The Delines - Drowning In Plain Sight

The Delines are back! 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.

“I want to tell working class stories,” Delines guitarist and prize-winning novelist Willy Vlautin said last year in an interview. So what better way than to write hauntingly beautiful songs that deal with everything life throws at us.

Like his books, Vlautin’s songs border on the melancholic and narrate the stories of people whose lives are doomed to derail, and whose relationships inevitably sour. This is the recipe for a unique oeuvre of breath-taking songs.

After their debut in 2014 with the acclaimed record 

, the band took five years to produce their second album. Titled 

, it is filled with a soothing mix of countrysoul songs, texts by Vlautin and the raw, passionate voice of vocalist Amy Boone. 

The Delines will play from their very well received and latest masterpiece 

The Delines

The Delines are back! 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.

“I want to tell working class stories,” Delines guitarist and prize-winning novelist Willy Vlautin said last year in an interview. So what better way than to write hauntingly beautiful songs that deal with everything life throws at us.

Korzo - The Raven

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.

Dutch musician Pitou’s influences were forged in her childhood, when her Amsterdam-based family would travel to countries such as Cameroon and India, bringing home cassettes filled with the sounds they heard there. Pitou was also drawn to classical music at a very young age, and she performed at the baptism of the Princess of the Netherlands, singing the Matthaus Passion.

She was a relative late comer to rock, pop and guitar music, discovering these sounds in her teens, but quickly folded them into her patchwork of influences. These influences are all reflected in her debut album 

, which offers a rich dish of alternative pop, inventive melodic structures, vocal layers, mesmerizing melodies and classical instruments.

“It’s a fable directed towards my younger self,” says Pitou, referring to the time she found a dead bird and imagined a huge eye in the sky shedding a tear.

Pitou

, full of alternative pop, layered vocals, hypnotic melodies and classical instruments.

 evening:
Programme with Dutch and Flemish talent: poetry, spoken word and music.

The two musicians of De Witte Kunst often have no idea what they have just performed when their show ends. This is not surprising when you consider that in the beginning of their performing career, multi-instrumentalist Lyckle de Jong and writer-singer Koen van Bommel made sure nothing was pre-arranged. Their first performances were based on tension, improvisation and visual spectacle. Music and lyrics were created on the spot, while Koen could be found dressed with a collar of sandwiches, a burlap sack or baguettes for arms.

“Yes, those were alienating shows,” Koen admitted in an interview with Timo Pisart for 3voor12. “I went looking for the madman in myself.”

De Witte Kunst create songs about dreaming of a better world and how to create a safe place for yourself in an increasingly chaotic existence. Their music almost makes you dizzy, Pisart admits in the introduction to his interview with the two musicians: “Synthetic pop duo De Witte Kunst often mislead you. Their synthpop sounds deceptively frivolous and their shows are crazy dress up parties, but behind them are deep-seated fears.”

Their six-track debut EP of the same name was released in 2020.

De Witte Kunst

Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel

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

Kelcey Ayer was last at Crossing Border in 2010, headlining with Local Natives, the indie band he co-founded in Los Angeles that was hailed as “one of the most intriguing and festival-friendly bands coming out of Los Angeles in the last decade”.

Now Ayer is back with his new project Jaws of Love. “It was pretty hard just because no one in the band has ever done anything musically outside of Local Natives, so it was uncharted territory. It’s been equal parts exciting and anxiety-ridden for me,” he reflected in an interview in 2017 on the release of the Jaws of Love debut album, 

Ayer has now started the next phase of Jaws of Love with the new EP

, in memory of his late mother. Through her memory Ayer explores depression, reconnection with his Colombian roots, and the duality of being biracial. With more new music on the way, it’s an exciting new era for Jaws of Love.

Jaws of Love

is the solo project of Kelcey Ayer, co-founder of Los Angeles indie band Local Natives. His new EP

 explores depression, reconnection with his Colombian roots, and the duality of being biracial.

 (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.

Waar is het lam?

