Since 1980, PEN International has used the Empty Chair to symbolise a writer who cannot be present because they are imprisoned or missing, to ensure they are not forgotten and are given as much help as possible.


Mahvash Sabet (born 4.02.1953 in Isfahan) is a poet and teacher, and a prominent figure in the Baha’i community. After having been incarcerated for nine years, she was arrested again in July 2022 on fabricated charges. She was given no access to legal counsel, and in November of that year she was sentenced to ten more years in prison. She is serving this sentence in the Evin prison in Teheran, allegedly in solitary confinement. During her first long incarceration, she wrote a cycle of poems that were published in English under the title ‘Prison Poems’.


Nina Tarhan Mouravi, translator of poetry and board member of PEN Netherlands, will recite a selection.


Mahvash Sabet

Mahvash Sabet (born 4.02.1953 in Isfahan) is a poet and teacher, and a prominent figure in the Baha’i community. After having been incarcerated for nine years, she was arrested again in July 2022 on fabricated charges. She was given no access to legal counsel, and in November of that year she was sentenced to ten more years in prison. She is serving this sentence in the Evin prison in Teheran, allegedly in solitary confinement. During her first long incarceration, she wrote a cycle of poems that were published in English under the title ‘Prison Poems’.

Nina Tarhan Mouravi, translator of poetry and board member of PEN Netherlands, will recite a selection.

Korzo - The Attic 

Since 1980, PEN International has used the Empty Chair to symbolise a writer who cannot be present because they are imprisoned or missing, to ensure they are not forgotten and are given as much help as possible.

De wereld op zijn kop. ontmoetingen met de Hollandse meesters

Twenty years ago, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Benjamin Moser followed his lover from America and settled in Utrecht. To better understand the Netherlands, he wandered through museums and came face to face with the fascinating painters of the 17th century: the always dynamic Rembrandt, the intimacy of Ter Borch, the mysterious Vermeer.

He encountered questions that these masters also asked: Why do we make art, and why do we need it? Who, and what, is an artist? How can art help us see ourselves, and how can it help us see others?And in a world without religion, can art provide a substitute for God?

The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Masters

 is a dazzling book in which Moser provides an accessible, in-depth, and contemplative look at the lives of the Dutch masters.It is also a fun and learned guide to one of the greatest epochs of human creativity: a book for anyone, whether lifelong scholar or curious tourist.

Moser is originally from Houston and has published critically acclaimed biographies of Clarice Lispector and Susan Sontag, for which he received the 2020 Pulitzer Prize.


Benjamin Moser

Het Mauritshuis

Emilie Gordenker

a Pulitzer Prize-winning US writer who followed his lover to the Netherlands, where he studied the Dutch masters in the hope of answering some of life’s most pressing questions


In conversation with Benjamin Moser

Naaz - Sad Violins

Naaz - Azadî

An emerging artist, producer, director, and songwriter based in Amsterdam, Naaz released her debut album 

Mixing music from her Kurdish roots with western influences including rock musician Beck and Belgian rapper Stromae, Naaz’s versatility and layered song writing produces a unique authenticity and mesmerizing sound.


 include the beauty of duality, the difficult bridge between girlhood and womanhood, and the power of starting over. Not afraid to tackle subjects such as discrimination, mental health, and religion, Naaz’s music lifts the listeners to a place of hope and comfort.


The recipient of a number of Dutch Grammys and a winner at the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards, Naaz has cultivated herself as one of the most authentic artists you've heard in a while.


Naaz

An emerging artist, producer, director, and songwriter based in Amsterdam, Naaz released her debut album Never Have I Ever in January 2023.

Mixing music from her Kurdish roots with western influences including rock musician Beck and Belgian rapper Stromae, Naaz’s versatility and layered song writing produces a unique authenticity and mesmerizing sound.

Korzo - The Raven

is an emerging artist and songwriter based in Amsterdam who is producing mesmerising music combining her Kurdish roots with western influences.


Wilfried de Jong is accompanied on guitar by 

Dutch writer and presenter Wilfried de Jong made his literary debut in 2000 with the short story collection 

, which was nominated for the Dutch first novel Debutantenprijs, and he has continued to surprise, entertain, and provoke with his literary output.

, tells ten stories set around the world, but weaved together with the theme of music and sound. In the dressing room of a New York club, we meet a sombre trumpet player, while in Rotterdam, a homeless man plays the blues. In Puglia, Italy, Claudia is busy recording the body sounds of tourists, while country singer Ava sings for her comatose husband in Nashville.

