Benedict Wells in conversation Toef Jaeger

Benedict Wells (Germany) moved to Berlin after finishing high school to fully dedicate himself to writing. His international breakthrough came with The End of Loneliness (2017). The book was also a great success in the Netherlands, as were his subsequent novels, including Hard Land (2021) and Dromer (2022). At the festival, he will discuss his new book, De verhalen in ons.

About De verhalen in ons
How the desire to become a writer became an escape from a lonely childhood.
The life story of bestselling author Benedict Wells reads like one of his own characters. His grandfather was sentenced to a long prison term during the Nuremberg Trials in 1945—one of the reasons Benedict chose to change his last name. His parents divorced early and were unable to care for their children, leading Benedict to be sent from one Catholic boarding school to another. He found no peace or stability anywhere. The only thing that kept him going was writing, which he began at the age of seven. As an adult, he went from publisher to publisher with his manuscripts, enduring rejection, ridicule, poverty, and loneliness—until his debut novel caught the attention of the Zurich-based publishing house Diogenes. The rest is history.

De verhalen in ons is a personal journey from his childhood to his first publications. Drawing on his own life and work—as well as that of other well-known authors—Benedict Wells explores the power of writing. A wise and moving book about the magic of literature and the importance of perseverance, no matter what life throws at you. And an inspiring guide for anyone who writes, or dreams of doing so.