“Language is the biggest mystery there is,” Moroccan-Dutch poet Mustafa Stitou (1974) said during an interview back in 1995. So with his appearance at Crossing Border, we are in for an evening full of riddles and wonder in Stitou’s linguistic playground.

 (Where is the Lamb?) is filled with unconventional and surreal subject matters, ranging from praise for a new kind of sacrificial animal, a woman who turns bald underneath her headscarf, and a god who is subjected to radiation.

In this – his fifth anthology – Stitou creates a world that is both archaic as it is modern, examining the sacrificial drama from different angles. Stitou grew up with the Koran and discovered poetry in a library in Lelystad. He began writing poetry when he was 14 years old: “I had a more linguistic than visual fantasy world. I liked playing with language”, he explained. Stitou’s has been translated into Swedish and English, and his poetry has been awarded several times.

Mustafa Stitou 

 Korzo - The Hideout

Edwin Fagel

Mustafa Stitou presents his new poetry collection 

In conversation with Mustafa Stitou

, 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.

Wayward: Just Another Life to Live

Coming to Crossing Border is folk scene cult icon Vashti Bunyan, who will introduce her new book 

. It is a magical and moving memoir of how she bowed out of the 1970’s London folk scene and chose instead to make a long trip by foot and horse drawn wagon to join a commune in the remote Scottish Hebrides.

The career of English singer-songwriter Bunyan (1945) grew from obscurity to cult status to newfound fame. During her trek across the Outer Hebrides on her 650-mile odyssey, she wrote the songs that formed the basis for her first record 

 (1970). It quickly sank into oblivion, and Bunyan decided to leave the music scene. “My voice made me think of sorrow, I didn’t even sing to my children,” she said in a recent interview. 

But thirty years later her record was rediscovered, quickly gaining the recognition it deserves. Since then, she released two more records, 

 in 2014, and now she makes her debut as a writer with her 

Vashti Bunyan

Coming to Crossing Border is folk scene cult icon Vashti Bunyan, to introduce her new book Wayward: Just Another Life to Live. It is a magical and moving memoir of how she bowed out of the 1970’s London folk scene and chose to make a long trip instead by foot and horse drawn wagon. The career of English singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan (1945) grew from obscurity to cult status to newfound fame. Trekking across the Outer Hebrides for a 650-mile journey, she wrote songs that formed the basis for her Just record Another Diamond Day (1970). It quickly sank into oblivion, and Bunyan decided to leave the music scene. “My voice made me think of sorrow, I didn’t even sing to my children '', she said in a recent interview. But thirty years later her record was rediscovered, quickly gaining the recognition it deserves. Since then she released two more records, Lookaftering in 2005, Heartleap in 2014, and now she made her debut as a writer with her Wayward: Just Another Life to Live.

Lee Brackstone

In conversation with Vashti Bunyan

Oriana Ikomo - YOU

Belgian musician Oriana Ikomo wraps her neo-soul and RnB vocals in jazz harmonies and electronic rhythms to create a gentle, comforting texture. Her unique sound was created during her studies at the Ghent Conservatory, and her debut single '

' (2021) is a beautiful introduction to her delicate vocal qualities and dreamy atmosphere. It is a song about love and self-acceptance in the difficult times in which we live.

"Empathy should be the base of every relationship,” she has observed. “But sometimes even the people you love and who are the closest to you can suddenly seem very distant and feel apathetic. Alienation, especially in these times, is something that is becoming more and more common.

 is not a song about heartbreak. It is about the phase after the sadness and the anger. The phase where you begin to quietly regain hope that you can find the connections you once lost with others."

Oriana Ikomo

Belgian musician Oriana Ikomo wraps her neo-soul and RnB vocals in jazz harmonies and electronic rhythms to create a gentle, comforting texture. Her unique sound was created during her studies at the Ghent Conservatory, and her debut single 'You' (2021) is a beautiful introduction to her delicate vocal qualities and dreamy atmosphere. It is a song about love and self-acceptance in the difficult times in which we live.