Bursting with energy, these intimate stories draw the reader into immaculately imagined worlds with the clear, fresh prose that is De Jong’s hallmark.


Wilfried de Jong

Dutch writer and presenter Wilfried de Jong made his literary debut in 2000 with the short story collection Aal, which was nominated for the Dutch first novel Debutantenprijs, and he has continued to surprise, entertain, and provoke with his literary output.

tells ten tales set around the world but weaved together with the theme of music and sound in 

, the latest collection from the master Dutch storyteller

Man-Eating Typewriter

Richard Milward exploded onto the British literary scene in 2007 with 

, an unflinching portrayal of the brutality of adolescence which became a play and a cult classic. He returns with his first novel in eight years,

This innovative novel-within-a-novel is set at the end of the 1960s, and tells the story of a psychopath called Raymond Novak, who is submitting his memoirs to a seedy London publishing house. As the typewritten pages come in, members of staff are increasingly disturbed by the salacious content, which recounts everything from a love affair with a Barbary Ape on the Rock of Gibraltar to a stint in an erotic cabaret in Paris.


Told largely  in Polari, a language developed and used mainly amongst the metropolitan homosexual community in the time when being gay was still a criminal offence, 

 isawild, transgressive, erotic, and resolutely uncompromising book. It isan act of seductive sedition by a writer with unfathomable literary talent and chutzpah.

Richard Milward

Richard Milward exploded onto the British literary scene in 2007 with Apples, an unflinching portrayal of the brutality of adolescence which became a play and a cult classic. He returns with his first novel in eight years, Man-Eating Typewriter.

Thomas Heerma van Voss

sends readers into a head spin with his bold and subversive novel-within-a-novel set in 1960s London, 

In conversation with Richard Milward

Mythen en Stoplichten

Dutch-Somali poet and author Alara Adilow’s debut poetry collection 

Mythen en Stoplichten (Myths and Traffic Lights)

 was published to critical acclaim last year, and recently won top Dutch poetry award the C. Buddingh Prize in the best debut category.


A raw and visceral work tackling themes of gender, queerness, and the desire to escape the body, Adilow celebrates the beauty of language while also using it to draw the reader into dark, fantastic, and grotesque worlds.


Her poetry spans topics including religion, spirituality, exorcism, fornication, and politics, in a mind-spinning exploration of the sensuality of the world.


Alara Adilow

Dutch-Somali poet and author Alara Adilow’s debut poetry collection Mythen en Stoplichten (Myths and Traffic Lights) was published to critical acclaim last year, and recently won top Dutch poetry award the C. Buddingh Prize in the best debut category.

De Regentes - Diepe

 van Nederlands-Somalische dichter en auteur Alara Adilows verscheen vorig jaar, waarop het met veel lof werd onthaald door critici en onlangs bekroond werd met de C. Buddingh’-prijs voor het beste poëziedebuut.


Only kids need a ticket, adults who accompany the kids can enter for free. One adult can accompany a max. of 3 kids.

The Day I Became a Bird - A New Picture Book

Raúl Nieto Guridi, who publishes under the name Guridi, is an author illustrator, and graphic designer from Seville, Spain. A prolific creator in many different artistic fields, Guridi has more than 85 books to his name, both as author and co-author.

His award-winning work for children is full of ingenuity beauty, and empathy, while also addressing social issues and current affairs, reflecting his view that art can be a tool for social transformation.

In his latest collaboration – the picture book 

 – Guridi uses simple line drawings mostly in black and white to capture the emotional depth of author Ingrid Chabbert’s tale of a boy who dresses up as a bird to try and capture the heart of a classmate.

Since 2010, Guridi combines teaching with his artistic production, focusing mainly on illustration for children’s publishing, along with the creation of posters for theatre and dance.


Guridi

Zaal 3

is a prolific Spanish author, illustrator, creator, and designer who has more than 85 books to his name, with his ingenious and empathetic drawings enthralling children of all ages


En de vierde keer zonken we

Sally Hayden, an investigative journalist, was at home in London one evening when she received a Facebook message: “Hi sister Sally, we need your help”. The sender was an Eritrean refugee, who, along with hundreds of others, had been detained for months in a Libyan detention centre.

