there are more things

Yara Rodriques Fowler, a British novelist with Brazilian heritage, grew up in South London. Her debut novel 

 was published in 2019. Yara was named one of The Observer’s hottest-tipped debut novelists of 2019 and was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year 2019. Yara’s second novel, 

s, was published in 2022 It was one of the Sunday Times, BBC Culture, and New Statesman’s Books of the Year.

In 2023, Yara was chosen as one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists in their prestigious once-a-decade list. Yara is also a part-time climate justice organiser.

 is about two women - Melissa and Catarina. Catarina is born to a well-known political family in Brazil. Melissa, a South London native, is brought up by her mum and a crew of rebellious grandmothers. In 2016, they meet for the first time. Their story takes us across continents and generations, exploring sisterhood, queerness, and a glimpse at a better way to live.


Yara Rodrigues Fowler

Yara Rodriques Fowler, a British novelist with Brazilian heritage, grew up in South London. Her debut novel Stubborn Activist was published in 2019. Yara was named one of The Observer’s hottest-tipped debut novelists of 2019 and was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year 2019. Yara’s second novel, there are more things, was published in 2022 It was one of the Sunday Times, BBC Culture, and New Statesman’s Books of the Year.

Werken voor de kost


Claire Baglin grew up in Normandy, where her father was a factory worker and her mother a social worker. She draws on her personal background in her refreshing debut 

, which recounts the days of a worker in a fast-food restaurant and gives the reader a unique perspective on French working-class life.

Despite fond memories of stopping for fast-food on the way home from a childhood family vacation, the book’s narrator finds only drudgery when she takes a position at one such restaurant. Disinfecting tables and toilets, scrubbing floors, baking fries, filling bags with fast food – the minutes on the clock tick by, her actions mechanical, repetitive, and reminiscent of father's shifts in the factory.

This assured debut offers not only a glimpse into the kitchens of the fast-food industry, but also the social world its workers inhabit. Fluid and with a dry wit,. Baglin’s writing finds a sense of poetry in the little things as she paints a penetrating picture of social inequality.





Claire Baglin

Claire Baglin grew up in Normandy, where her father was a factory worker and her mother a social worker. She draws on her personal background in her refreshing debut En Salle, which recounts the days of a worker in a fast-food restaurant and gives the reader a unique perspective on French working-class life.

Die man die alles had

What is everything? And how did you get it? These are the questions that up-and-coming Dutch writer Dario Goldbach tries to address in his debut novel, 

The titular ‘man who has everything’ works as a senior innovation manager for tech giant Odium, a company led by Moriko Molenaer, former child prodigy, genius, billionaire, and the world's most powerful woman. At a weak moment and under pressure, the narrator presents a completely impractical and unworkable idea, only to have it feted and chosen to be the showpiece of the company.


Faced with the adoration of his colleagues, the narrator can’t bring himself to confess his mistake, and the novel follows his attempts to realise the doomed project, in a timely debut which skewers the tech industry and its megalomaniac personalities.


Dario Goldbach

What is everything? And how did you get it? These are the questions that up-and-coming Dutch writer Dario Goldbach tries to address in his debut novel, De Man die Alles Had (The Man Who Had It All).

Safae el Khannoussi (1994) is a writer, teacher and doctoral candidate. She writes her dissertation on political philosophy and prison abolitionism from a decolonial perspective. Some of her stories have been published in ‘De Gids’. In her work, she focuses on themes such as exile, fugitivity, and the paradoxical existence of the migrant. Her debut novel 

Safae el Khannoussi

Safae el Khannoussi (1994) is a writer, teacher and doctoral candidate. She writes her dissertation on political philosophy and prison abolitionism from a decolonial perspective. Some of her stories have been published in ‘De Gids’. In her work, she focuses on themes such as exile, fugitivity, and the paradoxical existence of the migrant. Her debut novel Oroppa will be published in 2024.

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.

Demir Hilbrands (1998) recently finished her master’s degree in Literary Translation at Utrecht University and now works at Leiden University. Since graduating, she has been working hard to get her translation career off the ground, for instance with the development grant she received from the Centre of Expertise for Literary Translation. She lives in Utrecht and does long-distance walking in her spare time. For ‘The Chronicles’, she will be translating Yara Rodrigues’ contributions from English.

Demir Hilbrands

Demir Hilbrands (1998) recently finished her master’s degree in Literary Translation at Utrecht University and now works at Leiden University. Since graduating, she has been working hard to get her translation career off the ground, for instance with the development grant she received from the Centre of Expertise for Literary Translation. 

Jan Pędziński has a master’s degree in Dutch from the Adam Mickiwicz University in Poznań, as well as a degree in Polish literature. He is currently working on his first book translation, De Republiek by Joost de Vries, under the mentorship of Alicja Oczko. At Crossing Border, he will be translating Safae el Shayeb’s contributions into Polish for ‘The Chronicles’.

Jan Pędziński

Lola Bertels (1991) lives in her hometown of Brussels with her two cats, where she does her bilingual education justice as a French-Dutch translator. She has previously translated short stories, poetry, plays, a documentary, a podcast episode, and a novel. She likes reading, writing, culture, losing track of time with loved ones, and thickly sliced bread. For ‘The Chronicles’, she will be working with Claire Baglin, whose contributions she will translate from French into Dutch.

Lola Bertels

András Szőnyei was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary. Hij studied English and Dutch at university and spent several years working for multinational companies. Last year, he translated a Dutch novel into Hungarian, which currently has not yet been published. He also translated a play a few years ago that was published in an online magazine. For ‘The Chronicles’, he will be translating the work of Dario Goldbach.

András Szőnyei

Shimanto (Robin) Reza translates, edits (often translated novels), and writes prose in Dutch and English. In this way he has found himself implicated in a conspiracy to compromise the strict divide between his two languages. Literature to him looks like a playground for ways of being, which can at times be a boxing ring, then in the blink of an eye turn almost too intimate. He finds wordless renewal in long silences and music. For ‘The Chronicles’, he will be translating Alara Adilow’s contributions into English.


Shimanto Reza

Shimanto (Robin) Reza translates, edits (often translated novels), and writes prose in Dutch and English. In this way he has found himself implicated in a conspiracy to compromise the strict divide between his two languages. Literature to him looks like a playground for ways of being, which can at times be a boxing ring, then in the blink of an eye turn almost too intimate. He finds wordless renewal in long silences and music. For ‘The Chronicles’, he will be translating Alara Adilow’s contributions into English.

The Chronicles is Crossing Border’s unique annual residency project for talented authors and translators.


Each day of the festival, an up-and-coming writer works on a blog of that day’s events, capturing their insights and experiences of the artists performing on the Crossing Border stage. At the same time, translators get to work and offer the audience a near-simultaneous translation. The translators are at the start of their literary careers, and the aim is to showcase the skill and talent of both the writer and translator and show how the process works. The authors will write one story prior to the festival, one on each day of the festival (2-3-4 Nov.) and a final story to conclude their experiences of Crossing Border.

Korzo - The Attic 

Moderator

Live event with the participants of The Chronicles. Where they will be questioned about their work, literary life, and this year’s collaboration.

The Chronicles Live

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

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.