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English translation, by Michele Hutchison

Ukrainian translation, by Jaroslav Dovhopolyy

Russian translation by Anna Sidorova

German translation by Ruth Löbner

French translation by Daniel Cunin

Translations

During the grand opening ceremony of the Dutch stand, Dutch Ambassador Willem van Ee, Director of the Turin Bookfair Silvio Viale and Romkje de Bildt, Director of the Dutch Foundation for Literature, delivered speeches. Apart from that, they received an essay collection on classics of Dutch Literature, written by Franco Paris, full Professor of Dutch Literature and Marco Prandoni, professor of Dutch language and culture. Romkje de Bildt, managing director of the Dutch Foundation for Literature: ‘We are proud that Dutch literature has been able to find its way to Italian readers in recent years, with increasing numbers of translations.’ During the first day of the Turin Bookfair, Dutch authors Jan Brokken, Hanna Bervoets and Anya Niewierra and graphic novelist Aimée de Jongh took the stage, and were interviewed about their translated titles in Italian. Children’s books author Gideon Samson engaged in conversation with students who read Giorni sull&#039;isola and prepared questions.The Netherlands will showcase its literature and culture to the Italian audience until May 19.

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On Thursday May 15, the Salone Internazionale del Libro Torino, the Turin Book Fair, kicked off. The Netherlands is this year’s Guest of Honour at Italy’s largest bookfair. In the next few days, we will present the wealth of the Dutch in Literature with the motto La Scoperta dell’Olanda (The discovery of the Netherlands).

Turin International Book Fair Kicked Off

The authors represent different Literary genres, from poetry to thrillers, from non-fiction to children&#039;s books. The delegation consists of: Simone Atangana Bekono, Olivier van Beemen, Marieke ten Berge, Hanna Bervoets, Jan Brokken, Ellen Deckwitz, Mathijs Deen, Nikki Dekker, Yorick Goldewijk, Tom Hofland, Marc ter Horst, Auke Hulst, Aimée de Jongh, Dido Michielsen, Anya Niewierra, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Floor Rieder and Gideon Samson.Together they will give more than 50 public performances at the fair and various locations throughout the city. Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer will talk with Christian Greco, the director of the Egyptian Museum in Turin. There will be an art lab for children with illustrator Floor Rieder. And Children&#039;s Books writers Marc ter Horst, Yorick Goldewijk and Gideon Samson will engage in conversation with schoolchildren. <a href="https://www.salonelibro.it/programma/programma-paese-ospite.html?tg=303">Click here</a> for the full programme (in Italian).

Special attention at the fair will be given to Dutch author Cees Nooteboom. Dutch artist Zenk One (Robin Nas) is creating a mural at the Palavela arena inspired by Nooteboom&#039;s novel In the Dutch Mountains, which is highly successful in Italy. Reading groups from Turin neighborhoods will read and discuss Nooteboom&#039;s work. And he will be honored with a tribute by author Jan Brokken at the stand.

Homage to Cees Nooteboom

The number of translations from Dutch has grown significantly over the past decade, making Italy one of the most important markets for Dutch literature. Kader Abdolah, Cees Nooteboom and Herman Koch are popular authors in Italy, but Children&#039;s Books are also highly regarded. Apart from that, several (young) authors have recently been awarded Italian literature prizes. Among others, Gerda Blees, Tom Hofland, Ellen Deckwitz and Annet Schaap have been awarded Italian prizes in recent years. The translation of The Discovery of Holland by Jan Brokken is on the shortlist of the Premio Strega Europeo. The Award Ceremony will take place on May 18 at the Turin Book Fair.

Dutch Literature in Italy

From May 15 till 19, the Netherlands will be Guest of Honour at the Turin International Book Fair. A delegation of 18 Dutch authors will travel to the book fair, which is the largest in Italy with over 200 thousand visitors.