It is the starting point for Hayden's shocking investigation into the refugee crisis in North Africa. Based on hundreds of interviews with detainees who tried to reach Europe but instead found them stuck in hellish conditions in Libya, 

 is an impressive indictment of the negligence of Europe, the corruption within the United Nations, and the 21st century slave trade economy.

But above all, it is an ode to human resilience, and how we do not give up hope even under the most appalling circumstances.

Hayden is currently Africa Correspondent for 

Sally Hayden

Koninklijke Schouwburg

Persis Bekkering

shines a light on the plight of migrants imprisoned in Libya in her award-winning non-fiction book, 

In conversation with Sally Hayden

Lin An Phoa (1995) is schrijver en taalwetenschapper. Hoewel dans haar eerste uitlaatklep was, staat nu het woord centraal in haar werk. Ze schrijft poëzie en treedt op als spoken word-artiest. In haar fysieke en kritische teksten onderzoekt ze de verwachtingen en patronen van de systemen waarin we leven, in een poging tot verbinding, verzachting en verandering. Waar de taal soms stug en hoofdelijk kan zijn, zoekt Lin An naar manieren om van lichaam tot lichaam te spreken.


Momenteel werkt Lin An als artiest, programmamaker, presentator en tekst begeleider bij verschillende podia en met allerlei artiesten. Daarnaast is ze educatief programmamaker bij spoken word-platform Poetry Circle en zit ze in het ontwikkeltraject van Wintertuin.


 Lin An Phoa

Lin An Phoa (1995) is schrijver en taalwetenschapper. Hoewel dans haar eerste uitlaatklep was, staat nu het woord centraal in haar werk. Ze schrijft poëzie en treedt op als spoken word-artiest. In haar fysieke en kritische teksten onderzoekt ze de verwachtingen en patronen van de systemen waarin we leven, in een poging tot verbinding, verzachting en verandering. Waar de taal soms stug en hoofdelijk kan zijn, zoekt Lin An naar manieren om van lichaam tot lichaam te spreken.

Alles wat eindigt, laat iets na: een erfenis. Maar veel erfenissen worden niet aangekondigd in donkere kamertjes. Veel erfenissen staan niet helder opgelijst op wit papier. Deze erfenissen sluimeren, in onze genen, in de manier waarop we tegen onze kinderen praten, waarop we verliefd worden, in de kansen die iemand krijgt (of niet krijgt), in de personen die we kiezen om ons land te besturen.

Lin An Phoa gaat in gesprek met het collectief over hoe literatuur ook op deze manier ruimte kan bieden aan verhalen. De worsteling van mensen die met de gevolgen van nalatenschap kampen en hoe makers Mirke Kist, Siona Houthuys en Nele Eeckhout hiermee weten om te gaan. De lancering van de podcast is op 11 november 2023.



 AudioCollectief SCHIK bestaat uit Mirke Kist, Siona Houthuys & Nele Eeckhout. Hun eerdere serie Bob ging in première op het IDFA, won de publieksprijs van De Tegel & de prijs voor de beste podcast tijdens de Dutch Podcast Awards. Ook was de podcast genomineerd voor de Prix Europa en ontving deze een speciale vermelding van de jury van de Zilveren Reissmicrofoon. Hun serie El Tarangu werd door de Stichting Verhalende Journalistiek gekozen tot een van de beste verhalende projecten van 2019 en was tevens genomineerd voor een Tegel. Gezamenlijk werden deze twee series meer dan vier miljoen keer gedownload. De documentaire Geen kleine man, die SCHIK samen met journalist Sofie Peeters maakte, verscheen eind 2021 en was genomineerd voor de Belfius Persprijzen en de Tegel.


AudioCollectief SCHIK

De Regentes - Ketelhuis

AudioCollectief SCHIK komt met een nieuwe podcast reeks, 

. In gesprek met Lin An Phoa vertellen zij hoe ze familiegeschiedenis dit keer wisten te belichamen.

AudioCollectief SCHIK in gesprek met Lin An Phoa

Moscow-born Maxim Osipov is a writer and cardiologist whose novels dissecting the reality of Russian life have invited comparisons with Chekhov.

After his medical studies, he founded a publishing house in Russia that specialised in medical, musical, and theological texts, before debuting his own short stories, novellas and plays in 2007. Critical acclaim quickly followed, and his prose collections and plays have won numerous awards, been staged across Russia, and translated into many languages.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Osipov left Russia in protest at the war. He now lives in Amsterdam and is editor-in-chief of 

, a magazine for independent Russian writing.


