Misjka

Gelukkig en blij 

Edward van de Vendel writes books for children and young adults, in the form of poetry, song lyrics, fiction, picture books and non-fiction. He was a primary school teacher before becoming a full-time writer in 2001. His books were awarded several times with the Gouden Griffel (prize for the best children’s book), the Zilveren Griffel, the Gouden Kus (prize for the best book for teenagers, 4x) and the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs (best children's book according to reviewers). He was also shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award and nominated no less than five times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. His books are sold in more than twenty-five countries.

Edward van de Vendel 

LA LOM Cover - La Danza De Los Mirlos

Managing to stand out of all the good that comes out of Los Angeles is an art. LA LOM has succeeded, courtesy of the ease with which the three gentlemen manage to mix different genres and cultures with their guitar, bass, drums and percussion.


LA LOM stands for The Los Angeles League of Musicians and was formed in 2019, when the band was assembled to play five nights a week in the lobby of the historic Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. Initially, LA LOM’s job was to provide background music for hotel guests, tourists and passers-by off the street, but soon LA LOM began to experiment. The result: a genre-transcending repertoire reflecting the musical diaspora of the Angelenos.

LA LOM

Managing to stand out in all the good that comes out of Los Angeles is an art. LA LOM has succeeded, courtesy of the ease with which the three gentlemen manage to mix different genres and cultures with their guitar, bass, drums and percussion.

Django Duyns (1994) is singer-songwriter en gitarist. Hij is oprichter van Pale Puma, een project in verschillende samenstellingen, waarmee hij o.a. optrad in Artis en Parijs. In 2023 verscheen zijn debuutalbum bij Excelsior Recordings: ‘Haunted by dreams that were never my own.’

Django Duyns

Een dag in het leven van Abed Salama

American writer Nathan Thrall combines fiction and non-fiction - and with great success. He writes for 

. From one of his publications for the latter magazine came the idea for his book 

In this novel, we follow five-year-old Milad Salama, who is on his way with his class to a playground near Jerusalem when the school bus catches fire. Milad’s father Abed rushes to the scene but gets caught up in a bureaucratic maze. Thrall describes the heartbreaking search, painting a human portrait of the tragic struggle and history of Israel and Palestine. The book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Non-fiction.


Nathan Thrall

American writer Nathan Thrall combines fiction and non-fiction - and with great success. He writes for The New York Times, The London Review of Books and The New York Review of Books. From one of his publications for the latter magazine came the idea for his book A Day in the Life of Abed Salama, which received worldwide acclaim.

HIJS Poetry #3: Neusa Gomes

Will's power | Neusa Nena Gomes | TEDxRotterdam

 (1978) made an overwhelming debut as a spoken word artist at PaginaGroots. She won the El Hizjra Literature Prize (2017) in the category poetry with the poem 'Oorlog 'n Held' and the TEDx Open Mic Podium (2017) during the event ‘Being connected’. As a child, language and knowledge offered her a mental escape route from her troubled childhood. Now she writes and speaks about religion, love, her own background, nature, religion, and humanism. In addition, she is active as a songwriter and teaches writing and performing. Gomes: 'I write to be heard and sing to share the feeling'.

Neusa Gomes

In 2015 Neusa Gomes (1978) made an overwhelming debut as a spoken word artist at PaginaGroots. She won the El Hizjra Literature Prize (2017) in the category poetry with the poem 'Oorlog 'n Held' and the TEDx Open Mic Podium (2017) during the event ‘Being connected’. As a child, language and knowledge offered her a mental escape route from her troubled childhood. Now she writes and speaks about religion, love, her own background, nature, religion, and humanism. In addition, she is active as a songwriter and teaches writing and performing. Gomes: 'I write to be heard and sing to share the feeling'.


Ik wens mijn huis as

Moscow poet and activist Daria Serenko (b. 1993) knows the harrowing effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the inside. While in prison for supporting opposition leader Navalny, she began writing 

. In it, she urgently and poetically explores guilt, violence, activism and exile.


In addition to being a writer, Serenko is a co-founder of the Feminist Anti-War Resistance movement, founded in February 2022 to protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For its efforts, the organization was awarded the Aachen Peace Prize 2023. Serenko was named one of the 100 most influential women of 2023 by the bbc.

Daria Serenko

Moscow poet and activist Daria Serenko (b. 1993) knows the harrowing effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the inside. While in prison for supporting opposition leader Navalny, she began writing Ik wens mijn huis as. In it, she urgently and poetically explores guilt, violence, activism and exile.

