The programme of Crossing Border 2021 is almost complete!
Newly confirmed are among others Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who was innocently imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay for over 14 years and tells his baffling story in The Mauritanian, the brilliant Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Powers with his new novel Bewilderment, Jamal Mahjoub with The Fugitives, about the mythical Sudanese jazz band Kamanga Kings who embark on a completely unexpected road trip across Trump’s America, and Claire Vaye Watkins, daughter of a member of the Manson Family, who faces her dark past in her long-awaited autobiographical novel.
Also confirmed: the Dutch-Ukrainian debutant Lisa Weeda, the promising young poet Maxime Garcia Diaz, Big Joanie guitarist and writer Stephanie Phillips (Why Solange Matters), and DJ and writer Joost van Bellen with his new novel Nachtdier.
New music names are James BKS with his singular fusion of hiphop, African percussion & pop melodies and the boundary crossing Neue Grafik Ensemble, forged during after-hour jam sessions in London. Anne Soldaat makes a comeback with his beautiful new album ‘Facts & Fears’ and the New York-based folk musician Cassandra Jenkins evokes magical worlds with her second solo album ‘Phenomenal Nature’.
Click here for the full line-up.
Day programme
New this year is the day programme on Saturday 6 November in various unique bookstores, theatres and other venues in The Hague: Onze Ambassade, Theater Pepijn, Theater Branoul, BorderKitchen, The Bookstor Cafe and Stanza Bookshop.
New names for the day programme are Tamsin Calidas, who traded Notting Hill for an isolated island life in the Scottish Hebrides. Debuting authors Sholeh Rezazadeh, Lies Gallez and Helena Hoogenkamp join actor Jos Nargy for a conversation at his kitchen table. Previously confirmed for the day programme: Lale Gül, Douglas Stuart, Maxim Osipov.
Crossing Border will take place on 5 & 6 November in the historic centre of The Hague, with Korzo Theater as its main location.
Get your tickets now!
More info about the types of tickets and prices on the ticket page.
Covid-19 and Testing for Entry
At this moment in time, it is impossible to predict what the situation regarding Covid-19 and national corona measures and/or travel restrictions will be in November. We are now anticipating a fully live festival with a CoronaCheck for visitors. That means entrance is only possible if you can prove at the door that you have no corona. This can be done by showing a proof of vaccination, proof of recovery or an official test for entry and an ID. More information on www.testenvoortoegang.nl.
Ticket refund
If a live event cannot take place because of new COVID-19 restrictions, or if you have been tested positive before the event, we pay back your ticket (incl. service costs) quickly and without hassle.
And the winner is...
The European Literature Prize 2021 goes to Herkomst by Saša Stanišić, in the translation of Annemarie Vlaming. A masterpiece in which one family symbolizes one of the most turbulent periods in post-war history.
On Saturday 6 November at Crossing Border, jury chairman Manon Uphoff will present the award to Saša Stanišić and Annemarie Vlaming and the winners will talk about their work and the art of translation.
The European Literature Prize goes to the best contemporary European novel that was translated into Dutch and published the previous year. What is unique about the prize, is that both author and translator are honored.
Saša Stanišić was born in Višegrad (former Yugoslavia) in 1978 and fled to Germany with his parents when he was fourteen. With the outbreak of the Bosnian war, they had to leave their country because his mother is Muslim and his father a Christian. With Herkomst he won the Deutsche Buchpreis in 2019. In this autobiographical novel, Stanišić meticulously dissects what happened during his flight to Germany while narrating his family history.
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.