Maxim Osipov

Moscow-born Maxim Osipov is a writer and cardiologist whose novels dissecting the reality of Russian life have invited comparisons with Chekhov.

After his medical studies, he founded a publishing house in Russia that specialised in medical, musical, and theological texts, before debuting his own short stories, novellas and plays in 2007. Critical acclaim quickly followed, and his prose collections and plays have won numerous awards, been staged across Russia, and translated into many languages.

Irina Mashinski is a Russian-American poet and essayist with an intriguing background. She graduated from Moscow University with a PhD in Paleogeography and the Theory of Landscape, before emigrating to the United States in 1991, where she started a new career as a high school maths teacher.

However, she always had a passion for literature, and founded a children’s literary studio while still in Moscow. In America, she started publishing her own poetry to critical acclaim, and has written 11 books of poetry and essays in Russian.

Her first collections published in English – 

 – came out in 2022. She is also a co-editor of 

Irina Mashinski

Andrey Kordochkin is a Russian Orthodox priest who was appointed to serve the orthodox community in Madrid in 2004, two years after completing his doctoral studies at the University of Durham and joining the church.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kordochkin authored an open letter, eventually signed by 293 priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, calling for a stop to the war.

He has since become one of the most outspoken critics of the war within the Russian Orthodox Church.


Andrey Kordochkin

Vasiliy Antipov was born in 1982 in Moscow, where he received his musical and mathematical education there. From 2005, he explored various professions, working as an industrial climber on high-complexity tasks for an extended period. 

In 2014, in collaboration with his brother, Alexander Antipov, he authored his first book, dedicated to the mathematical aspects of music theory. This book was translated into English and published in America, where it gained the status of the "most-read publication on music theory" according to Research Gate. 

In January 2022, Vasiliy was detained at the Belarusian border and incarcerated in prison, subsequently transferred to a psychiatric clinic for compulsory "treatment." During his time in detention, Vasiliy experienced some notorious prisons, including "Baranovichi," "Brest," and "Volodarka." 

He interacted with and shared cells with many well-known political prisoners, some of whom, like Ales Pushkin, perished in prison due to the harsh conditions. In addition to these prisons, Vasiliy also spent time in a high-security psychiatric clinic, where he received Aminazine injections, as well as in a special clinic called "Mogilevtsy" ("Mogila" translates to "Graves" in Russian). 

Vasiliy documented all of his experiences in his documentary novella "In Captivity," which was published in the Fifth Wave magazine. Currently, Vasiliy is working on his second book, composing a symphony, and managing his 

Vasiliy Antipov

Vasily Antipov is a composer, guitarist, lutenist, and music theorist from Moscow. He had an early introduction to classical music from his father and showed extraordinary talent at the guitar from a young age, earning a place at the Tchaikovsky Academic Music College at the Moscow State Conservatory.

Otto Boele teaches Russian literature and film at the University of Leiden. He regularly publishes in scholarly journals such as 

Russian Literature, Wiener Slawistischer Almanach, Fifth Wave,

 (New Russian Cinema) and taught courses on Russian and Soviet film for the Eye film museum in Amsterdam and the Leiden Film Festival.


 in Russian Literature, an English-language version of which will be published this year.


Otto Boele

Otto Boele teaches Russian literature and film at the University of Leiden. He regularly publishes in scholarly journals such as Russian Literature, Wiener Slawistischer Almanach, Fifth Wave, and The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review.

Crossing Border presents a special evening dedicated to Fifth Wave, the recently founded platform for independent Russian literature. 

 is a magazine set up by Russian writers in exile to provide a space for independent Russian writing following the invasion of Ukraine, which led to further censorship and suppression of freedom of expression in Russia.

’s editor-in-chief Maxim Osipov, one of Russia’s foremost short story writers and playwrights, will be joined at Crossing Border by Russian poet Irina Mashinski, orthodox priest Andrey Kordochkin, Russian literature scholar Otto Boele, and composer Vasiliy Antipov to discuss the importance of keeping culture alive in the most oppressive circumstances.

Van Oorschot Publishers in the Netherlands launched the first edition of 

 in June, and the magazine will be published four times a year in a Russian edition, a selection of which will be published twice a year in English.

