabie and Marjorie Wallace Bursary for a creative writing project in Afrikaans.
During her residency in Amsterdam, Julius will work on a novel inspired by the history of South Africa’s Northern Cape and the linguistic heritage of Gariep-Afrikaans. At the same time, she is experiencing what it means to be far from home, away from the familiar land and surroundings – an experience that closely echoes the emotional world of the novel’s main character.