Den Haag

Nederlands Letteren Fonds

het Cultuurfonds

Fonds21

De Groene Amsterdammer

Mercure Hotels

Dioraphte

U.S. Embassy and Consulate in the Netherlands

Het Nationale Theater

VBSfonds

VPRO

club lees

Huis van Gedichten

Studio Nip

Meet Miles

Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten (KABK) | KABK

White Rabbit

Uitgeverij Pluim

Uitgeverij Podium 

Meulenhoff Boekerij

Orion Publishing

Meridiaan Uitgevers

De Bezige Bij

Uitgeverij Nieuw Amsterdam

De Geus

Querido

Prometheus

Uitgeverij Koppernik

Het Mauritshuis

Uitgeverij Balans

Hollands Maandblad

Theater De Vaillant

The Grey Space in the Middle

Ooievaarspas

Uitgeverij Vleugels

Faber

Uitgeverij Oevers

Uitgeverij Cossee

Canongate

Uitgeverij De Harmonie

De Arbeiderspers

Uitgeverij Wereldbibliotheek

Centrale Bibliotheek

International literature and music festival

Paul Lynch in conversation with Anna Luyten (Remco Koers)

In this newsletter we look back at 5 days full of captivating literature and music with 80+ performances at 10 locations. The relocation of the main programme to the Koninklijke Schouwburg was a great success. We will definitely return next year, with an extra stage…


There were many memorable performances by, amongst others, 

Nathan Thrall, Paul Lynch, Local Natives, MRCY, Sheherazaad, Solvej Balle, Jonas Eika

 had everyone dancing in The Attic. Music and literature came together at a number of performances, such as those of 


And of course all the writers and musicians who performed at the special events. The Dutch-language, multidisciplinary programme 

The European Literature Prize Award Ceremony

 in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag and for the new generation of readers: 

 came up with beautiful festival stories. 



A number of beautiful festival reports have been written; 

Literatuur als mythische ontsnapping aan de dystopische realiteit op Crossing Border'

SAVE THE DATE for Crossing Border 2025: 5 - 9 November

Here's a selection of photographs, taken by Parcifal Werkman and Remco Koers:

THIS WAS CROSSING BORDER 2024!

The festival madness has started! Wednesday night we kicked off with 

 at The Grey Space in the Middle, bringing together Dutch-speaking talents from the contemporary literature scene to share their literary, poetic, musical and moving stories. 

(de Koninklijke Schouwburg). Tonight's evening programme and the festival weekend passepartouts are sold out, but there are 

An important note for the festivalgoers: if there are specific performances you really want to see, please make sure to be at the stage well on time.

Crossing Border has kicked off!


Tickets for Crossing Border are flying out the door. Friday night and passepartouts are now sold out. 

Saturday night 2 November at the Royal Theatre is also almost sold out. If you don’t want to miss out, buy your tickets now.

Local Natives, David Mitchell, MRCY, Hisham Matar

 storyteller in the tradition of Leonard Cohen, will bring 

Stuart Murdoch (frontman Belle & Sebastian)

 will play a few songs on guitar in addition to presenting his debut novel.


 has been added to the evening programme. After his classic memoir 

, about his experiences as a marine in the Vietnam War, Marlantes now takes a new turn with his first thriller 

 wrote one of this autumn's finer books: 

. The novel is about the power of music and the feeling of connection. He is also a gifted musician and has written lyrics to each chapter, some of which he will play.


Added to the line-up is DIRK frontman Jelle Denturck's Belgian band 

Dressed Like Boys ‘ sound mainly harks back to the 1970s. Denturck pilots into the 21st century with tape recorders, strings, Wurlitzers, Rhodes, cookie-cutter drum sounds and a reunion with the (grand) piano, the first instrument he learned to play as a child. Denturck sings about the quest for personal freedom.


 returns to Crossing Border and will be interviewed by 

 unfortunately cannot travel at the moment and has had to cancel her performance at Crossing Border.

Second and third year students of Graphic Design at 

 have created a poster for Crossing Border; as every year, this resulted in a huge variety of creative interpretations. The winning poster is by 

 She created an original sticker sheet for her poster with a self-designed fruit sticker for each artist. The poster can be seen below.

Last tickets for Crossing Border 2024 and KABK poster contest

The day programme of Crossing Border highlightedDay programme 2 November

 between 10:00 and 17:30, Crossing Border hosts a day programme with international writers and special events. The authors will be talking about their recently published novels.

