Tomas Lieske
(The Netherlands, 1943) writes novels, short stories and poetry. He won the VSB Poetry Prize for Hoe je geliefde te herkennen and the Libris Literature Prize for his novel Franklin. Lieske studies Dutch language and literature at Leiden University. After a working period as a teacher and painter, he turned to writing from the age of 40. Some of his books, including the novel Alles kantelt, feature memories of his childhood in the part of the Hague district of Bezuidenhout destroyed by a 1945 bombing. Recent books are the novels Honderd hoge dagen (2020) and Het spettert geluk (2021), as well as Brandende kevers, a choice from his own poetry. He received the F. Bordewijk Prize for Niets dat hier hemelt (2023). In 2024 he publishes Wij van de Ripetta, a historical novel about Caravaggio, among others. He has been awarded with the Constantijn Huygens-prijs in 2024 for his body of works.
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Uitreiking Haagse Literatuurprijzen
With: Adelina Ignat, Alfred Schaffer, Anaïs van Ertvelde, Gijs Scholten van Aschat, Hella, Manon Uphoff, Marieke De Maré, Mirjam van Hengel, Sebastiaan van Eck en Judith Jamin, Simone Atangana Bekono, Tomas Lieske, Valérie Drost
The Hague Literature Prizes 2024 have been awarded to Tomas Lieske, Simone Atangana Bekono, Marieke De Maré and Anaïs Van Ertvelde. The Literatuurmuseum and Writers Unlimited organise the festive award ceremony on Saturday afternoon 25 January 2025.The ceremony will be moderated by Mirjam van Hengel.
The awards will be presented by The Hague alderman Saskia Bruines. Each winner will be honoured with a laudatio in the form of a musical or spoken performance by actor Gijs Scholten van Aschat, writer Manon Uphoff, poet Alfred Schaffer (on video), cello players Sebastiaan van Eck and Judith Jamin, and Flemish a capella formation Hella and others. The Young City Poet of The Hague 2024, Adelina Ignat, opens the award ceremony with recitation. Valérie Drost, director of the Literatuurmuseum/Kinderboekenmuseum, welcomes all attending.
The Constantijn Huygens Prize, the Hague Literature Prize for an oeuvre, has been awarded to Tomas Lieske (pseudonym of Ton van Drunen, 1943). With this prize, the jury awards his entire oeuvre, which consists of novels, stories, poems and essays in which language sparkles, curiosity flourishes and imagination is celebrated.
Simone Atangana Bekono (b. 1991) will receive the Jan Campert Prize 2024, the annual prize for poetry, for Marshmallow. According to the jury, one is left bewildered and charged after reading it. If you hold marshmallows over a flame just long enough, they are perfect: smoky on the outside, sweet on the inside, a tad dirty and irresistible for that very reason. The same goes for this collection of poems: it is an explosive mix of erotic imagery and linguistic tension that will stick in your head long after reading.
Marieke De Maré (b. 1985) has been awarded the F. Bordewijk Prize, the annual prize for the best Dutch-language prose book, for Ik ga naar de schapen. The jury believes that with this poetic work, De Maré shows how literature can unite extremes. This novel speaks powerfully about people who are mainly silent, is both light-footed and heavy, and both painfully recognisable and utterly alienating. This book is a gem to cherish.
Anaïs Van Ertvelde (b. 1988) has been awarded the J. Greshoff Prize, the biennial prize for a collection of essays, for Handicap: een bevrijding (Handicap: a liberation). It is a book that makes us look differently at what we thought we knew: disability. Not a limitation, but a liberation. Van Ertvelde not only introduces crip theory to our language area, she also revises the language we inherited to talk about bodies. And with that language, she changes our thinking. Handicap is an essay that the jury hopes everyone will have the chance to read.
A sum of 12,000,- is attached to the Constantijn Huygens Prize. The other prizes amount to 6,000,-. This year's jury consisted of: Jeroen Dera, Layla El-Dekmak, Rashif El Kaoui, Laurens Ham, Helma ven Lierop, Valérie Drost (chair), Mathijs Sanders, Jeannette Smit (secretary/treasurer) and Sarah Vankersschaever.
Bookstore De Vries van Stockum will be present in the foyer with a stand where books by the award-winning authors and other festival participants, among others, will be available for purchase!
