recites her poems while softly swaying to the beat of rhythmic words exploring abrasive situations, uncomfortable love and human insecurities. Her recitations are so much more than just reading a poem out loud.

works as a psychologist by day and on his literary debut at night. With humor and depth, Van Houts takes us through the ins and outs of the work of a psychologist.

create eccentric synthpop songs about dreaming of a better world and how to create a safe place for yourself in an increasingly chaotic existence.

is a prose writer and spoken word performer who explores identity and belonging as a young second-generation migrant in the Netherlands.

describes herself as a 'writing artist'. Her poetry collection Waar ik een slaapkamer heb gehad (Where I had a bedroom) recounts her memories of the places where she once had a bedroom.

uses a sixties drum-machine to create dreamy songs full of unique sounds and literary references ranging from Ramses Shaffy to non-Dutch troubadours.

debuted with her collection of poems Zonder het licht te breken (Without breaking the light), which is already in its eighth edition, a rarity in the world of poetry.

is the campus poet of the University of Antwerp and a veteran of the slam and spoken word scene. Her new collection of poems Tussentaal was nominated for the C. Buddingh Prize.

Corinne Heyrman will recite from her book Het begin en zijn oneindigheid, which explores the extent to which you choose who you are through the stories of hereditary mental illness. Heyrman’s recital is accompanied by trumpetist and sound artist Milan Mes.

uses his poetry and performance to explore issues of identity, history, and politics. “I believe in the power of stories, what they can do for the good or the bad in society.”

writes poetry about hidden fragilities in the lives of seemingly successful millennials, urging the reader to look deeper below the surface.

debuts this year with his poetry anthology Het Firmament Tussendoor (The firmament in between), which was highly praised by the jury of the C. Buddingh Prize.

introduces her debut album Big Tear, full of alternative pop, layered vocals, hypnotic melodies and classical instruments.

Vashti Bunyan presents Wayward: Just Another Life to Live, a magical and moving memoir of how she bowed out of the 1970’s London folk scene to take long trip by foot and horse drawn wagon to the remote Scottish Hebrides.

Karina Sainz Borgo presents her brilliant new novel The Third Country, in which we follow a mother on the run with her husband and twin children as a mysterious illness sweeps Venezuela.

are a Northern Irish post-punk jazz band making melodic tunes with musical instruments including keyboards, saxophones and sound – but no guitars are allowed.

Mustafa Stitou presents his new poetry collection Waar is het lam? (Where is the lamb?) which is filled with surreal topics such as a new species of sacrificial animal and a god in a simulator bathing in cosmic rays.

the author and comedian who is a Dutch legend. He possesses one of The Netherlands' most beautifully absurd brains.

Olga Ravn introduces her new novel The Employees, which takes place aboard a spaceship and turns the traditional sci-fi voyage into a brilliant existential nightmare. She is in conversation with the Icelandic author Fríða Ísberg, whose debut novel The Mark is another speculative journey into the unknown; Icelandic citizens are working towards a referendum on a mandatory empathy test.

God is Afoot, Magic is Alive: Reasons Not To Die with DBC Pierre and David Keenan

developed a new sound during the pandemic, and her experimental pop alternating between hazy euphoria and dark tensions is showcased on her new album, This is Not a Democracy.

writes deeply emotional songs with a no-frills approach. Pure, warm and personal, this Belgian singer-songwriter comes armed only with an acoustic guitar and a stunning voice.

launches her first collection of poetry Oeverloos, with beautiful sentences searching for lost primal powers and creating wonderful vistas such as a forest with ancient creatures.

create dreamy melodic pop blending influences from art, cinema, philosophy and mythology in layers of rock, psychedelia and folk.

Local upcoming artist Dax presents her new album Pockets.