Terug naar Huis

Jésus Carrasco (1972) was born in Extremadura, one of Spain’s most sparsely populated and driest provinces. He has worked, among other things, as a grape-picker, a washer-up, a physical education teacher, a music manager, an exhibition fitter, a graphic designer and an advertising copywriter. In 2013, he made a stunning debut on the literary scene with his first novel.

 was published in over thirty countries and received various literary prizes and nominations. In Llévame a casa Carrasco once again creates memorable characters who are forced to make radical decisions when life throws them a curveball.

Jesús Carrasco

Jésus Carrasco (1972) was born in Extremadura, one of Spain’s most sparsely populated and driest provinces. He has worked, among other things, as a grape-picker, a washer-up, a physical education teacher

The Great Bailout

Moor Mother, also known as Camae Ayewa, is an international jack-of-all-trades: she travels the world as a musician, composer, poet, visual artist and curator. Her work has been exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum and the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York.


Moor Mothers' lyrics are an ode to past, present and future. She herself sees her work as a form of Afrofuturism: a form of empowerment of marginalized black and indigenous people, who can hopefully draw strength from her work. During Crossing Border, Moor Mother will recite lyrics from her latest album, 

Moor Mother

Tenement Kid

 is a singer, songwriter and founder member of the rock and roll band Primal Scream. The band's origins are in the city of Glasgow. They have released 11 albums including major hits, 'Loaded', 'Rocks', 'Country Girl' and 'Kowalski'. Ending with the release of ‘Screamadelica’ and the Primal Scream tour that followed in the autumn, 

 is a book filled with the joy and wonder of a rock n roll apostle who would radically reshape the future sounds of fin de siècle British pop.

Bobby Gillespie

Bobby Gillespie is a singer, songwriter and founder member of the rock and roll band Primal Scream. The band's origins are in the city of Glasgow. They have released 

Munganyende (1993) schrijft poëzie, fictie en non-fictie. Ze is professor Beyoncéologie aan de ArtEZ Academie voor Art & Design. In haar werk vindt ze het belangrijk om de perspectieven van zwarte vrouwen en dochters van vluchtelingen een plek te geven. Ze onderzoekt hoe auditieve performance en culturen samen kunnen komen in producties en verhaal vertellingen. Daarnaast vindt ze het het leukst als ze ‘tantine’ wordt genoemd. Haar debuut roman zal verschijnen bij uitgeverij Pluim.

Munganyende

Munganyende (1993) schrijft poëzie, fictie en non-fictie. Ze is professor Beyoncéologie aan de ArtEZ Academie voor Art & Design. In haar werk vindt ze het belangrijk om de perspectieven van zwarte vrouwen en dochters van vluchtelingen een plek te geven. Ze onderzoekt hoe auditieve performance en culturen samen kunnen komen in producties en verhaal vertellingen. Daarnaast vindt ze het het leukst als ze ‘tantine’ wordt genoemd. Haar debuutroman zal verschijnen bij uitgeverij Pluim. 

Loeke Vanhoutteghem (1996) schrijft slam poetry, gedichten, verhalen, liedjes en theaterteksten. Ze heeft een voorliefde voor experiment en het podium. Ze werd zowel Gents als West-Vlaams slamkampioen. Vanhoutteghem is als vocalist vast lid van het jazzimprovisatie-ensemble Safety Last Soundpainting Ensemble. Ook is ze onderdeel van van de Nederlandstalige punkformatie Maria Iskariot. Als schrijver is ze verbonden aan het Kortrijkse Letterzettercollectief.

Loeke Vanhoutteghem

Loeke Vanhoutteghem (1996) schrijft slam poetry, gedichten, verhalen, liedjes en theaterteksten. Ze heeft een voorliefde voor experiment en het podium. Ze werd zowel Gents als West-Vlaams slamkampioen. Vanhoutteghem is als vocalist vast lid van het jazzimprovisatie-ensemble Safety Last Soundpainting Ensemble. Ook is ze onderdeel van  van de Nederlandstalige punkformatie Maria Iskariot. Als schrijver is ze verbonden aan het Kortrijkse Letterzettercollectief.

Roffa Represent - aflevering 6 Stryder

 is Palestinian, poet, and (only just) a child of the 1980s. He fled from his country of birth Palestine at a very young age, initially to Lebanon. When he was four years old, he came to the Netherlands. A simple man, as he says himself, but one with a strong opinion. He grew up in an era in which hip-hop inspired young people and challenged them to think for themselves. This led him to realizing the power of words at an early age.

Stryder

Stryder is Palestinian, poet, and (only just) a child of the 1980s. He fled from his country of birth Palestine at a very young age, initially to Lebanon. When he was four years old, he came to the Netherlands. A simple man, as he says himself, but one with a strong opinion. He grew up in an era in which hip-hop inspired young people and challenged them to think for themselves. This led him to realizing the power of words at an early age. 