Uitreiking Haagse Literatuurprijzen is curated by Jet Steinz on behalf of the Literatuurmuseum and Writers Unlimited. All information on the laureates can be found at literatuurmuseum.nl.
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Ode to Remco Campert & The Hague Literary Prizes Ceremony
With: Aad Meinderts, Alma Mathijsen, Anjet Daanje, Benjamin Herman, Blue Moon, Corrie van Binsbergen, Ellen ten Damme, Jan Kuijper, Judith Uyterlinde, Kees 't Hart, Kees van Kooten, Lucky Fonz III, Maartje Meijer, Marjoleine de Vos, Mirjam van Hengel, Ramsey Nasr, Ronelda S. Kamfer, Rozalie Hirs, Saskia Bruines, Tjibbe Veldkamp, Tomas Lieske
To grandly celebrate the life and work of Remco Campert, an ode to him took place on the final day of the 2024 Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague, preceding the award ceremony of The Hague Literature Prizes. The event was organized by Writers Unlimited and the Literatuurmuseum, in collaboration with the Jan Campert Foundation, de Volkskrant and De Bezige Bij.
Ode to Remco Campert
Campert was honoured with appearances by prominent writers and artists such as Ellen ten Damme, Kees van Kooten, Ramsey Nasr, Alma Mathijsen, Mirjam van Hengel, South African poet Ronelda S. Kamfer, guitarist Corrie van Binsbergen and the Benjamin Herman Quartet formed by Benjamin Herman (saxophone), Thomas Poll (double bass), Timothy Banchet (piano) and Jimmi Hueting (drums). All let themselves be inspired by the person and work of Campert for their musical or verbal contributions.Remco Campert (1929-2022) was born in The Hague. He was a much-loved poet, novelist and columnist. His poetry won awards such as the Reina Prinsen Geerligs Prize, the Poetry Prize of the City of Amsterdam, the Jan Campert Prize, the P.C. Hooft Price and the Gouden Ganzenveer. In 2015 he was honoured with the Dutch Literature Prize.
Besides poetry, Campert wrote several novels, stories and novellas from the 1960s on, such as 2004's Een liefde in Parijs (A Love in Paris), which became revered classics. From 1989 until 1995, together with Jan Mulder and Bart Chabot, he read from his own work in theatres. From 1996 to 2006, together with Mulder, he wrote the joint column CaMu that appeared on the front page of the Volkskrant daily newspaper. His last works were 2019's Aanelkaar (To Each Other), an exchange of letters with Kees van Kooten, and the poetry collection Mijn dood en ik (My death and I, 2019), in which he lucidly looks death in the eye.
The Hague Literature Prizes Award Ceremony
The festival ended with The Hague Literature Prizes, which are awarded annually by the Jan Campert Foundation. The laureats - Anjet Daanje, Tomas Lieske, Rozalie Hirs en Tjibbe Veldkamp - received their prizes from Saskia Bruines, alderwoman of Finance, Culture and Economy of The Hague.Anjet Daanje received the Constantijn Huygens Prize, The Hague's most important award for a body of work. Tomas Lieske was awarded the F. Bordewijk Prize for his novel Niets dat hier hemelt. Rozalie Hirs received the Jan Campert Prize for her collection of poetry ecologica. The biennial Nienke van Hichtum Prize for children's books went to Tjibbe Veldkamp for his De jongen die van de wereld hield.
Each laureate was honoured with a laudatio by a special guest! Thus, writer Kees 't Hart and pianist, singer and composer Maartje Meijer performed for Anjet Daanje. Rozalie Hirs and Tomas Lieske were praised by poet Jan Kuijper and writer Marjoleine de Vos respectively. Singer-songwriter Lucky Fonz III performed for Tjibbe Veldkamp.
Judith Uyterlinde, director of Writers Unlimited, and Aad Meinderts, chair of the Jan Campert Foundation, delivered welcoming words.
Bookstore De Vries van Stockum was present in the foyer with a stand where books by the authors participating in this event and others were available!
Ode to Remco Campert & The Hague Literary Prizes Ceremony was curated by Jet Steinz on behalf of the Jan Campert Foundation and Writers Unlimited. Mirjam van Hengel hosted the event.