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.

Nisrine Mbarki launches her first collection of poetry 

, with beautiful sentences searching for lost primal powers and creating wonderful vistas such as a forest with ancient creatures.

Oeverloos

“I listen to my bones, surrender to their song.” With 

, Dutch-Moroccan poet Nisrine Mbarki (1977) launches her first collection of poetry. In beautiful sentences she embarks on a search for lost primal forces. She asks questions about ecology and mysticism in wonderful vistas such as a forest populated with ancient creatures.

“That primal power has to do with a connection I feel with my environment and my ancestors. The collection is dedicated to my son and grandmother, the old and the new generation. But perhaps the collection is a tribute to all my mothers. I don't feel like I have one mother…Somehow I also consider language as a parent,” she recently said in an interview in Dutch newspaper, 

Mbarki is a versatile writer, poet, columnist, translator and program maker. In addition to poetry, she writes theater texts and short stories. She also translates poetry from Arabic into Dutch and has five translations to her name. Her poems and columns regularly appear in literary magazines such as 

Nisrine Mbarki

“I listen to my bones, surrender to their song.” With Oeverloos, Dutch-Moroccan poet Nisrine Mbarki (1977) launches her first collection of poetry. In beautiful sentences she embarks on a search for lost primal forces. She asks questions about ecology and mysticism in wonderful vistas such as a forest populated with ancient creatures.

Acclaimed US author Bryan Washington discusses the unique translation process for his polyphonic first book 

, in which the diverse voices have been brought to life by 13 Dutch translators.

Crossing Border is delighted to welcome acclaimed US author Bryan Washington, a National Book Award nominee whose most recent novel 

 (2020) ended up on ‘book of the year’ lists of many prestigious publications.

He has enthralled critics with his frank yet tender explorations of race and sexuality in America today and will be joining us for a unique event to discuss the translation process for his first book, 

 a series of interconnected short stories in which we dive into multicultural Texas. We meet a boy of mixed race who discovers he is attracted to men, survivors of a hurricane, young hustlers, and a dealer with a heart in a book full of energy, humour, and power.

 makes it ideally suited for translation by a collection of diverse voices, and this is exactly what its Dutch publisher Nijgh & Van Ditmar has done. In collaboration with Het Nederlands Letterenfonds and the Expertisecentrum Literair Vertalen, 13 up-and-coming Dutch translators set to work on making the pages of Lot come alive in the Dutch language.

This process raised many questions: How do you translate a collection with such a strong sense of place? What do you do with local slang? To what extent does it help if a translator has a personal affinity with the context of a novel? And what does the translation process teach the writer about their own work? Bryan Washington will be discussing this fascinating process alongside a number of his book’s translators.

The Dutch translators are: Janne Van Beek, Stokely Dichtman, Carmen Felix, Reshma Jagernath, Parel Joy, Joost Jung-shik Vormeer, Mijke Hadewey van Leersum, Laila de Miranda, Euphemia Ophelders, Lot Louis Veelenturf , Leen Vertessen, Diahann van van de Vijver and Adiëlle Westercappel.

Bryan Washington

Crossing Border is delighted to welcome acclaimed US author Bryan Washington, a National Book Award nominee whose most recent novel Memorial (2020) ended up on ‘book of the year’ lists of many prestigious publications.

Zaal 3

Raoul de Jong

, his short stories set in multicultural Texas, where a boy of mixed race discovers he is attracted to men in a frank yet tender exploration of race and sexuality in America today.

In conversation with Bryan Washington

 (The Most Secret Memory of Men) and reflects on being one of the the youngest recipients of the prestigious French Prix de Goncourt and the first from sub-Saharan Africa.

De diepst verborgen herinnering van de mens

Crossing Border is delighted to welcome Senegalese novelist Mohamed Mbougar Sarr (1990), who won the prestigious Prix de Goncourt last year for his novel 

 He is one of the youngest writers and the first writer from sub-Saharan Africa to receive the renowned prize for Francophone literature.