KRIJSEN | Maxime Garcia Diaz

 (1993) writes poems about the internet, the body, impurity, fantasy, anger and sad girls as resistance fighters. She studied Cultural Analysis at the University of Amsterdam. In 2019 she won the NK Poetry Slam and in 2020 she published the chapbook 

 at the label Marktcorruptie, a collection of poetry and visual work in which Marie Antoinette and Lindsay Lohan meet. In July 2021, De Bezige Bij released her debut collection of poetry: 

. Garcia Diaz is Dutch and Uruguayan and lives in Amsterdam.


Maxime Garcia Diaz

Maxime Garcia Diaz (1993) writes poems about the internet, the body, impurity, fantasy, anger and sad girls as resistance fighters. She studied Cultural Analysis at the University of Amsterdam. In 2019 she won the NK Poetry Slam and in 2020 she published the chapbook Artificielle at the label Marktcorruptie, a collection of poetry and visual work in which Marie Antoinette and Lindsay Lohan meet. In July 2021, De Bezige Bij released her debut collection of poetry: Het is warm in de hivemind. Garcia Diaz is Dutch and Uruguayan and lives in Amsterdam.



Butterfly Child

Marc Majewski is an award-winning illustrator and picture book maker. He has written and illustrated several books, which have been translated into more than 10 languages. He usually uses paint or ink to create his illustrations. His style can be recognised by flowing strokes and bright colours. Marc spent his childhood in the Alps, surrounded by lakes and forests. This is clearly reflected in his work, in which nature plays an important role. In his work, nature is vast, rich and colourful, as a refuge and source of wonder. His work has been exhibited at many exhibitions around the world, including the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and the Society of Illustrators, as well as in magazines such as Internazionale, Süddeutsche Zeitung and The Telegraph.

Marc Majewski 

Marc Majewski is an award-winning illustrator and picture book maker. He has written and illustrated several books, which have been translated into more than 10 languages. He usually uses paint or ink to create his illustrations. His style can be recognised by flowing strokes and bright colours. Marc spent his childhood in the Alps, surrounded by lakes and forests. This is clearly reflected in his work, in which nature plays an important role. In his work, nature is vast, rich and colourful, as a refuge and source of wonder. His work has been exhibited at many exhibitions around the world, including the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and the Society of Illustrators, as well as in magazines such as Internazionale, Süddeutsche Zeitung and The Telegraph. 

Nobody's empire

You obviously know Stuart Murdoch as the lead singer and songwriter of Belle & Sebastian. The Glasgow band has released 12 studio albums since its formation in the 1990s, including If You're Feeling Sinister and The Boy With the Arab Strap. Murdoch also wrote, composed and directed the film God Help the Girl in 2012.

Now there is his first novel: Nobody’s Empire, about romantic music lover Stephen, who is diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome after a lengthy hospital stay. The illness deprives him of any prospect of work and a social or independent life. When Stephen discovers that he does manage to write songs, albeit slowly and carefully, the possibility of a spiritual life beyond the mundane opens up.

Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian)

Ghostpoet – Concrete Pony (Official Video)

Ghostpoet - Trouble + Me (Live from The Pool)

Since the beginning of his career, Ghostpoet (Obaro Ejimiwe) has avoided identifying his music as belonging to a particular genre. Where critics and promoters sometimes try to pin him down with labels, he prefers to describe himself as an ‘artist who experiments with sounds and loves guitars’. His music with literary spoken/sang lyrics was nominated twice for the Mercury Prize. His latest record ‘I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep’ (2020) is a dystopian snapshot of the universal unease and anxiety we feel as we enter into this new decade: an uncertain future distilled across ten vital, intense tracks.

Ghostpoet

Since the beginning of his career, Ghostpoet (Obaro Ejimiwe) has avoided identifying his music as belonging to a particular genre. Where critics and promoters sometimes try to pin him down with labels, he prefers to describe himself as

Lost Words

Zips and Eelo make hummus

Leila Boukarim was born in Lebanon, travelled the world over the course of her life and now lives in Berlin. She has published several children's books, including Lost Words: An Armenian Story of Survival and Hope, about the Armenian genocide. Leila’s stories are heavily influenced by her upbringing in the Middle East and raising two young boys. Besides writing, Leila likes to spend her time reading, hoarding books, embroidering and desperately trying to impress her cat.