The events take place in various locations in The Hague: 

Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Het Mauritshuis, BorderKitchen, Theater Vaillant

 for kids between 0-12 years at Theater Vaillant.


Separate tickets for the writer interviews and kids programmes are available in the Crossing Border ticket shop. Don't wait too long if you don’t want to miss out. The European Literature Prize is already sold out.

 (1951) writes novels, plays, essays and poems. His work has been awarded the AKO Literature Prize and the Constantijn Huygens Prize, among others. In his latest novel 

, Stefan Hertmans shares the irresistible life story of an unfashionable artist's soul, in a moving novel about friendship, love and vulnerability.


 (1944) served as a marine in the Vietnam War. He has been honored with several awards, including the Purple Heart, which he received twice. He made his debut in 2010 with 

, which he worked on for thirty years, about his experiences in this war. A classic in the genre that caused a lot of controversy. He is now back with his new book: Cold Victory. A spy thriller.


 (1948) became known to the general public with his novel The Repair of the World. In October 2024, his new novel will be published: 

 (1962) has been around in the literary world for some time. She has published several novels, poems and short prose. Now she is storming the literary stages with her latest work, the seven-part 

. In this surrealist novel, Tara Selter lives in a large house in Bremen with a small collective of time prisoners, who are stuck on the date of November 18.


, which will be published at the end of October, 

 follows her father's fourteen-year odyssey. His journey takes him from Western Russia to Brittany and Normandy and back to his homeland via England, where he disappeared into the gulag for ten years as a traitor. Who was this enigmatic man, who was so different from other fathers? 

the European Literature Prize 2024 will be awarded. The winning book is Empusion by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Karol Lesman

The award ceremony will take place from 16:30 in the Kunstmuseum.

 There, Tokarczuk, who previously won the Nobel Prize for Literature, and Lesman will receive the prize from jury chair Niña Weijers. After the ceremony Olga Tokarczuk and Karol Lesman will discuss the book with a moderator.


 There, we welcome a selection of writers and illustrators of international children's literature.


There are books that are intended for pre-readers (0-4), early readers (4-8) and middle-grade (8-12) and 12+. The programmes are bilingual: the mother tongue and Dutch. In addition to the interactive reading aloud, there are hands-on workshops and interviews about the creative and artistic process behind the stories. With the selection of authors and illustrators, we bring a diversity of voices, languages and life experiences.


The children's programme consists of separate one-hour events for different age groups.

Location: Theater De Vaillant
Date: November 2
Time: 10:00 - 16:00
Language: bilingual: original language of the book and Dutch

More information about the Kids' programme

Day programme Crossing Border highlighted

Timetables evening programme 1 and 2 November online now!

With exactly two weeks to go before the start of Crossing Border 2024, now is the time to start planning!

We have just published the timetables for the festival

evening programme on 1 and 2 November in the Royal Theatre.

You can also find the timetables for the 

 had to cancel his visit due to personal circumstances. 

Crossing Border special Holland’s Maandblad

Crossing Border has joined forces with the literary magazine 

. The result is a printed edition with striking stories, restless poetry and essays that will haunt your mind for quite a while. With contributions from 

Arad Dabiri, Rinske Bouwman, Bernardo Zannoni, Daniëlle Zawadi, Ariana Harwicz, Twan Vet

, among others. The magazine is in Dutch and will be available for free during the festival evenings at the Hollands Maandblad stages in the hallways of the Royal Theatre.


Anniversary offer: Hollands Maandblad, the literary magazine, is celebrating its 65th anniversary. You can receive 8 issues for €65. Go to

More information & full festival programme

Evening programme timetables online now, Hollands Maandblad special

Timetables day programme, Kids’ programme and You’ll Have to Scream Louder online now!

With exactly three weeks to go before the Crossing Border festival starts, now is the time to start planning!

The timetables for the Crossing Border Festival 

 are added to the website. Next week, we will add the timetables for the festival evening programme on 1 and 2 November in the Royal Theatre. 