The book is a dazzling mixture of surprises, incorporating both otherworldly mysticism while also reflecting the harsh realities of both world wars. It weaves together stories including that of a writer accused of plagiarism, a female Haitian poet, and a complex plot involving the Nazis. As one reviewer summed it up: “It is superbly told and written in beautiful French and clearly deserving of winning the Prix de Goncourt.”

Sarr, the son of a doctor in Senegal, went to France for study and debuted in 2014 with 

, a novel about a fictitious city under the reign of an Islamist jihadist militia, was multi-award winning. “I defend the idea of open literature, where all imaginations find their place,” he said in an interview last year.

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

Crossing Border is delighted to welcome Senegalese novelist Mohamed Mbougar Sarr (1990), who won the prestigious Prix de Goncourt last year for his novel La Plus Secrète Mémoire des Hommes. He is one of the youngest writers and the first writer from sub-Saharan Africa to receive the renowned prize for Francophone literature.

BorderKitchen

Omar Ba

In conversation with Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

Amina Belôrf debuted with her collection of poems 

 (Without breaking the light), which is already in its eighth edition, a rarity in the world of poetry.

evening:
Programme with Dutch and Flemish talent: poetry, spoken word and music.

“It feels good when people get hope and comfort from my poetry,” said the Belgian poet Amina Belôrf (1990) during an interview last year: “Yes, poetry can save the world.”

Belôrf began writing poems age 17 and published her debut collection 

 (Without Breaking the Light) in 2020. It proved a huge hit with audiences and is now its eighth edition, a rarity in the world of poetry.

"I did not expect it would be a success,” she has said. “I love to read the reactions, also the letters I received during the lockdown. They are a confirmation of the writing urge I have which I want to exhibit. I doubted for a long time, I didn't have an easy path in my youth. At the same time, it's good to feel that can become an added value. You can turn your pain into a strength. I think that's why the collection gets to people. It’s about how fragile life is and on fragility, there is no color."

Amina Belôrf 

Charlotte Remarque

Markering

Fríða Ísberg (1992) is a poet, philosopher and one of Iceland's most promising voices. She writes for 

 among others and her recent debut novel, 

received rave reviews. It was awarded the Icelandic Women's Literature Prize for Fiction and the Booksellers Award for Fiction. 

 we follow Vetur, Ólafur, Tristan and Eyja, who are confronted with the limitations of their freedom while they navigate everyday desires and loyalties. Meanwhile, Iceland is moving towards a national referendum that will divide the country: will a mandatory empathy test make society safer and more peaceful, or is it yet another limit on the people’s freedoms?

Fríða Ísberg

Fríða Ísberg (1992) is a poet, philosopher and one of Iceland's most promising voices. She writes for The Times Literary Supplement among others and her recent debut novel, The Mark, received rave reviews. It was awarded the Icelandic Women's Literature Prize for Fiction and the Booksellers Award for Fiction. 

Een meedogenloos gehoor

Mauk Westerman Holstijn (1997) studied biotechnology and marine ecology at Wageningen University & Research. He previously published stories in 

. In 2020, he won the Resource literature competition with the story 'Droogte’ (Drought), whose jury was chaired by Louise O. Fresco. 

 is his debut collection of nine short stories. 

“Thematically they are related. It's about certain human feelings that we all recognize. Themes such as isolation, alienation, the way we relate to reality around us, it all may take place in a recognizable world, but I try to make those feelings we have of what we do not understand visible in the story, in a concrete way," Holstijn said about it last February in radio-show 

Nothing is what it seems in his stories. Where everything just seems normal, always something strange is going on. With an underlying tension he draws us into a world behind the known world, the flip side of our reality.

