Inschrijven op de nieuwsbrief

Tatjana Almuli

Tatjana Almuli - foto: Aline Bouma
Tatjana Almuli - foto: Aline Bouma

(The Netherlands, 1991) is a writer, photographer and journalist for various Dutch and interntional media. Her debut, Knap voor een dik meisje (Smart for a Fat Girl), was published in 2019. In it, she takes charge of the discussion about her body and speaks candidly about life as a fat woman in a country where thin is the norm. Her 2022 novel, Ik zal je nooit meer (I Will Never Again), about a (secret) family history, delayed grief, and a daughter who retrieves a little bit of the mother she lost too young. Almuli created the podcast Tussen dertig en doodgaan (Between thirty and death) with Malou Holshuijsen about what happens after age 30: the raw beauty of life, including its messy edges. She presents Dikke vette leugens (Big Fat Lies) on TikTok and Dutch broadcaster NPO3, an honest, cheerful and critical VPRO online series about and by fat people.

(WU2024)

Archive available for: Tatjana Almuli

  • Interview met Tatjana Almuli

    Interview with writer and journalist Tatjana Almuli on being fat

    With: Heera Dijk, Tatjana Almuli

    Tatjana Almuli was the interview guest of The Lighthouse/De Haagse Hogeschool and Writers Unlimited on Tuesday afternoon, 27 February 2024. The interview is Dutch-spoken.

    Tatjana writes for the Dutch newspapers and magazines like Het Parool, ELLE, Vogue, VICE and Volkskrant Magazine. Her book Knap voor een dik meisje: het gewicht van gewicht (Pretty for a fat girl: the weight of weight) was published in 2019. In it, she takes the reins in the conversation about her body, candidly reporting on life as a fat woman in a society where being thin is the norm.

    She is also editor and presenter of Dikke vette leugens, an honest, cheerful and critical podcast series by Dutch national broadcaster VPRO for and by fat people that can be seen on TikTok and NPO3.

    The free admission (reservations recommended) talk with Heera Dijk, HBO-ICT lecturer, took place from 16:00 to 17:00 at the Speakers' Corner of De Haagse Hogeschool, Johanna Westerdijkplein in The Hague (next to Den Haag HS station).

    (This programme was actually supposed to take place during the Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague on 18 January 2024 but then had to be postponed).

    Tatjana has been fat all her life. And so has been getting unsolicited comments about her body for as long as she can remember. Close relatives, total strangers, specialists: everyone finds it necessary to tell her that being fat is a bad thing and that she should do something about it as soon as possible. As if it wasn't already clear to her how much her extra kilos have cost her. In her adolescence, there were no fledgling loves or first sexual experiences, no carefree exploration of the world. Instead, there were bullying classmates, sneaky binge eating and constant shame.


    In her writings and in TikTok series Dikke vette leugens (Thick Fat Lies), she takes charge of the conversation about her body herself. Tatjana calls on fat people to make their voices heard, as openly and honestly as possible. She has already succeeded excellently in doing so. Down with shame!

    Tatjana Almuli talks about breaking weight taboos; interviewer: Heera Dijk. in Dutch.
    Tuesday 27th of Februari 2024, 16:00 - 17:00 uur
    Speakers' Corner of De Haagse Hogeschool, Johanna Westerdijkplein in Den Haag (next to station Den Haag HS)

  • Writers Unlimited 2024

    Writer and journalist Tatjana Almuli at Haagse Hogeschool

    With: Samira Çiftçioğlu, Tatjana Almuli

    Tatjana Almuli was the guest interviewee of The Lighthouse/De Haagse Hogeschool and the Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival on Thursday afternoon, 27 February 2024. Originally, the talk was to take place during the festival on Thursday afternoon, 18 January 2024.

    During this conversation -- free entry but be sure to reserve a spot -- with Heera Dijk (HBO-ICT Lecturer at the HHS), the writer and jouralist spoke about subjects such as her book Knap voor en dik meisje (Smart for a Fat Girl) and her TikTok series Dikke vette leugens (Big Fat Lies), in which she provides a fresh perspective on being overweight via tips, sketches and interviews.

    The conversation took place from 15:45 until 17:15 in the Speakers' Corner of the Haagse Hogeschool, at Johanna Westerdijkplein in The Hague (next the Den Haag HS train station.

    Tatjana Almuli (1991) is a writer, photographer and journalist for various Dutch publications. Her debut Knap voor en dik meisje (Smart for a Fat Girl) appeared in 2019. In it, she takes charge of the conversation about her body, reporting candidly about life as a fat woman in a country where thin is the norm.

    In 2022, her novel Ik zal je nooit meer (I'll Never Again) was published, about a (secret) family history, delayed grief, and a daughter who rediscovers (a little bit) the mother she lost too early. Together with Malou Holshuijsen, she created the podcast Tussen dertig en doodgaan (Between Thirty and Death), about what takes place after age 30: the raw beauty of life and its dirty edges.

    Almuli also hosts Dikke vette leugens (Big Fat Lies) on TikTok and npo3.nl, an honest, cheerful and critical online series for fat people, for everyone who feels fat, and for everyone who wants to undestand the experience of being fat better.

    From 18 to 21 January 2024, the festival was to be found in theatres, libraries and schools throughout The Hague: from Theater aan het Spui, Filmhuis Den Haag, Koninklijke Schouwburg and Paard to Theater Dakota, the Nieuw Waldeck, Schilderswijk and Ypenburg libraries and Haagse Hogeschool. With over ninety writers, poets and spoken-word artists and musicians from the Netherlands and abroad. With readings, prose, poetry, storytelling, spoken word, author interviews, topical talks, films and music.