De afgronden

Hailed as one of the most promising authors in Latin America after the publication of her debut novel in 2003, Colombian-born Pilar Quintana has continued to surprise and impress with novels that explore the human condition through powerful, confronting prose.


Her international breakthrough came after the publication of her 2017 novel 

, which was a finalist for the National Book Award 2020 and won the PEN Translates award in 2021. Now she returns with 

, the story of family dysfunction told through the eyes of eight-year-old Claudia. Set in Cali, Quintana’s own hometown, Claudia’s already strained relations with her parents are further tested with the appearance of an interloper.


Exploring the inner life of a child as she struggles to comprehend the depth of tragedy that can haunt a family, 

 has been praised for its clarity of vision and masterful exploration of family dynamics and the inheritance of pain. 


Pilar Quintana

Hailed as one of the most promising authors in Latin America after the publication of her debut novel in 2003, Colombian-born Pilar Quintana has continued to surprise and impress with novels that explore the human condition through powerful, confronting prose.

Her international breakthrough came after the publication of her 2017 novel The Bitch, which was a finalist for the National Book Award 2020 and won the PEN Translates award in 2021. Now she returns with Abyss, the story of family dysfunction told through the eyes of eight-year-old Claudia. Set in Cali, Quintana’s own hometown, Claudia’s already strained relations with her parents are further tested with the appearance of an interloper.

Theater aan het Spui

Dieuwertje Mertens

had been hailed as one of the greatest Colombia authors of her generation, and her new novel

 cements her reputation with a story of family dysfunction told through the eyes of an eight-year-old.

In conversation with Pilar Quintana

Ho Yuhan Ashley (1999) is een Singaporese kunstenaar die werkt vanuit het perspectief van beweging. Haar werk beweegt zich tussen performance, schrijven, grafisch ontwerp, bewegend beeld en scenografie.


Ashley Ho

The Grey Space in the Middle

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

Richtje Reinsma (1979) is een multidisciplinaire maker die zich uit in geluidswerken, performances, installaties en tekeningen. In haar werk benadert ze de alledaagse werkelijkheid als een mysterieus, onbekend organisme — iets om tegemoet te treden met verbazing en verlangen, behoedzaamheid en ontzag. Intieme, transformatieve ervaringen ontleend aan haar eigen bestaan en dat van anderen vormt het vertrekpunt voor haar werk. Vragen, gesprekken en teksten zijn belangrijke pijlers in haar werk, dat vaak om pogingen tot het vatten van een ervaring en het leggen van contact draait. Richtje schrijft ook over kunst, voor o.a. Mister Motley, en is beeldend docent bij de opleiding Docent Beeldende Kunst en Vormgeving van Fontys Academy of the Arts.

Richtje Reinsma

De afgelopen jaren hebben veel schrijvers de overstap gewaagd naar audio. Een wereld waar het vertellen van een verhaal andere zintuiglijke lagen biedt in de overdracht ervan. Makers Marthe van Bronkhorst, Anna de Bruyckere en Richtje Reinsma volgen allemaal het programma Literair Podcasten van het Podcastnetwerk. Hoe ze de overstap van discipline ervaren hebben en hoe hun projecten zich verder ontwikkelen, vertellen ze in gesprek met Mina Etemad.

PODCAST NETWERK Presents

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.

Korzo - The Raven

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.

Korzo - The Attic 

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

Anneleen Van Offel (1991) is een schrijver die vertrekt vanuit het onderzoek, de reis, de ontmoeting. In haar nieuwe roman 

 reist ze langs de Donau van bron tot monding, wat voor haar tegelijk een mentale reis is naar het moederschap. Historische opgravingen en eeuwenoude mythen en verhalen zijn de insteek van een expliciet vrouwelijke benadering van de reis langs de rivier. Het is een boek over onrust, moederwoede, vanlife, rivieren en het klimaat. Voor haar boek presenteert ze graag in een audio-visuele performance.

Anneleen van Offel

Anneleen Van Offel (1991) is een schrijver die vertrekt vanuit het onderzoek, de reis, de ontmoeting. In haar nieuwe roman De stem van Sulina reist ze langs de Donau van bron tot monding, wat voor haar tegelijk een mentale reis is naar het moederschap. Historische opgravingen en eeuwenoude mythen en verhalen zijn de insteek van een expliciet vrouwelijke benadering van de reis langs de rivier. Het is een boek over onrust, moederwoede, vanlife, rivieren en het klimaat. Voor haar boek presenteert ze graag in een audio-visuele performance.


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.


Lied van de profeet

On a dark, rainy evening in Dublin, there is a knock at Eilish Stack’s door. Two agents from the new Irish Secret Service want to speak to her husband, vice president of the Education Union. When Eilish’s husband is arrested, she is besieged by unpredictable forces she cannot resist. How far can she go to save her family?

by Paul Lynch (1977) is a heartbreaking tale of a country at war and a human portrait of mother trying to hold her family together. A novel about a future that proves terrifyingly close.

, Paul Lynch received the 2023 Booker Prize, the most important English-language literary award. His novels have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Paul Lynch

For his most recent novel, Prophet Song, Paul Lynch received the 2023 Booker Prize, the most important English-language literary award. His novels have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Koninklijke Schouwburg

won the Booker Prize with Prophet Song, about a future that proves frighteningly close

In conversation with Paul Lynch

Steff Geelen (1995) is schrijver van proza, poëzie, non-fictie en theater. Ook maakt hen graag interdisciplinair werk en performances. Geelen gebruikt taal als middel om thema's als macht, mannelijkheid, het lichaam en metamorfose te onderzoeken. Daarnaast duikt hen graag de archieven in voor historisch onderzoek. In november 2023 verscheen bij Wintertuin Uitgeverij de verhalenbundel 

, waarin magische metamorfoses de levens van de personages ontwrichten.

