Nikki Dekker

(1989) is a writer and radio producer. Her debut novel diepdiepblauw (2022) was awarded the CCS Crone Stipendium and was shortlisted for the de Bronzen Uil (shortlist) and De Boon (longlist). Previously, Nikki published essays and poetry in her chapbook een voorwerp dat nog leeft (2018). She created radio documentaries for NTR and VPRO and wrote the script for the fiction podcast series De Brandstapel. Nikki writes columns for Vroege Vogels and is on the editorial board of the literary magazine Tirade. De Volkskrant again recognized her as the literary talent of 2023. In September 2024, her second book, Graafdier: een tocht door de aardbodem, terug in de tijd, was published.
(2022)Archive available for: Nikki Dekker
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Humans and animals in literature: With Bibi Dumon Tak, Nikki Dekker and Marjolijn van Heemst
With: Bibi Dumon Tak, Marjolijn van Heemstra, Nikki Dekker
"I love all animals, and even if I don't love them, I try to."
- Bibi Dumon Tak in a column for BNN Vara national radio programme Vroege VogelsWhy do Bibi Dumon Tak and Nikki Dekker enjoy writing about animals so much? Can we interpret the world through animals and their behavior? What is the relationship between humans and animals? Can authors give a voice to non-human animals?
Animals play a significant role in both authors' work. Why do they feel drawn to them? Do we see the world differently through the eyes of an animal? Marjolijn van Heemstra will lead the conversation.
Bibi Dumon Tak (Rotterdam, 1964) debuted in 2001 with Het koeienboek, a non-fiction book for children about cows. With this debut, she immediately won a Zilveren Griffel. Many books would follow, mostly non-fiction for children, especially about animals. For her work, she received various awards, such as the Gouden Griffel for Winterdieren, the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs for Vandaag houd ik mijn spreekbeurt over de anaconda, and the Theo Thijssenprijs for her complete oeuvre. She also writes books for adults, among which Rotjongens caused a stir. In een groen knollenland is a pamphlet against hunting, and with De dag dat ik mijn naam veranderde, she wrote a tribute to her deceased sister. Besides her authorship, Bibi Dumon Tak is also known for columns in Vroege Vogels and opinion articles in various newspapers.Recently, she published Rimpeling (De Geus), a novella for adults, with beautiful illustrations by Annemarie van Haeringen.
It is a story about Marthe, who fell because she wanted to save the life of a crane fly. After that fatal fall, her house at the edge of the forest remains abandoned. Only the insects, the mice, and her belongings knew who she was. As her house is cleared out, her story unfolds. With each object identified, Marthe becomes more complete. Through her chair, table, cupboard, and bed, we come to understand who Marthe was. Nothing special, Marthe would have said about it herself
Nikki Dekker is a writer and radio producer. Her debut novel, diepdiepblauw (2022), was awarded the CCS Crone Stipendium and was nominated for the Bronzen Uil (shortlist) and De Boon (longlist). Previously, Nikki published essays and poetry in her chapbook een voorwerp dat nog leeft (2018). She has created radio documentaries for NTR and VPRO and wrote the script for the fiction podcast series De Brandstapel. Nikki writes columns for Vroege Vogels and is on the editorial board of the literary magazine Tirade. De Volkskrant named her the literary talent of 2023.
In September 2024, her second book, Graafdier (De Bezige Bij), was published, where she digs a tunnel through the Dutch landscape, specifically the region of De Groote Peel. The deeper she goes, the further back in time she travels, encountering creatures like the mole cricket, sundials, and the vertebrae of whales, going back 300 million years. And she keeps coming back to one question: why do we exist? In her signature, lighthearted yet probing style, Dekker takes the reader deep underground, where fascinating stories and profound questions emerge.The conversation will be moderated by poet, writer, theater maker, journalist, and podcast creator Marjolijn van Heemstra. In her work, she explores in an accessible way how we can think differently about ourselves and the world. Marjolijn van Heemstra has won several literary awards for her poetry collections and novels. Since 2019, she has written about how space can help us view earth differently, highlighted by her essay Wat is ruimte waard for the Month of Philosophy 2023, published by De Correspondent. The theater show based on this book, Maankoorts, premiered in June 2024. She also creates podcasts (including Sør, Stadsastronaut, Als geschiedenis in je opstaat) and recently conducted research on the value of the night with De Nacht-Wacht, which organizes twilight sessions, night walks, and the Amsterdam Dark Festival. Her new theater show Observaties van een theaterrat will premiere in January 2025.