The conversation will be about his first novel Dromer but also about his latest novel Hard Land and the art of writing. Will he answer the most important question of all: ‘are you still writing’?

talks about her Mythen en Stoplichten, published in April, a raw and visceral poetry collection tackling themes of gender, queerness and the desire to escape the body.

found new opportunities to express feelings of vulnerability and rawness in songs about desire without end on her sixth album, Ecstasy in the Shadow of Ecstasy.

Stuart Braithwaite introduces his new book Spaceships over Glasgow, a love song to live rock and roll that recounts his time with Scottish post-rock band Mogwai.

is the alter ego of Belgian musician Bart Van Obbergen Pérez, who sources inspiration from his Bolivian roots and music from all over the world for his blend of meditative ethnotronics.

is the musical project of Dutch songwriter and vocalist Damani, combining pop, jazz and soul. His improvised live shows take inspiration from the audience and environment.

Nora Krug talks about how we can protect our freedom and democratic rights and recognize the dawn of a totalitarian regime, while presenting her latest work, an illustrated edition of Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny.

Lias Saoudi and Adelle Stripe discuss Ten Thousand Apologies, their collaboration chronicling the rowdy and often hilarious story of Lias Saoudi’s infamous post-punk band, Fat White Family: ‘A drug band with a rock problem’

is one of the most original, idiosyncratic and unconventional multi-instrumentalists, rappers, and producers in The Netherlands today. His debut album LBM III was released this year.

are back again! One of the highlights of Crossing Border in 2019, the country soul band from Portland, Oregon will once again take to the stage for this year’s edition.

Damon Galgut introduces his Booker Prize-winning international bestseller The Promise (2021), which explores the troubled lives of a white South African family wrestling with its historical debt to their black housekeeper.

bring hypnotic soundscapes of spoken word, harmonious vocals, dreamy strings, keyboards and guitar – the opposite of Saoudi’s post-punk band Fat White Family.

is one of the most cutting-edge British rappers of the moment, tackling pressing social issues such as the cost-of-living crisis in his debut album, Universal Credit.

Mariana Enriquez presents her new book The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, in which the terrifying enters the everyday and we commute between realism and the supernatural in Buenos Aires.

Johny Pitts explores Afro-European identity in his book Afropean: Notes from Black Europe, in which he travels the continent searching for black identities and what connects them.

will recite poems from his Work Lunch series, parts of which have been published in The New Yorker, before accompanying legendary Alabama artist and musician Lonnie Holley.

has a voice The Boston Globe said “could have lured men to their deaths at sea, an intoxicating soprano drenched in gauzy reverb”. Her music is a blend of traditional folk, Gothic Americana and pop.

Bez talks about Buzzin', his new book full of adventures from the man who rattled the maracas in legendary Manchester rave rock band Happy Mondays, consumed eye popping amounts of drugs and who won Britain’s Celebrity Big Brother.

Persis has been nominated for top Dutch literary awards for her first two novels. Exces, her latest book, positions the rave movement as the ritual farewell to the future. Maarten van der Graaff latest novel Onder Asfalt is an enigmatic tale of a future world in which angels appear looking for answers and entire highways mysteriously disappear.

Hernan Diaz is back with Trust, his second masterful novel spanning more than a century, which engrosses us in the lives of a legendary Wall Street tycoon and his wife, a fortune made, and secrets that slowly spread.

is the solo project of Kelcey Ayer, co-founder of Los Angeles indie band Local Natives. His new EP Patricia explores depression, reconnection with his Colombian roots, and the duality of being biracial.

Crossing Border Festival’s unique annual residency project for talented authors and translators. Five writing talents write live about their findings and the translators get to work simultaneously to present their translations to the public the same day.

is the brainchild of musician/performer Oriana Mangala, who wraps her neo-soul and RnB vocals in a cloak of jazz and electronic rhythms, as heard on her debut single YOU, which explores love and self-acceptance.

presents his new story collection Passagiers/Achterblijvers, in which the characters leave their familiar surroundings and try to get a grip on the outside world.