Leila Boukarim

Nachtdier

Joost van Bellen - Fragment uit Nachtdier | VPRO ON STAGE

(1962) is a phenomenon: he is a DJ, party organizer, musical director for fashion shows and an author. He belongs to the select group of DJs that introduced house in the Netherlands and with his club nights he laid a foundation for the Amsterdam nightlife of the nineties and the noughties. Van Bellen has made it known that he has a serious dislike for pigeonholing and therefore choses paths in his creative life that don’t always seem obvious. In 2014, 'after almost four years of hard work, perseverance and learning the hard way’ his debut novel 

Joost van Bellen

Joost van Bellen (1962) is a phenomenon: he is a DJ, party organizer, musical director for fashion shows and an author. He belongs to the select group of DJs that introduced house in the Netherlands and with his club nights he laid a foundation for the Amsterdam nightlife of the nineties and the noughties. Van Bellen has made it known that he has a serious dislike for pigeonholing and therefore choses paths in his creative life that don’t always seem obvious. In 2014, 'after almost four years of hard work, perseverance and learning the hard way’ his debut novel Pandaogen was published. 





Lotte Hammond (b. 1982) studied Dutch language and literature in Vienna and Groningen, as well as Spanish Adolescence Education in Cortland, New York. She has done research on the influence of William Faulkner on Hugo Claus, as well as on postcolonial Dutch literature. Having worked as a researcher and German, Dutch, and Spanish language teacher for several years, she began translating full-time in 2018. She translates fiction, non-fiction and drama from Dutch, English and Spanish into German.

Lotte Hammond

Diep in de blauwe zee

Gianumberto Accinelli is an Italian biologist and writer. He talks about his book Deep in the Blue Sea. This extraordinary book takes you down, deeper and deeper into the sea. The ruler on the left-hand side of each page is your guide on the way to the deepest, darkest bottom of the sea. You will travel through zones teeming with life and arrive at places that are mostly quiet and lonely. What will you encounter? From penguins and fish, submarines and giant squid to the strange creatures that live in the 11-kilometre-deep Mariana Trench. Browse yourself into the depths!

Gianumberto Accinelli

Hard Drive

Seasoned New York-based folk musician Cassandra Jenkins previously played in a.o. the bands of Eleanor Friedberger, Craig Finn and Lola Kirke. For her second solo album Phenomenal Nature, she arrived at the studio of Josh Kaufman (The National, The Hold Steady) with ideas rather than full songs – nevertheless, they finished the album in a week. Her ambient folk evokes magical worlds, with lyrics exploring the unusual in everyday meetings and occurrences. Her observations capture the nature and humanity around her. ‘Nothing ever really disappears’, Jenkins says, ‘it just changes shape’.

Cassandra Jenkins

Seasoned New York-based folk musician Cassandra Jenkins previously played in a.o. the bands of Eleanor Friedberger, Craig Finn and Lola Kirke. For her second solo album Phenomenal Nature, she arrived at the studio of Josh Kaufman (The National, The Hold Steady) with ideas rather than full songs – nevertheless, they finished the album in a week. Her ambient folk evokes magical worlds, with lyrics exploring the unusual in everyday meetings and occurrences. Her observations capture the nature and humanity around her. ‘Nothing ever really disappears’, Jenkins says, ‘it just changes shape’.


 Chibi Ichigo - Paranoia (UM!, One Track Brain)

Young talent Chibi Ichigo aka Sabina Nurijeva has Russian roots (born 1998 near Kazan), grew up in a small Flemish town, now lives in Brussels and bears a Japanese stage name (Chibi Ichigo means 'small strawberry'). Chibi sings and raps in Dutch and Russian to exhilarating electronic music. She challenges with her experimental approach to language, singing, rap and beats. With her latest single Paranoia, release 14/10/2021, she takes a new direction, introducing a quirky electronic sound with eclectic influences. A sound that is already a taster for her debut album, to be released April 2022!

Chibi Ichigo

Young talent Chibi Ichigo aka Sabina Nurijeva has Russian roots (born 1998 near Kazan), grew up in a small Flemish town, now lives in Brussels and bears a Japanese stage name (Chibi Ichigo means 'small strawberry'). Chibi sings and raps in Dutch and Russian to exhilarating electronic music. She challenges with her experimental approach to language, singing, rap and beats. With her latest single Paranoia, release 14/10/2021, she takes a new direction, introducing a quirky electronic sound with eclectic influences. A sound that is already a taster for her debut album, to be released April 2022! 


Soukaïna Bennani (1995) is woordkunstenaar, host en organisator. Soms is ze maatschappelijk bezeten, soms een sukkel voor de liefde, maar altijd een poëet met haar hart op de tong. In haar werk speelt vrouwelijkheid een belangrijke rol. Sinds 2019 is ze moeder van Pillow Talk, een warm en intiem podium waar ze haar collega-dichters een plek geeft om te shinen. In 2022 bemachtigde ze een plekje in de finale van het Gents Slampioenschap.