This Writers Series program is in Dutch.
Following the event, De Vries Van Stockum will host a book sale, with an opportunity for signing. Program curated by Ilonka Reintjens (Writers Unlimited).Writers Series: Humans and Animals in Literature. With Bibi Dumon Tak and Nikki Dekker
Wednesday, November 20, 2024, 20:30-22:00
Central Library, Podium B, Spui 68, 2511 BT The Hague
Each January, Writers Unlimited organizes the Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague (Dates: January 23–26, 2025) and hosts monthly Writers Series events throughout the year at various locations in The Hague, including the Central Library. The festival, featuring over a hundred writers, poets, spoken word artists, and musicians from the Netherlands and abroad, spans four days and takes place at venues including Theater aan het Spui, Filmhuis Den Haag, Paard, Amare, neighborhood libraries, and universities and high schools in The Hague. -
Julia Armfield and Nikki Dekker in conversation with Lisa Weeda
With: Julia Armfield, Lisa Weeda, Nikki Dekker
Summer 2022 two beautiful and strong debut novels were published: Julia Armfield's Our Wives Under the Sea ('the year's most terrifying love story' says AnOther Mag) and Nikki Dekker's diepdiepblauw. Both books describe mysterious sea creatures and the complexities of queer relationships between young women. diepdiepblauw is shortlisted for the Bronzen Uil (Bronze Owl) 2022 for best Dutch-language debut.
Writers Unlimited brought together these two talented young authors with a fascination for oceans and queerness! Lisa Weeda interviewed them in Writers Series on Thursday evening 24 November 2022 in Zaal 3, The Hague about, among other things, the attraction of the sea and about writing lesbian or bisexual love stories.
Where does these young authors' interest in marine life come from, and why do they express this fascination in a wonderful combination of narrative fiction, nature book and essay?
Writer and radio producer Nikki Dekker (1989) released her debut novel diepdiepblauw (Deep Deep Blue) in Summer 2022, a powerful debut novel about identity, shell collecting, growing up and bisexual infatuation, interspersed with fiction and facts about life underwater. In Dutch weekly news magazine De Groene Amsterdammer, when asked what the most enjoyable moment was while writing her novel, she replied: 'For the chapter on dolphins, I watched the documentary The Dolphin House. In it, Margaret Howe tries to teach dolphins to talk with their blowhole. You see her sitting at the edge of the pool, wearing black lipstick so that her own mouth looks like a blowhole, shouting words at that dolphin. That's just absurd.'
British author Julia Armfield (1990) published in 2022 her debut novel Our Wives Under the Sea. In the book, a deep-sea explorer gets stuck in a submarine at the bottom of the sea for longer than planned and returns "changed" to her wife.
The book has been all over Booktok, TikTok and Instagram for a while now, surprising (especially young) readers with its plot and genre: 'queer horror' and 'gothic' are terms that often come up.Last year, Lisa Weeda, author and literary programme maker, published her debut novel Aleksandra, an impressive family story set in her grandmother's motherland, Ukraine. Aleksandra and diepdiepblauw are both shortlisted for the 2022 Bronzen Uil Award. In 2018, she was moderator of the Winternachten festival conversations with writers Nino Haratischwili and Alain Mabanckou.
The Bronzen Uil Award 2022, the prize for the best Dutch-language Debut will be handed out 10 December 2022.
This Writers Series programme is in English.Book sale and signing in the foyer of Zaal 3: De Vries Van Stockum Boeken
Programme curated by: Joëlle Koorneef (Writers Unlimited).Writers Series: Julia Armfield and Nikki Dekker in conversation with Lisa Weeda
Thursday 24 November 2022, 20:30-22:00 hours
Zaal 3, De Constant Rebecqueplein 20A, Den Haag