All contributions (prose, poetry and essays) will be by literary authors from Russia and abroad who are united in their rejection of war and totalitarianism, and the magazine aims to keep readers informed about independent Russian literature and Russian writers in exile.


Festivaltent The Hideout

Eva Hartog

Fifth Wave is a new literary magazine bringing together Russian writers and poets in exile to provide a space for them to publish independent work


Fifth Wave: an evening of independent Russian literature

Listen

Dutch-born, UK-based Michel Faber is an award-winning author of seven novels, three short-story collections, and a poetry book, and turns to his passion for music in his first non-fiction book, 

Music is Faber’s oldest love, and when he needs inspiration, he turns to the thousands of CDs, vinyl, cassettes, and a computer crammed with mp3s. Seven years ago, he developed tinnitus, and his remedy was listening to more music.

, Faber explores two big questions: how we listen to music and why we listen to music. To answer these he considers biology, age, illness, commerce, and the dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ taste. Through extensive interviews with musicians, he unlocks some surprising answers and delves into what is going on inside us when we listen.

This curious and celebratory book reflects Faber’s lifelong obsession with music of all kinds, and proves a successful first venture into non-fiction for the renowned author of the Whitbread-shortlisted 

Michel Faber

Dutch-born, UK-based Michel Faber is an award-winning author of seven novels, three short-story collections, and a poetry book, and turns to his passion for music in his first non-fiction book, Listen.

Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel

taps into his life-long passion for music in his first non-fiction book, 

, which examines how and why we listen to music and unlocks the magic behind what we hear

Poetry On Sunday: Sunni Lamin Barrow - 'Take my silence as charity II'

Sunni Lamin Barrow (1998) is een erkende spoken word-artiest die zijn achtergrond, meervoudige identiteiten en levenservaringen volledig verweeft in zijn poëzie. Na verhuisd te zijn van Gambia naar Nederland, richten de huidige werken van Sunni op het onderzoeken wat het betekent om queer en Afrikaans te zijn, en wat het inhoudt om te verhuizen van het geboorteland naar een vreemde plek die mogelijk ooit thuis genoemd kan worden.

Met zijn unieke stem en artistieke visie heeft Sunni meerdere prijzen gewonnen en erkenning gekregen binnen de spoken word-gemeenschap. Zijn kunst wordt geprezen om de manier waarop het complexe kwesties van identiteit, cultuur en acceptatie verkent en belicht. Momenteel werkt Sunni aan zijn debuut poëzievoorstelling.


Sunni Lamin Barrow

Wanneer Sunni Lamin Barrow het podium betreedt kun je niets anders dan de noodzaak uit zijn poëtische redevoering over zijn afkomst en opgroeien tot je nemen.

Chelsy Valentina (2008) is de eerste Jonge Stadsdichter van Den Haag. Haar winnende gedicht

 Een reis door de stad waar mijn leven compleet voelt:

 Den Haag gaf tijdens de finale de doorslag. Chelsy mag zich een jaar lang de Jonge Stadsdichter van Den Haag noemen. De finale van de Jonge Stadsdichter scholenwedstrijd, een initiatief van Gemeente Den Haag, Bibliotheek Den Haag, Huis van Gedichten en Literatuurmuseum, vond plaats tijdens Nationale Gedichtendag in de Centrale Bibliotheek. Chelsy krijgt het komende jaar begeleiding in schrijven en voordragen van Huis van Gedichten en was onder andere te horen bij: de Haagse Literatuurprijzen, Wereldreis Door Eigen Stad, Bevrijdingsfestival en de Haagse Cultuuronderwijsdag.

Chelsy Valentina

Chelsy Valentina (2008) is de eerste Jonge Stadsdichter van Den Haag. Haar winnende gedicht Een reis door de stad waar mijn leven compleet voelt: Den Haag gaf tijdens de finale de doorslag. Chelsy mag zich een jaar lang de Jonge Stadsdichter van Den Haag noemen. 

De nieuwe stem van Den Haag, doet de toeren als jonge stadsdichter. Chelsy Valentina deelt met haar gedichten een fris geluid dat gehoord moet worden.


Iven Cudogham blaast de beroemde verhalen van de spin Anansi nieuw leven in.

Anansi de Spin- een koekje van je eigen deeg

Iven Cudogham is a children's book author, an actor, a presenter, and a teacher, but above all he sees himself as a storyteller who loves connecting with young people through their imaginations. His picture books about the very smart spider Anansi have been made into a television series on Zeppelin, and a film adaptation is due to be released in 2024.