Soukaïna Bennani

Soukaïna Bennani (1995) is woordkunstenaar, host en organisator. Soms is ze maatschappelijk bezeten, soms een sukkel voor de liefde, maar altijd een poëet met haar hart op de tong. In haar werk speelt vrouwelijkheid een belangrijke rol. Sinds 2019 is ze moeder van Pillow Talk, een warm en intiem podium waar ze haar collega-dichters een plek geeft om te shinen. In 2022 bemachtigde ze een plekje in de finale van het Gents Slampioenschap. 

Sheherazaad - Mashoor (Official Music Video)

Today, migration seems to be encoded into everyday habits. As so many of our minds and bodies aggressively globalise in unprecedented ways, previously fixed “genres” and identities of any kind are constantly being dismantled, made redundant, and born anew.It’s from this space of flux that American composer and vocalist 

 derives song. Her forthcoming mini-album, Qasr, produced by star musician Arooj Aftab, was engendered during a time of family estrangement, grief over a lost elder, and the racial polarisation of her country as she knew it. 

Translating to “castle” or “fortress” in Urdu, Qasr is indeed a monument —like encapsulation of the real strains of displacement, the push and pull of diaspora, and the depravity of erasure and forgotten roots.

Sheherazaad

Today, migration seems to be encoded into everyday habits. As so many of our minds and bodies aggressively globalise in unprecedented ways, previously fixed “genres” and identities of any kind are constantly being dismantled, made redundant, and born anew.It’s from this space of flux that American composer and vocalist Sheherazaad derives song. Her forthcoming mini-album, Qasr, produced by star musician Arooj Aftab, was engendered during a time of family estrangement, grief over a lost elder, and the racial polarisation of her country as she knew it.

 (1972) studied German Language and Literature, specialising in Translation. Since 2005 she has been translating fiction from German into Dutch, having now translated more than 30 books including novels by Juli Zeh, Eva Menasse, Daniela Krien, Beatrice Meier and Alain Claude Sulzer. From Saša Stanišić she also translated 

Annemarie Vlaming

Annemarie Vlaming (1972) studied German Language and Literature, specialising in Translation. Since 2005 she has been translating fiction from German into Dutch, having now translated more than 30 books including novels by Juli Zeh, Eva Menasse, Daniela Krien, Beatrice Meier and Alain Claude Sulzer. From Saša Stanišić she also translated Nacht voor het feest and Hoe de soldaat de grammofoon repareert for publisher Ambo| Anthos.



The Poetry Circle is the nationally leading platform for young, talented word artists, with a network of 7 cities. At the initiative of Huis van Gedichten, starting this year, The Hague is now one of those cities. Representing the first class of Poetry Circle 070, 

can be seen and heard on the Crossing Border stage. Would you like to be part of the Poetry Circle 070? You can register for auditions from 11 October.

Poetry Circle 070

The Poetry Circle is the nationally leading platform for young, talented word artists, with a network of 7 cities. At the initiative of Huis van Gedichten, starting this year, The Hague is now one of those cities. Representing the first class of Poetry Circle 070, Uchaindani Watson, Hasan Gök, Lotte Linthorst, Manon Corino and Ineke Veldhuijzen can be seen and heard on the Crossing Border stage. Would you like to be part of the Poetry Circle 070? You can register for auditions from 11 October.

Waak over haar 

Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s (1971) work is known for its narrative and emotional power. They are stories about childhood, friendship, art, love and loss. Andrea debuted in 2017 with the novel 

, marked his definitive breakthrough as a novelist.


In 2023, Andrea received the Prix Goncourt, France’s most prestigious literary prize, for his fourth novel, 

, about the love between two people who should never have met: Viola, the heiress of a prestigious Genoa family, and Mimo, a brilliant apprentice sculptor who was born into poverty. The long-awaited Dutch translation will be published in October 2024 just before his visit to Crossing Border.

Jean-Baptiste Andrea

Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s (1971) work is known for its narrative and emotional power. They are stories about childhood, friendship, art, love and loss. Andrea debuted in 2017 with the novel My Queen. His second novel, One Hundred Million Years and a Day, marked his definitive breakthrough as a novelist.

Songwriter and author Auke Hulst grew up in the hamlet Denemarken, Groningen, right above the Slochteren gas field. His childhood there – 'in a Pippi Longstocking house in the forest' – was a model for his breakthrough novel Kinderen van het Ruige Land (2012). At Crossing Border he plays a set based on his new theatre show ‘Reiziger van het Ruige Land’, a journey of songs and stories that takes you from the Groningen countryside to The Great Wide Open of the American road. The songs come from the album recorded in motel rooms that accompanies his travel book Motel Songs, and from his upcoming album ‘A Most Present Absence’.