Mauk Westerman Holstijn

Mauk Westerman Holstijn (1997) studied biotechnology and marine ecology at Wageningen University & Research. He previously published stories in Hollands Maandblad. In 2020, he won the Resource literature competition with the story 'Droogte’ (Drought), whose jury was chaired by Louise O. Fresco. Een meedogenloos gehoor is his debut collection of nine short stories. 

schervenstad

According to Hanan Faour (1998), the best advice she got about writing was not even the writing itself, she explained in an interview two years ago: “Being a writer doesn't mean you always have to just write: sometimes I don’t write for weeks and then it almost feels like I'm pretending to be a writer, but I learned during the training that my writing process consists of much more. I draw, code, make spotify lists and photoshop receipts: these things don't always come up in a story, but they are part of my creative process. That, too, for me is part of writing and being a writer.”

Faour is a Dutch-Lebanese writer who tells stories in text, images and HTML. She graduated from Creative Writing ArtEZ, where she now also teaches, and she won the El Hizjra Literature Prize. 

 is her debut novel. In her book we follow the twins Nadine and Isaac. At the age of fourteen they are separated because of their parents' divorce. Isaac leaves with his Lebanese father to his native country, Nadine stays behind with her Dutch mother. Then the world is startled by an explosion in the port of Beirut. Though she hasn't seen her twin brother in over ten years, Nadine knows one thing for certain: she must go there.

Hanan Faour

According to Hanan Faour (1998), the best advice she got about writing was not even the writing itself, she explained in an interview two years ago: “Being a writer doesn't mean you always have to just write: sometimes I don’t write for weeks and then it almost feels like I'm pretending to be a writer, but I learned during the training that my writing process consists of much more. I draw, code, make spotify lists and photoshop receipts: these things don't always come up in a story, but they are part of my creative process. That, too, for me is part of writing and being a writer.”

Faour is a Dutch-Lebanese writer who tells stories in text, images and HTML. She graduated from Creative Writing ArtEZ, where she now also teaches, and she won the El Hizjra Literature Prize. Schervenstad is her debut novel. In her book we follow the twins Nadine and Isaac. At the age of fourteen they are separated because of their parents' divorce. Isaac leaves with his Lebanese father to his native country, Nadine stays behind with her Dutch mother. Then the world is startled by an explosion in the port of Beirut. Though she hasn't seen her twin brother in over ten years, Nadine knows one thing for certain: she must go there.

Wij zijn uitgeweken

Anne van den Dool (1993) is a copywriter, author and cultural journalist. She writes for NRC Handelsblad, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and Het Nationale Theater, among others. She is also a curator at the Literatuurmuseum (Museum of Literature). She made her debut in 2014 with the novel 

, was published in 2020. She also published poetry in 

, is a collection about the powerplay that creeps into every relationship: between child and parent, friends and loved ones. The moment when a stranger crosses your path in a busy train station and your bodies falter, because the question arises who has priority. When you and your lover start talking and fall silent at the same time, uncertain who gets to finish their sentence first. We constantly swerve around everything. Around awkward moments, confrontations, and especially around each other. What happens when we no longer flinch?

Anne Louïse van den Dool

Anne van den Dool (1993) is a copywriter, author and cultural journalist. She writes for NRC Handelsblad, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and Het Nationale Theater, among others. She is also a curator at the Literatuurmuseum (Museum of Literature). She made her debut in 2014 with the novel Achterland. Her second novel, Vluchthaven, was published in 2020. She also published poetry in Tirade, Poeziekrant and DWB. 

I'm a Fan

Born and raised in North West London, Sheena Patel Sheena Patel is a writer and assistant director for film and TV. She is part of the poetry collective 4 BROWN GIRLS WHO WRITE. Her debut novel 

 will be published this year by Rough Trade Books and has been described by the press as 'blistering'.

The opening sentence alone is one of the most talked-about lines in recent memory – "I stalk a woman on the Internet who sleeps with the same man as me" – and so Patel drags you further into the depths of frenzy, as the narrator in 

 scrolls and twists her way through life.