18 Dutch Authors at Turin International Book Fair

Carys Davies&#039; debut novel West (2018) was nominated for the Rathbones Folio Prize, longlisted for the European Literature Prize, awarded second place in the Society of Authors&#039; McKitterick Prize, and won the Wales Book of the Year Award for Fiction. Her second novel, The Mission House (2020) was named Novel of the Year 2020 by The Sunday Times. Her third novel, Clear, was published in spring 2024 to critical acclaim, and was selected as one of the best books of the year by The Guardian, The New York Times, Vogue, and The Washington Post. The Dutch translation, Helder, translated by Nicolette Hoekmeijer, was published in October by publisher Meulenhoff

Davies is also the author of two short story collections, Some New Ambush (2007) and The Redemption of Galen Pike (2014), which won the Frank O&#039;Connor International Short Story Award and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. She has received the V.S. Pritchett Prize from the Royal Society of Literature, the Olive Cook Short Story Award from the Society of Authors, and a Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a member of the Folio Academy.Born in Wales, Davies lived and worked in New York and Chicago for twelve years and currently resides in Edinburgh.During her residency, she will be working on and researching her new historical novel, set at sea in the late nineteenth century. She looks forward to delving into records of commercial voyages of Dutch ships, particularly in the Southern Ocean. Water plays a central role in this novel, and according to Davies, it&#039;s hard to imagine a better place to be while dreaming about it. Visual art is also a major source of inspiration in her work, and she plans to make use of the city’s rich art collections.

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Welsh writer Carys Davies will be staying at the Amsterdam Writers Residency from March 31st until April 28th, upon invitation by the Dutch Foundation for Literature.

Carys Davies writer in residence in Amsterdam

Over 20 Dutch authors will travel to the fair, which is the largest in Italy with over 200,000 visitors. The delegation of authors is a broad reflection of Dutch literature, from fiction to children’s books, from non-fiction to graphic novels. The number of translated Dutch titles has grown significantly over the past decade, currently making Italy one of the most important markets for Dutch books.The programme in Turin reflects the vitality and diversity of the literary field in the Netherlands, with beloved authors in Italy such as Jan Brokken and Herman Koch being joined by a new generation, including Tom Hofland and Aimée de Jongh. Also performing in Turin are Anya Niewierra, Dido Michielsen, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Mathijs Deen and children&#039;s book authors Gideon Samson and Yorick Goldewijk. The whole programme will be announced on April 8.

The Project &#039;You have a new friendship request&#039; encourages writers to meet new literary, international friends, through written and spoken word. Therefore, Dutch writers Simone Atangana Bekono, Nikki Dekker and Ellen Deckwitz will exchange letters with Italian authors Ginevra Lamberti, Paola Moretti and Marta Barone in the coming months. During the fair in Turin, they will read each other their letters and talk about their exchanges on stage.

You have a new friendship request / Hai una nuova richiesta di amicizia

The Netherlands will be Guest of Honour at the 37th edition of the Salone Internazionale del Libro Torino, the Turin International Book Fair. From May 15 to 19, the wealth of Dutch literature will be presented under the name Scoperta dell’Olanda (The discovery of the Netherlands).

First Dutch Authors Turin Book Fair Announced

Other news

Roos Vermeij, chair of the foundation’s Supervisory Board, says, ‘Romkje de Bildt has wide experience in the field, and from her previous position, her managerial experience and her personality, she brings a great deal of knowledge and expertise. We are enormously pleased with her appointment.’Romkje de Bildt (b. 1981) has worked at the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds since 2017 as adviser in the field of History and Literature. In that role she is responsible for its literature policy, which involves giving advice on applications and on adherence to guidelines such as the Fair Practice Code and the Diversity and Inclusion Code. She is also secretary to the Martinus Nijhoff Translation Prize and was involved right from the start with the latest Sleutelfigurenreeks, a series of literary and historical biographies. Her previous jobs include education staff member at the CPNB and editor at the Surinamese newspaper de Ware Tijd. She studied Classical Languages and Dutch Language and Literature at the University of Amsterdam.De Bildt says of her appointment, ‘Sustaining a variegated literary landscape in the broadest sense is important for any society, and in that respect the Dutch Foundation for Literature has a crucial role to play. I look forward to being able to devote myself to that along with all the people who work at the foundation.’

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.

Romkje de Bildt new managing director

‘This is the thing we must remember: we are all born as refugees’

Poem Marieke Lucas Rijneveld translated in five languages

The Dutch Foundation for Literature stands for free expression of speech and the peaceful exchange of ideas. Partly for this reason, we had the poem ‘Een krijgzuchtige tijd’ by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld translated into Ukrainian, Russian, German, French and English.

The translations were made by Michele Hutchison (English), Jaroslav Dovhopolyy (Ukrainian), Anna Sidorova (Russian), Ruth Löbner (German), and Daniel Cunin (French).

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