Born in Paramaribo in Suriname, Cudogham has lived in the Netherlands since he was three and is now based in Amsterdam with his seven children. He can currently be seen in the TV program 

, which documents the joys and trials of life in a big family.


In addition to his extensive experience as a presenter and author, Cudogham also teaches talent development to primary school children in Amsterdam. This year, he published his first book for adults, 

, a light-hearted look at his experiences raising seven children.

Iven Cudogham

Iven Cudogham is a children's book author, an actor, a presenter, and a teacher, but above all he sees himself as a storyteller who loves connecting with young people through their imaginations. His picture books about the very smart spider Anansi have been made into a television series on Zeppelin, and a film adaptation is due to be released in 2024.

theater De Vaillant 

is a Dutch children’s author and TV personality who draws
on his experience as a father of seven kids in his books and
television appearances

Thom Wijenberg (1996) is een veelzijdige schrijver en dichter die bekend staat om zijn gebruik van camp om queerness en queer ervaringen in een heteronormatieve wereld te onderzoeken. Met een onderscheidende schrijfstijl en een scherp oog voor maatschappelijke dynamieken creëert Thom werk dat zowel prikkelend als diepgaand is.


Zijn literaire stukken hebben een plaats gekregen in publicaties zoals De Revisor, Op Ruwe Planken, Vuurland en Notulen van het Onzichtbare.


In 2022 nam Thom deel aan de Parijsresidentie van Vlaams-Nederlands Huis deBuren, waar hij de gelegenheid kreeg om zijn artistieke horizon te verbreden en nieuwe inspiratie op te doen. Bovendien maakt Thom deel uit van het talentontwikkeltraject van Wintertuin, waar hij niet alleen zijn eigen schrijven verder ontwikkelt, maar ook fungeert als talentontwikkelaar en redacteur, waarbij hij andere opkomende schrijvers ondersteunt en begeleidt.

Thom Wijenberg

Thom Wijenberg deelt op verschillende platforms zijn veelzijdigheid als schrijver. Hij gebruikt camp om queerness in een heteronormatieve wereld te onderzoeken.

In 2022, White published his debut novel 

part memoir, part urban fable. Chronicling a 10-year stretch spent working as a cab driver in New York City, White encounters a dizzying array of characters, including drug lords, con men, doomed lovers, psychics, and psychos, and ultimately a string of cultural luminaries.

 is a love letter to the fans of White’s oeuvre — the outsiders, the lost souls, anyone who, as White points out in his iconic song 

, “thinks less of what is written than what’s wrote between the lines”.

Misfits Jubilee

California-born Jim White is a legendary musician, producer, outsider artist, and writer, whose musical career began in the late 1990s when he met Talking Heads singer David Byrne. He soon signed to Byrne’s celebrated Luaka Bop record label, and his debut album 

 became an immediate classic of the Americana genre. 

Today, he is one of the most respected names in the alternative country and roots music scene, and has worked with big names including Joe Henry, Bill Frisell, Morcheeba, and Aimee Mann. While White gets his inspiration from years of globetrotting, his music is firmly rooted in the South, which he sees as the cradle of American music.


Jim White

California-born Jim White is a legendary musician, producer, outsider artist, and writer, whose musical career began in the late 1990s when he met Talking Heads singer David Byrne. He soon signed to Byrne’s celebrated Luaka Bop record label, and his debut album Wrong Eyed Jesus became an immediate classic of the Americana genre.

is a legendary California-born musician, producer, outsider artist, and writer whose debut novel 

A reading by Jim White

Kitty Crowther, who is half English and half Swedish, was born in Brussels and studied Graphic Arts at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels. She has written and illustrated 35 children’s books, as well as illustrating books for writers including Carl Norac, Bart Moeyaert and Toon Tellegen. Her work has been translated into twenty languages.

She writes in French and Dutch and has won multiple awards for her stories rooted in the mythology and fairy tales that have fascinated her since childhood. Her books include her 1994 debut, 

Creating timeless tales imbued with atmosphere and charm, Crowther has won accolades including the 2010 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council, the most prestigious prize in children's literature. She now lives in Wallonia, Belgium.