Steff Geelen

Steff Geelen (1995) is schrijver van proza, poëzie, non-fictie en theater. Ook maakt hen graag interdisciplinair werk en performances. Geelen gebruikt taal als middel om thema's als macht, mannelijkheid, het lichaam en metamorfose te onderzoeken. Daarnaast duikt hen graag de archieven in voor historisch onderzoek. In november 2023 verscheen bij Wintertuin Uitgeverij de verhalenbundel De splitsingen, waarin magische metamorfoses de levens van de personages ontwrichten.

Music and poetry are like coffee and cake—great on their own but even better together. At Broeinest, Huis van Gedichten (literally: House of Poems) presents poetry at its freshest, showcasing young talent from The Hague alongside international acts in artistic writing and music. But it’s not just about the performance...

The Broeinest talent program offers emerging writers the opportunity to hone their craft. Young people passionate about spoken word are guided from writing in their homes or classrooms to participating in workshops with intensive, professional mentorship. Here, they refine their skills and further develop their voices. With the support of spoken word artist and teacher Tyler Koudijzer, they explore the interplay of music and words and discover what music means to them. Tyler, an experienced performer and word artist, supports and inspires these young writers, helping them transition from page to stage.

As the cherry on top, they present their new work during this program—often for the first time, but certainly not the last.

Broeinest 2024

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

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

David Weel (1998) is schrijver, fotograaf en performer. In zijn werk speelt hij met verzonnen waarheden en zoekt hij naar het absurde van de mens. David studeert Woordkunst aan het Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen. In de zomer van 2023 ging hij als schrijfresident met deBuren naar Parijs. Zijn verhalen verschenen in De Gids en DW B.

David Weel

David Weel (1998) is schrijver, fotograaf en performer. In zijn werk speelt hij met verzonnen waarheden en zoekt hij naar het absurde van de mens. David studeert Woordkunst aan het Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen. In de zomer van 2023 ging hij als schrijfresident met deBuren naar Parijs. Zijn verhalen verschenen in De Gids en DW B. 

Vrienden

Hisham Matar (b. 1970) was born in New York, where his father was a diplomat for Libya. He grew up in Tripoli, Cairo and Paris, and has lived in London since 1986. His debut novel 

 was nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2006. He subsequently published the acclaimed 

, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. Matar is an activist against totalitarian regimes in the Middle East and is known for his thought-provoking opinion pieces.

Hisham Matar

Hisham Matar (b. 1970) was born in New York, where his father was a diplomat for Libya. He grew up in Tripoli, Cairo and Paris, and has lived in London since 1986. His debut novel In the Country of Men was nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2006. He subsequently published the acclaimed Anatomy of a Disappearance and The Return, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. Matar is an activist against totalitarian regimes in the Middle East and is known for his thought-provoking opinion pieces.

In conversation with Hisham Matar

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.

Onze dagelijkse oorlog

For more than two and a half years the war in Ukraine has been raging. Slowly but surely, all those horrors are disappearing from the front pages in many countries. But for Ukrainians, the battle is still in full swing, Andrey Kurkov shows in his penetrating war diary, Our Daily War. What are trench candles? What is it like not even to be shocked anymore when you hear that another acquaintance has died? And is there still room for art, music and literature when the bombs keep falling? A poignant appeal from Ukraine’s most important writer to keep supporting his country.

Andrey Kurkov (b. 1961) has written many novels, including the recent Grey Bees and Diary of an Invasion. He regularly appears in international media to comment on the state of his country. His work has been translated into 36 languages.

Andrej Koerkov

calls attention to the struggle in Ukraine with his war diary

In conversation with  Andrej Koerkov

Martelaar!

Iranian-American Kaveh Akbar (1989) was born in Tehran, Iran and moved to America when he was two, where he now teaches at the University of Iowa. He has previously published the poetry collections

During Crossing Border, Akbar will talk at Crossing Border about his debut novel 

Cyrus lives in a small room in a shared apartment with a pile of dirty laundry and overdue library books as his only possessions. In the idle hours since giving up booze, he spends most of his time thinking about writing and not doing so, meditating on the deeper meaning of his Iranian background. What he really wants is to die. To achieve the ultimate martyrdom. That's in Iranian nature, he argues. Wandering through life, he hears about the Iranian artist Orkideh who puts on a performance at the Brooklyn Museum in New York: Death-Speak. She spends her last weeks and days at the museum as she dies of cancer and engages in conversations with visitors. This is what he needs. He takes the plane to New York, but the conversations he has with Orkideh bring him not closer to death, but to life.

Kaveh Akbar

Iranian-American Kaveh Akbar (1989) was born in Tehran, Iran and moved to America when he was two, where he now teaches at the University of Iowa. He has previously published the poetry collections Pilgrim Bell and Calling a Wolf a Wolf, as well as the chapbook Portrait of the Alcoholic. His poems have appeared in The New York Times and Paris Review. During Crossing Border, Akbar will talk at Crossing Border about his debut novel Martyr!.

, in which an ex-alcoholic tries to achieve ultimate martyrdom.

In conversation with Kaveh Akbar

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.

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.