More artists announced: Loren Kramar, Gery Mendes, Kees ‘t Hart & Arjen Duinker

’s music beautiful is his voice: warm and confident, all glamour and ease and big, dramatic melody. What makes Loren Kramar great, however, is his sense of love and spectacle. Like Father John Misty or Lana Del Rey, Loren Kramar both celebrates and satirizes the complex mess that is fame, performance, passion and art. He comes to Crossing Border as the luminous star of his Hollywood story, ascended and armed with his best and most generous music yet.


 recite the poem 'De Zon' from Duinker's collection (2003) in its entirety, in dialogue form. (Dutch spoken)

30 October You’ll have to scream LOUDER (Dutch spoken)

 is a renaissance man with a considerable track record who effortlessly maneuvers between different disciplines. An MC, poet, singer-songwriter, producer and theatermaker who impresses with everything he performs. This Cape Verdean maker embraces curiosity for depth in personal stories in an infectious, enjoyable way. His soulful, raw hip hop consists of a special mix of singer-songwriter, jazz, bossa, afro and even rock.

Recap: The legend Werner Herzog at BorderKitchen

Last weekend we welcomed the legendary filmmaker and author 

 at BorderKitchen in a sold out Royal Theatre! And he did not disappoint, epic stories and anecdotes followed in rapid succession. Check out some of the images of the evening by Remco Koers.


22 October | Colm Tóibín at BorderKitchen, Central Library The Hague | More information and tickets 



30 October - 3 November | Crossing Border Festival | various locations | more information and tickets 

.

31 October | Crossing Border Festival Antwerp | Arenberg | more information and tickets 

First timetables online now, more artists confirmed

Yes, the festival Magazine made by de Groene Amsterdammer has arrived! It contains articles and interviews with writers and musicians who will perform at the festival: 

Hisham Matar, Stuart Murdoch, Moor Mother, Nathan Thrall, Steff Geelen, LA LOM, Olga Tokarczuk, Karol Lesman, Sheherazaad, Kaveh Akbar

There is also a section called 'Wie is wie?', in which the entire Crossing Border programme is briefly introduced.

If you would like to receive the printed version of the magazine, please email your postal address to:

Ghayath Almadhoun, Thomas Heerma van Voss, Peter Alexander Jobson and Hamraaz at Crossing Border

Several exciting new names have been added to the line-up of the evening programme, which will take place on 5 stages in the Royal Theatre on 1 and 2 November. Buy your tickets soon, they are selling fast.

 (1979) is a Syrian-Palestinian-Swedish poet. He was born in the Palestinian refugee camp Yarmouk in Damascus as the son of a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother. During the evening programme on 1 November in the Royal Theatre, he will read from his recent collection of poems: 

 (1990) will join us on 1 November to talk about his new work 

 about the young, ambitious Pierre who does not hesitate for a moment when he is asked to be the editor of Arabesk, a literary magazine with a rich history. A witty and moving novel about a disappearing world.

As a young boy, Pete Jobson set his village on fire. For 40 years, the cause of the fire in the fishing village of Alnmouth in Northumberland has remained a mystery to the 444 inhabitants. But not anymore. With the release of his first solo album 

, who made his name as bass guitarist and keyboardist in 

 The secret is now revealed, in an extraordinary collection that blends genres as diverse as country psychedelia and cocktail jazz with the spirit of the northern variety circuit.

On Friday night, the young duo Hamraaz consisting of 

 will perform. Both musicians are multi-instrumentalists, playing duduk, flute, tanbour, setar and tar, and draw inspiration from the traditional modal/maqam music they grew up with in their respective home countries; Iran & France.


5 October | Werner Herzog at BorderKitchen, Koninklijke Schouwburg | More information and tickets 

22 October | Colm Tóibín at BorderKitchen, Central Library | More information and tickets 

30 October - 3 November | Crossing Border Festival | various locations | more information and tickets 

Festival magazine and new artists confirmed for the evening programme

, PIP Den Haag | Meer informatie en tickets 

 bij BorderKitchen, Koninklijke Schouwburg | Meer informatie en tickets 

 bij BorderKitchen, Centrale Bibliotheek | Meer informatie en tickets 

 | verschillende locaties | meer informatie en tickets 

Openingsavond You’ll have to scream LOUDER

Experiment en verkenning van de grenzen van de Nederlandstalige literatuur

 trappen we Crossing Border op 30 oktober 2024 af op dé plek waar het experiment en verkenning van kunstvormen bij elkaar komt: 


Dit jaar staat de avond in het teken van spannende ingangen tot literatuur. Hoe tof is het om de grenzen van literatuur te verkennen in de vorm van interdisciplinaire voordrachten, installaties, podcasts en nog meer van makers die op het punt van doorbreken staan?

 gaan met elkaar in gesprek gaan over hun eigen werk en hun representatie in de wereld van stripboeken. 