Kitty Crowther

is a multi-award-winning children’s writer and illustrator from Belgium whose work draws on mythology and fairy tales to create gripping stories filled with atmosphere and charm

Sjaan Flikweert HARDOP

Sjaan Flikweert is interdisciplinair podiumkunstenaar. Ze maakt spoken word, muziek, dans, theater en film. Ze is al ruim 12 jaar actief podiumkunstenaar in binnen- en buitenland. Ze was te lezen in de bloemlezing HARD OP en ze is in Tirade gepubliceerd. Ze heeft o.a. voor AYA, de Gasten, Poetry Circle, Bühnenbiest, Rover company, Silbersee, Nanoek en Dox gewerkt. Ze heeft de audiovisuele dichtbundels 

 (Nominatie Lonely Wolf Festival en NPF) en D

 (geselecteerd voor NFF en NPF) gemaakt. Ze organiseert BYMEKAAR, een twee maandelijks podium voor improvisatie in Splendor Amsterdam.


Sjaan Flikweert

Sjaan Flikweert is interdisciplinair podiumkunstenaar. Ze maakt spoken word, muziek, dans, theater en film. Ze is al ruim 12 jaar actief podiumkunstenaar in binnen- en buitenland. Ze was te lezen in de bloemlezing HARD OP en ze is in Tirade gepubliceerd. Ze heeft o.a. voor AYA, de Gasten, Poetry Circle, Bühnenbiest, Rover company, Silbersee, Nanoek en Dox gewerkt. Ze heeft de audiovisuele dichtbundels ergens thuis en de ruimte ertussen (Nominatie Lonely Wolf Festival en NPF) en De werkelijkheid heeft mij niet nodig (geselecteerd voor NFF en NPF) gemaakt. Ze organiseert BYMEKAAR, een twee maandelijks podium voor improvisatie in Splendor Amsterdam.

Moze Naél & Winterdagen - Wegdromen

In het najaar van 2022 verraste Moze Naél in samenwerking met muzikale artiest Winterdagen iedereen toen ze in de volle theater zaal van de Oude Luxor Rotterdam de interdisciplinaire poëtisch voorstelling Zielsrust vertoonden. De manier waarop hij performance poëzie naar buiten brengt heeft geleid tot veel lof en positieve reacties.

Van dag tot vandaag manoeuvreert Moze Naél langs spoken word, poëzie en muziek. Woorden die diep door huidlagen snijden, zinnen die emoties doorklieven en melodieën die je meevoeren naar plekken waar je nooit bent geweest. Moze Naél vind je tussen de regels, voorbij genres. Zwevend tussen nostalgie en melancholie creëert Moze Naél een plek waar klanken, woorden, zinnen en emoties dieper in je nestelen dan ooit. Hij heeft een stem als iedereen, maar niet zoals ieder ander. Scherpe kartelranden rondom woorden, gevormd door wat hij hoorde, zag en voelde. Zijn stem zacht en rauw. Woorden teder en meedogenloos. Klanken kalmerend en scherp.

Moze Naél neemt je mee in een wereld waar je oog in oog komt te staan met al jouw tegenstrijdigheden. Moze Naél is meer dan een aaneenschakeling van persoonlijke gegevens, een opsomming van publicaties en prijzen, meer dan een reeks van zijn, kunnen en willen. Door te laveren tussen samen zijn en alleen leerde Moze Naél dat de juiste snaar raken het enige is wat er toe doet.


Moze Naél

Lin An Phoa

Twee bazen in de spoken word scene delen wat het voor hen betekent om multidisciplinair te werken aan hun poëzie. Sjaan Flikweert en Moze Naél gaan een open gesprek met elkaar aan.

In gesprek met Sjaan Flikweert en Moze Naél

Multi award-winning British author Max Porter scored another best-seller this year with his fourth novel, 

, which tells the story of a few strange hours in the life of a troubled teenage boy. Shy has escaped from a boarding school for troubled boys, and as he wanders into the night, his head is filled with all the voices in his life: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt, and the people who are trying to love him.

As the night progresses, it becomes clear that Shy is walking into the haunted space between his night terrors, his past, and the heavy question of his future.


Max Porter

Multi award-winning British author Max Porter scored another best-seller this year with his fourth novel, Shy, which tells the story of a few strange hours in the life of a troubled teenage boy. Shy has escaped from a boarding school for troubled boys, and as he wanders into the night, his head is filled with all the voices in his life: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt, and the people who are trying to love him.