Auke Hulst

Songwriter and author Auke Hulst grew up in the hamlet Denemarken, Groningen, right above the Slochteren gas field. His childhood there – 'in a Pippi Longstocking house in the forest' – was a model for his breakthrough novel Kinderen van het Ruige Land (2012). At Crossing Border he plays a set based on his new theatre show ‘Reiziger van het Ruige Land’, a journey of songs 


The Fugitives

 is a British-Sudanese writer. Born in London, he was raised in Khartoum where his family remained until 1990. He has lived in a number of places, including the UK, Denmark, Spain and, currently, the Netherlands. His novels include 

. Under the pseudonym Parker Bilal he is the author of the Inspector Makana crime series and, most recently, the Crane and Drake series. His latest non-fiction book, 

, was longlisted for the Ondaatje Prize.

Jamal Mahjoub

Jamal Mahjoub is a British-Sudanese writer. Born in London, he was raised in Khartoum where his family remained until 1990. He has lived in a number of places, including the UK, Denmark, Spain and, currently, the Netherlands. His novels include Travelling with Djinns and The Drift Latitudes. Under the pseudonym Parker Bilal he is the author of the Inspector Makana crime series and, most recently, the Crane and Drake series. His latest non-fiction book, A Line in the River, was longlisted for the Ondaatje Prize.



Hasan Gök is spoken word-artiest, dichter en host. Vanuit zijn eigen gevoelswereld deelt hij vaak nog ongehoorde verhalen over queer en moslim zijn en een zoon te zijn van een Turkse vader en Koerdische moeder. In zijn schrijfstijl zoekt hij de metafysische en poëtische aard van de Turkse taal op. In zijn werk als schrijver maar ook als dagvoorzitter verzet hij zich tegen het hokjesdenken en pleit hij voor verbinding en gevoeligheid.

Hasan Gök (moderator)

Hasan Gök is spoken word-artiest, dichter en host. Vanuit zijn eigen gevoelswereld deelt hij vaak nog ongehoorde verhalen over queer en moslim zijn en een zoon te zijn van een Turkse vader en Koerdische moeder. In zijn schrijfstijl zoekt hij de metafysische en poëtische aard van de Turkse taal op. In zijn werk als schrijver maar ook als dagvoorzitter verzet hij zich tegen het hokjesdenken en pleit hij voor verbinding en gevoeligheid.


In september 1913 reist student Mieczysław Wojnicz vanuit Lemberg naar een beroemd sanatorium in de bergen van Pruisisch Silezië. Hij neemt zijn intrek in een herenpension, waar patiënten uit heel Europa net als in Thomas Manns De Toverberg onophoudelijk met elkaar filosoferen. Ondertussen raakt Mieczysław gefascineerd door de vele verontrustende gebeurtenissen die zich in de omgeving voordoen. Wat hij nog niet weet, is dat duistere krachten het ook op hem gemunt hebben.

Empusion

Olga Tokarczuk (Polen, 1962) wordt gezien als de belangrijkste Poolse auteur van haar generatie. In 2018 ontving ze de Nobelprijs voor Literatuur, nadat ze eerder al de Man Booker International Prize en de Nike, de belangrijkste literaire prijs van Polen, kreeg. Naast 

Jaag je ploeg over de botten van de doden

Olga Tokarczuk

Olga Tokarczuk (Polen, 1962) wordt gezien als de belangrijkste Poolse auteur van haar generatie. In 2018 ontving ze de Nobelprijs voor Literatuur, nadat ze eerder al de Man Booker International Prize en de Nike, de belangrijkste literaire prijs van Polen, kreeg. Naast Empusion verschenen in Nederlandse vertaling De rustelozen, De jacobsboeken, De laatste verhalen, Jaag je ploeg over de botten van de doden en De tedere verteller.

De Hemel is altijd Paars

(1989) is a writer, poet and a born performer. In 2015, she left her motherland Iran and came to The Netherlands, where she decided to focus fully on her passion for writing. As a newcomer to Dutch literature, she was showered with praise and prizes. She won the El Hizjra Literature Prize for Poetry 2019 and, in 2018, the Agora Lettera Writing Competition for prose. Her Dutch debut novel 

 was published last March and won De Bronzen Uil Literature Prize 2021. Rezazadeh holds up a mirror to her Dutch readers and brings many worlds to life with her utterly idiosyncratic, poetic language.

Arghavan is a young Iranian woman who has only recently moved to the Netherlands. As she struggles to build a new life, she is plagued by memories of her childhood in Iran. A childhood that began idyllic but took a negative turn when her mother left overnight and her father, her biggest support, became addicted to opium. She then made a radical decision: she left the raw, mountainous landscape of Iran behind for good and left for the flattest country in the world: the Netherlands. Arghavan works in a thrift store in Amsterdam, where she befriends some customers, such as Anna, a deaf dancer, and old Johan, who records the sound of trees. She marvels at this country where everyone is in a hurry and where it seems impossible to connect to the other. Then she falls in love with Mees, a young musician, who completely turns her world upside down.

