In the Netherlands and Belgium, Boekenweek (Book Week) is an annual celebration of literature, happening every Spring since 1932. Events are held across each country during Boekenweek, and include book signings, readings, and panel discussions. Boekenweek is always kicked off with the “book ball,” an event attended by writers and publishers alike. 2019 marks the 84th annual Boekenweek.
Every year, the festival has a different theme, 2019’s theme being The Mother The Woman, and a well-known Dutch or Flemish author is asked to write a novella specifically for Boekenweek that will be given out all festival long. In 2016, World Editions author Esther Gerritsen wrote the Boekenweek gift of which 600,000 copies were handed out. Gerritsen’s novel Craving, about a dying mother and her strained relationship with her daughter, is a perfect fit to this year’s theme.
World Editions publishes many well-regarded Dutch and Flemish authors in English, and this year many of our titles are well-suited to Boekenweek’s theme, including Craving, You Have Me to Love by Jaap Robben, We & Me by Saskia de Coster, Speechless by Tom Lanoye, His Name is David by Jan Vantoortelboom, The Woman Who Fed the Dogs by Kristien Hemmerechts, and The Darkness that Divides Us by Renate Dorrestein.
This year, Boekenweek will take place in the Netherlands from March 23rd to March 31st, and then in Belgium from April 1st to April 7th, and World Editions will be celebrating the work of eight of the most important contemporary writers from the Netherlands and Belgium recently released in English translation. Bestselling and prize-winning authors Kristien Hemmerechts, Christine Otten (The Last Poets), Saskia de Coster, and Annelies Verbeke (Thirty Days) will be touring the US during Boekenweek. You can see their full tour schedule on our Events page.
For more information and to follow our Blog Tour, please visit our Boekenweek 2019 site.