Of the main character in her book, a woman trapped in an unhealthy love triangle with a famous artist and another woman, Patel said in an interview with 

 magazine last June., “I think ‘bad’ is as limiting as making a story about being ‘good’ or a ‘victim’. She’s bad and good like most of us are (with some exceptions of people who are actually bad people.) I think that grey space is the thing that is most like real life.”

Sheena Patel

Born and raised in North West London, Sheena Patel Sheena Patel is a writer and assistant director for film and TV. She is part of the poetry collective 4 BROWN GIRLS WHO WRITE. Her debut novel I'm A Fan will be published this year by Rough Trade Books and has been described by the press as 'blistering'.

Laura Molenaar (1993) studied Philosophy and Mathematics, learning Icelandic in the evening hours. She began translating for herself which she found so pleasurable that she decided to make it her profession. She received a Development scholarship from the Expertisecentrum Literair Vertalen to translate the novel 

 by Gerður Kristný. With Kim Liebrand she also translated the novel 

 by Fríða Ísberg. Laura also works as a freelance journalist, among others for Dutch newspaper 

Laura Molenaar

Laura Molenaar (1993) studied Philosophy and Mathematics, learning Icelandic in the evening hours. She began translating for herself which she found so pleasurable that she decided to make it her profession. She received a Development scholarship from the Expertisecentrum Literair Vertalen to translate the novel Smarties by Gerður Kristný. With Kim Liebrand she also translated the novel The Mark by Fríða Ísberg. Laura also works as a freelance journalist, among others for Dutch newspaper Trouw.

Irene de la Torre Perelló (Madrid, 1988) is full-time freelance translator since 2014, combining literary translations with the translation of documents from Dutch, English, French and Catalan into Spanish. In 2017-2019 she was selected to participate in the European project CELA (Connecting Emerging Literary Artists) as a translator from Dutch into Spanish, where she translated the work of Joost Oomen, Simone Atangana Bekono and Lotte Lentes. She has published translations of Philip Ball, Lotte Lentes, Auke Kok and Rachida Lamrabet, among others. She has published translations and her own work in literary magazines and fanzines. She is currently preparing her first collection of short stories.

Irene de la Torre

The child of two cultures from both sides of the Mediterranean, Sofiane Boussahel (1978) was born in the Flemish part of Northern France. After having first worked as an opera dramaturge, musicologist and teacher, he has more recently translated one hundred of Beethoven's letters, essays by Theodor W. Adorno, contemporary German plays (Wolfram Lotz, Dorian Brunz) from German into French. He is currently working on a book by Bodo Mrozek on pop music and youth culture. Boussahel received his training at the Centre européen de traduction littéraire, and he regularly participates in translation workshops and courses on translating Dutch and Flemish literature into French.

Sofiane Boussahel

Bo-Elise Brummelkamp (24) grew up in The Hague and has been living and working in Scotland for the past six years. After finishing her undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Edinburgh in the summer of 2020, she started working as a commercial Dutch-English translator. She gained experience for two years by taking on various projects, from translating websites and audiobooks to subtitling TV-shows. Her ultimate goal is to translate novels. She’s excited to take this next step in her career and plunge herself into the world of literary translation.

Bo-Elise Brummelkamp

Hannalore Daudeij (1997) recently earned a master’s degree in Literary Translation at Utrecht University. She graduated cum laude from the bachelor English Literature and Culture previously. She specialised in English literature during this study and she discovered her love for the art of translation. Since then she has set her mind on becoming a translator. She’s currently at the start of her career, and she can’t wait to obtain her first book translation.

Hannalore Daudeij

translators are the shadow heroes of literature

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.

(NL), Hanan Faour (NL), Frida Isberg (IS), Anne Louïse van den Dool (NL) and Sheena Patel (UK).



This year’s participating translators are:


Laura Molenaar (NL), Irene de la Torre Perelló (ES), Sofiane Boussahel (FR), Bo-Elise Brummelkamp (NL/UK) and Hannalore Daudeij (NL).



The authors will write one story prior to the festival, one on each day of the festival (3-4-5 Nov.) and a final story to conclude their experiences of Crossing Border.