Sholeh Rezazadeh

Sholeh Rezazadeh (1989) is a writer, poet and a born performer. She came to the Netherlands in 2015 from her motherland Iran, where she had already published several books in Persian. As a newcomer to Dutch literature, she was showered with praise and prizes. She won the El Hizhra Literature Prize for Poetry 2019 and in 2018 the Agora Lettera Writing Competition for prose. 

 (Reno, 1967) is a writer and singer-songwriter of the band The Delines. Previously, he was frontman of the rock band Richmond Fontaine. In his acclaimed novels, he describes the American Midwest and the circumstances of people near the bottom of America’s social and economic spectrum. Both his novels 

 were successfully adapted to the big screen.

Willy Vlautin

Willy Vlautin (Reno, 1967) is a writer and singer-songwriter of the band The Delines. Previously, he was frontman of the rock band Richmond Fontaine. In his acclaimed novels

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.

Ik hou van je maar ik kies het duister

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 (1984), winner of among others The Story Prize and the Dylan Thomas Prize, is the acclaimed author of 

. Her writing has been compared to the early work of Joan Didion. She was born on the outskirts of Death Valley, California and grew up in Pahrump, a small sleeping town of Las Vegas in the Nevada desert. For many years, her father Paul Watkins was the right hand of cult leader Charles Manson. 

is her long-awaited autobiographical novel. Watkins is a professor at the University of California.



Claire Vaye Watkins

Claire Vaye Watkins (1984), winner of among others The Story Prize and the Dylan Thomas Prize, is the acclaimed author of Gold Fame Citrus and the short story collection Battleborn. Her writing has been compared to the early work of Joan Didion. She was born on the outskirts of Death Valley, California and grew up in Pahrump, a small sleeping town of Las Vegas in the Nevada desert. For many years, her father Paul Watkins was the right hand of cult leader Charles Manson. I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness is her long-awaited autobiographical novel. Watkins is a professor at the University of California.




Alexander Moto maakt scherpe, eerlijke, reflectieve hiphop. Doorgaans in een cryptisch jasje, begeleid door variërende beats met gevoel, probeert hij een snaar te raken bij het publiek. Stof tot nadenken geven, durven te relativeren, maar ook durven te leven. Taal is zijn belangrijkste instrument, dit om zijn vinger winden het doel. Verwacht rauwe eerlijkheid in zijn raps, gepresenteerd op een divers bedje aan instrumentalen.

Alexander Moto

Alexander Moto maakt scherpe, eerlijke, reflectieve hiphop. Doorgaans in een cryptisch jasje, begeleid door variërende beats met gevoel, probeert hij een snaar te raken bij het publiek. Stof tot nadenken geven, durven te relativeren, maar ook durven te leven. Taal is zijn belangrijkste instrument, dit om zijn vinger winden het doel. Verwacht rauwe eerlijkheid in zijn raps, gepresenteerd op een divers bedje aan instrumentalen. 


Van de goden vervuld

Lucky Fonz III - Een klein beetje dood (official video)

Lucky Fonz III, born as Otto Wichers, is one of Holland’s most beloved singers and lyricists. He has won, among others, The Grand Prix of the Netherlands for singer-songwriters. His previous album 

(‘Celestial Bodies’) was awarded best Dutch album of the year by 

. As a writer, he has previously published essays, columns and short stories. He has now published 

(‘Of the Gods Fulfilled’), a funny and philosophical novel about music and farewell.


When musician Mikah tries to recover on an island after a period of grief, he meets Hadassa. Surrounded by water, temporarily placed outside of time, what seems at first glance to be a simple vacation love develops between them. However, their conversations, thoughts and actions continue: Mikah and Hadassa are forced by each other to consider what they long for, what they must say goodbye to, and what the future means on the inevitable day they leave the island again.


Lucky Fonz III

Lucky Fonz III, born as Otto Wichers, is one of Holland’s most beloved singers and lyricists. He has won, among others, The Grand Prix of the Netherlands for singer-songwriters. His previous album Hemellichamen (‘Celestial Bodies’) was awarded best Dutch album of the year by NRC Handelsblad. As a writer, he has previously published essays, columns and short stories. He has now published Van de goden vervuld (‘Of the Gods Fulfilled’), a funny and philosophical novel about music and farewell.

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.


Over de berekening van ruimte IV

Solvej Balle (born 1962) has been around in the literary world for some time. She has published several novels, poems and short prose. Balle made her debut at the age of twenty-four and then established her name as a writer in the 1990s, with 

, inspired by great storytellers such as Kafka and Borges.

