Celeste Ng
(USA, 1980) is coming to the Netherlands for the first time to appear at the 2024 Writers Unlimited festival. Her three novels are true page-turners. At this time, Ng is the most internationally read author with Asian roots. Her debut novel, Everything I Never Told You (2014), is a sensitive portait of a family of several cultures. Little Fires Everywhere (2017), an even bigger hit, was filmed featuring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington (available on Prime). Her third novel, Our Missing Hearts (2022), is about the love between mother and child and humanity in dark times, but also about the discrimination of people with an Asian background. Ng grew up in Pittsburgh and Shaker Heights (Ohio) and studied at Harvard University. Her stories and essays have appeared in publications such as The New York Times and The Guardian.
(WU2024)Archive available for: Celeste Ng
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Opening Night Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague
With: Adriaan van Dis, Aminatta Forna, Burhan Sönmez, Celeste Ng, Daniëlle Zawadi, Emilienne Malfatto, Hashem Kabreet, Jan van Zanen, Jörgen Tjon A Fong, Judith Uyterlinde, Sholeh Rezazadeh
Freedom to speak or write is important but impossible for many. The festival opened with "human voices" (the theme of this edition) from The Netherlands and beyond: a unique lineup of famous writers speaking out. This was one of those evenings of inspiration, creative thoughts and apt words that make a deep impression. Meet the authors who make their voices heard for four delightful days of this Hague festival!
Opening Night 2024 was focused on freedom of speech and the power of literature, with appearances and readings by US author Celeste Ng, internationally one of the most-read authors with Asian roots; the British writer Aminatta Forna (The Hired Man); Adriaan van Dis, whose moving new novel Naar zachtheid en een warm omhelzen was published Fall 2023; Burhan Sönmez, author of Istanbul, Istanbul and chair of the writers organization PEN International.
Young spoken-word artist and writer DaniÃ"lle Zawadi from The Hague and, accompanied by percussionist Hashem Kabreet, writer and novelist Sholeh Rezazadeh gave spoken word performances.
Host Jörgen Tjon A Fong discussed with the US novelist Celeste Ng (Our Missing Hearts) and French writer and photojournalist Emilienne Malfatto (Le Colonel ne dort pas; The Colonel Doesn't Sleep) what "human voices" means to them in relation to freedom of speech. Finally, Hague mayor Jan van Zanen kicked things off by officially opening the festival!
The programme included the short film Monument for murdered writers and journalists 2023, a project by Theatre of Wrong Decisions, Committee To Protect Journalists (CPJ) and PEN International.
Our favourite Hague bookstore De Vries Van Stockum had well-stocked tables of books for sale in the foyer of the Theater aan het Spui throughout the festival (English and Dutch language) by the authors appearing at the festival. Browse to your heart's content, and maybe the author is even present to personally sign your freshly bought book.
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Book of My Life with Celeste Ng
Writers tell us about their favourite book: the book that inspires or touches them, that set their artistic, moral or intellectual compass. In short, the book they would recommend to everyone. Interview: Hassnae Bouazza.
Celeste Ng chose as her favorite Transformations (1971) by Pulitzer Prizewinning poet Anne Sexton: this collection of poem-stories is a strange, wondrous retelling of Grimms' fairy tales including Snow White, Rumpelstilskin and Rapunzel.
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Body Language
One of the things that distinguishes humans from machines is that humans have a body. A body that can experience pleasant sensations as well as pain. The body is our initial calling card to the outside world, an outer shell that is seen by others, judged and pigeonholed. Writers Aminatta Forna and Celeste Ng discussed this matter and read from their work. Writer and journalist Hassnae Bouazza moderated.
Aminatta Forna (UK) is the daughter of a Sierra Leonian father and a Scottish mother. The question of how the horrors of war are remembered years after the fact is central to her work. Forna spent her youth partly in Sierra Leone, where her politician father was accused of treason and hanged. She writes about these events in her 2003 autobiography The Devil that Danced on the Water.
Before this debut, she worked as a reporter and documentarian at the BBC, where her probing reportages about Africa stood out in particular. In her novel Ancestor Stones (2006) four elderly Sierra Leonian aunts tell stories of the past to their niece. In the 2013 novel The Memory of Love, a London psychiatrist in Freetown recognizes that everyone suffers from post-traumatic stress but no one talks about their experiences. In 2013's The Hired Man, Forna brilliantly depicts the fermenting tension in post-war Croatia.
Celeste Ng (USA) visits The Netherlands for the first time for the 2024 Writers Unlimited festival. Her three novels are true page-turners; currently she is the internationally most-read author with Asian roots. Her debut novel Everything I Never Told You (2014) is a sensitive portait of a family with several cultures. Little Fires Everywhere (2017), an even bigger bestseller, was turned into a film with Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington (available on Prime).
Her third novel Our Missing Hearts (2022) takes on the love between mother and child, discrimination against people with Asian roots, and humanity in dark times. Ng grew up in Pittsburgh and Shaker Heights (Ohio) and studied at Harvard. Her stories and essays have appeared in publications such as The New York Times and The Guardian.
Festival tip: Celeste Ng and Aminatta Forna also appeared during Opening Night (Thursday, 18 January 2024) and Saturday Night Unlimited (Saturday, 20 January 2024).
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The Voice - In search of the character's soul
We gave extra attention to the human voice during this festival edition with the theme "Human Voices". We asked Connie Palmen to write a new essay for The Voice - in search of the character's soul and to open Saturday Night Unlimited with it.
In her keynote speech, Palmen spoke about how an author gives voice to characters. The voice is the meeting point between body and soul, where interior and exterior meet. A novel begins to come alive through the voice of the character.
This theme was the subject of the following discussion between Palmen, Celeste Ng and Sacha Bronwasser, who published the novel Luister (Listen) in 2023. Writer and journalist Sarah Sluimer moderated.
Connie Palmen is the author of essays, stories, a novella, and her six great, award-winning novels, including I.M. and Jij zegt het (If You Say So). Recently she published Voornamelijk vrouwen (Mostly Women), a collection of personal essays about how eleven famous and headstrong women and one man give shape to their own lives.
Sacha Bronwasser is a writer and art historian. For twenty years, she was the fine art critic for the Volkskrant newspaper. Her debut novel Niets is gelogen (Nothing is a Lie, 2019) was followed in 2023 by Luister (Listen), an ingeniously written and riveting novel set in the eighties nad now.
Celeste Ng (USA), internationally one of the most-read authors with Asian roots, wrote three true page-turners. Her debut novel, Everything I Never Told You (2014), is a sensitive portrait of a family with several cultures. An even bigger bestseller, Little Fires Everywhere, was turned into a film with Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. Her third novel, Our Missing Hearts (2022), takes on the love between mother and child, discrimination of people with Asian roots, and humanity in dark times.
Festival tip: Celeste Ng also appeared during Friday Night Unlimited (19 January 2024). Connie Palmen appeared on Saturday afternoon, 20 January 2024 in conversation with artist Sven Ratzke in the event You Do Something to Me about their collaboration on his new show Marlene, from which he performed several famous Dietrich songs.