The Dutch authors and translators of The Chronicles will also appear at their own event during Crossing Border, when they will be questioned about their work, literary life, and this year’s collaboration.

Korzo - The Attic 

Jelko Arts

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.

The Chronicles 2022

Anne Louïse van den Dool (NL),
Mauk Westerman Holstijn (NL), Frida Isberg (IS), Hanan Faour (NL) 
& Sheena Patel (UK)



 Bo-Elise Brummelkamp (NL/UK), Hannalore Daudeij (NL), 
Laura Molenaar (NL), Irene de la Torre Perelló (ES) & Sofiane Boussahel (FR)

Malika Soudani describes herself as a 'writing artist'. Her poetry collection 

 (Where I had a bedroom) recounts her memories of the places where she once had a bedroom.

Malika Soudani (1997) completed her first collection of poetry while studying creative writing at the ARTEZ art academy, where she is researching links between social media bubbles and discrimination.

 (Where I Had a Bedroom), published in the Netherlands last year, is based on an intriguing premise, in which Soudani recalls memories of all the places in which she had a bedroom. It quickly became a sell-out hit, captivating readers with its narrative approach to memory and experience, grappling with issues including family ties, racial identity, and finding your voice.

“I started with a specific idea for its content and form, based on the writing lessons I had learned,” she explains. “But this work was all mine… It had to be a work with which I, as a writer, separated myself from the art academy and took a position in the literary landscape. For example, instead of complete bits of prose or traditional poetry (whatever that may be), I wrote

 in three months. A narrative poetry collection full of concise notes about my memories of all the places I've had a bedroom.”

Malika Soudani

describes herself as a 'writing artist'. Her poetry collection 

Andrej Koerkov, Ukraine's greatest living novelist, presents his new book 

, a penetrating account of the Russian invasion and his efforts to keep the story of Ukraine's struggle for freedom and democracy alive.

Registration is free of charge for Ukrainian nationals. To receive a free ticket, please register by sending an email with 

), before November 1st. Entry is only permitted with (free) ticket!

Andrej Koerkov (1961) is frequently described as Ukraine’s greatest living novelist, and Crossing Border is delighted to welcome him to this year’s festival to present his searing account of the Russian attack on his country, 

While born in Russia and writing in the Russian language, Koerkov has spent his life in Ukraine and was making plans for a new novel and follow up to his best-selling 2020 novel 

 when the air raids started sounding over Kiev.

With millions of others, Koerkov fled into western Ukraine, all the time keeping a diary about the bizarre new reality in his beloved country. In the intervening months, he has travelled across Europe, sharing the stories of his compatriots and keeping alive the stories of the Ukrainian struggle for freedom and democracy.

, is a penetrating account of a man on the run and a country determined to defend itself, written with Koerkov's characteristically keen eye for the absurdities of everyday life in war.

Koerkov grew up in Kyiv, where he studied Japanese, among other things. After college, he held jobs ranging from prison guard to cameramen, but captured the world’s attention with his best-selling 2001 debut novel, 

Andrej Koerkov

Andrej Koerkov (1961) is frequently described as Ukraine’s greatest living novelist, and Crossing Border is delighted to welcome him to this year’s festival to present his searing account of the Russian attack on his country, Diary of an Invasion.

Theater aan het Spui

Michel Krielaars

In conversation with Andrej Koerkov

 series, parts of which have been published in 

, before accompanying legendary Alabama artist and musician Lonnie Holley.

Alabama songwriter, musician and poet Lee Bains grew up amid the hardcore southern punk rock scene in his hometown of Birmingham, and his band The Glory Fires stays true to those punk roots.

He has released four albums to date with the band, the last of which, 

, came out this year. It is the literary quality of Bains’ work which has captured the critics, with the

 praising the lyrical intensity of his words.

So it makes sense that Bains also turns his hand to poetry, and at Crossing Border this year he will be reading from his latest opus, 