Now she is storming the literary stages with her latest work, the seven-volume 

. In this surrealist novel, Tara Selter lives in a large house in Bremen with a small collective of time-prisoners, trapped on the date 18 November. As more and more people manage to find the house, it becomes clear that many more people worldwide are trapped on this date than thought. It causes Tara and her peers to face complicated decisions.


The fourth novel of the seven-part series appears during the Crossing Border festival week.

Solvej Balle

Solvej Balle (born 1962) has been around in the literary world for some time. She has published several novels, poems and short prose. Balle made her debut at the age of twenty-four and then established her name as a writer in the 1990s, with Ifjølge Loven, inspired by great storytellers such as Kafka and Borges.

Kees ’t Hart publiceert sinds 1988 romans, poëzie en essays. Meest recent werk: 

 (2023, gedichten). In maart 2025 verschijnt de roman 

. Hij presenteert in Den Haag sinds 2017 een programma over ‘literaire onderwerpen in brede zin' voor Zaal 3 van Het Nationaal Toneel. Sinds 1996 recensent van weekblad 

Kees 't Hart

Kees ’t Hart publiceert sinds 1988  romans, poëzie en essays. Meest recent werk:  De Ziekte van Weimar (2019), Victorien, ik hou van je  (verhalen, 2021), Pleidooi voor pulp ( essay over liefdesboeken 2022), Het Vogelkerkhof (2023, gedichten). In maart 2025 verschijnt de roman De Rode Olifant. Hij presenteert in Den Haag sinds 2017 een programma over ‘literaire onderwerpen in brede zin' voor Zaal 3 van Het Nationaal Toneel. Sinds 1996 recensent van weekblad De Groene Amsterdammer. 

Iris Penning - Raad Me Maar (Live Lyricvideo)

Het werk van Iris Penning kan niet beter omschreven worden dan poëtische pop. Ze is momenteel in haar vierde en ook laatste jaar als stadsdichter van Eindhoven. Als muzikante en dichteres heeft ze op talloze podiums haar herkenbare en toch ook hele eigen verhalen in een mengeling van taal en melodie gedeeld. Voor haar meest recente album 

heeft ze veel samenwerkingen opgezocht, waaronder met Huub Reijnders, Martijn Bosman en Philip Lassiter. Recent debuteerde ze ook met een dichtbundel, een verzameling van het werk dat ze schreef als stadsdichter S

ta ik hier een trui te zijn tussen alle stropdassen

Iris Penning

Het werk van Iris Penning kan niet beter omschreven worden dan poëtische pop. Ze is momenteel in haar vierde en ook laatste jaar als stadsdichter van Eindhoven. Als muzikante en dichteres heeft ze op talloze podiums haar herkenbare en toch ook hele eigen verhalen in een mengeling van taal en melodie gedeeld. Voor haar meest recente album Dan Maar Genieten heeft ze veel samenwerkingen opgezocht, waaronder met Huub Reijnders, Martijn Bosman en Philip Lassiter. Recent debuteerde ze ook met een dichtbundel, een verzameling van het werk dat ze schreef als stadsdichter Sta ik hier een trui te zijn tussen alle stropdassen. 


Nevoice Matheu (1983) translates from English, Dutch, and Spanish to Dutch and Papiamentu. Her first published translation ‘Ik kan niet stoppen’ by poet and writer Layli Long Soldier was published in December 2020 in 

Nevorice Matheu

Nevoice Matheu (1983) translates from English, Dutch, and Spanish to Dutch and Papiamentu. Her first published translation ‘Ik kan niet stoppen’ by poet and writer Layli Long Soldier was published in December 2020 in De Revisor.

 (19) was born and raised in The Hague, but the stage is her home. Amara translates stories from life into words and/ or movement. She started her career as a spoken word artist as the winner of the category Language of Kunstbende Zuid-Holland and honed her craft performing at Woorden Worden Zinnen in PAARD Den Haag and at Liberation Festivals. She became known nationally with her spoken word performance during the national commemoration of Remembrance Day on 4 May 2021.

Amara van der Elst

Amara van der Elst (19) was born and raised in The Hague, but the stage is her home. Amara translates stories from life into words and/ or movement. She started her career as a spoken word artist as the winner of the category Language of Kunstbende Zuid-Holland and honed her craft performing at Woorden Worden Zinnen in PAARD Den Haag and at Liberation Festivals. She became known nationally with her spoken word performance during the national commemoration of Remembrance Day on 4 May 2021.


An Interview with Iraqi author Hassan Blasim

Allah 99

Hassan Blasim

Hassan Blasim (Irak, 1973) studied film science in Baghdad and left for Iraqi-Kurdistan in 1998. Here he continued to make films, using a pseudonym because he feared for the safety of his family 