 presenteert aanstormend talent binnen de wereld van audiocomponeren en podcasts, waaronder 

, die met een interactieve installatie gaat vertellen over haar onderzoek naar de huid, ons grootste orgaan.

 gaat in een audiovisuele presentatie haar debuutroman 

 komt met een speciale performance geïnspireerd door de teksten uit de nieuwe bundel 

 vergezelt de avond met haar rauwe performance met alternatieve R&B en electropop. Moderatoren 

Wie kan je nog meer verwachten op 30 oktober:


David Weel, Steff Geelen, Ashley Ho, Munganyende, Anna de Bruyckere, Marthe van Bronkhorst

Mahat Arab, Vlinder Verouden, Loeke Vanhoutteghem, Soukaïna Bennani, Nicole Kaandorp, Benjamin de Roover.

De Situatie x Crossing Border bij PIP Den Haag


Het is bijna zo ver! Vrijdag 20 september bundelen 

 hun krachten voor een eclectische avond vol muziek, literatuur en andere talig genot in het Haagse cultuurbordeel 

Mensje van Keulen, Pepijn Lanen (Faberyayo), Alara Adilow, Eva van Manen 

 presenteert De Situatie haar eerste publicatie, met daarin de tien winnende stukken van de schrijfwedstrijd die ze eerder dit jaar lanceerden om nieuw literair talent te ontdekken. De publicatie zal in beperkte oplage gedrukt en online verkrijgbaar zijn.

De avond wordt afgesloten met een feest, met DJ sets van 

Tijd: 20:30 (inloop), literair programma: 21:00 - 00:00, DJ/feest tot 02:00.

Volledig programma You’ll have to scream LOUDER & De Situatie X Crossing Border

New festival programme: Crossing Border NXT

On Sunday 3 November, Crossing Border and the Hague Central Library will launch a new festival event: 

 will be a guest with a special live edition of the Club Lees Meet-up. The regular club members: singer-songwriter 

 will physically meet on stage in the Central Library in The Hague and will discuss Noah's book of choice with each other and with you: 

 a layered, satirical book about a white writer who appropriates the literary work of her Asian friend. Artist 

 will join the stage to discuss Asian representation and appropriation: who gets the space to tell a story?

From 30 September, this book will be available for free in the Club Lees app, enriched with Noah's notes, links and videos.

The afternoon ends with a conversation about activism in literature with 

 (NL). Writers Daria Serenko and Carolina Trujillo in conversation about activism, hope and the power of expressing yourself. Both Serenko (

) wrote books in which they expose the layers of activism. Moderator is 

Location: Centrale Bibliotheek, 5th floor
Starting time: 12.30
Tickets: 5 euro ex servicekosten
Language: VPRO Club Lees is Dutch spoken, the conversation is in English

The Chronicles is Crossing Border’s unique annual residency project for talented authors and translators. Each day of the festival, five up-and-coming international as well as Dutch-speaking writers work on a festival story of that day’s events, capturing their insights and experiences of the other artists performing on the various Crossing Border stages.

At the same time, five 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 Chronicles will perform live in the Saturday evening programme!

All the festival stories and translations will be published on our website.

The five couples are: theatre-maker and writer 

 who will work together with Swedish translator 

 will join us from Denmark and will be translated by 

 ('Child of Spring') and will work together with Romanian translator 

Launch of Crossing Border NXT and Festival Chroniclers Announced

We are very excited to announce the latest additions to the programme of 

Poster image: Rinus van de Velde
'I float a meter and a half above the surface,...'
2024, oil pastel on paper, 110 x 73 cm, courtesy Tim Van Laere Gallery

Programme festival evenings and day programme complete


The evening festival programme in the Royal Theater on 1 and 2 November is now complete as well as the literary day programme on 2 November with separate events in various venues.


Paul Lynch, David Mitchell, Sana Valiulina, Stefan Hertmans, Julia Schoch, Daria Serenko, Malachy Tallack, Carolina Trujillo, Vanessa Kisuule, Bernardo Zannoni, Moon Unit Zappa, Andrej Koerkov, Lucky Fonz III, Eva Baltasar, Nikki Dekker, Sheherazaad, MRCY.

See you next year: dates 2023 announced

Festival dates 2023 announced

The Chronicles stories online

Latest news

THIS WAS CROSSING BORDER 2024!

Crossing Border has kicked off!

Last tickets for Crossing Border 2024 and KABK poster contest