Flanders Literature helps publishers and festival organisers find that one particular title or author that is the perfect fit for their list or audience. So take a good look around, we present a selection of the finest literature from Flanders. If you like what you see, please get in touch with us for further information.
An extraordinary novel, told in words and sentences of the finest crystal
De Standaard
In the enlightened 18th century, Leon is abandoned and taken in by an uncaring foster mother. Méline, the daughter of the family, takes pity on the tough little boy and makes his hard life bearable. When she commits suicide, Leon knows there is only one thing he can do: live.
A richly documented novel written in a sensual style
De Standaard
Papinette, a curious servant girl in sixteenth-century Antwerp, has no father but many mothers, because all the other servants boss her around. Kristien Dieltiens interweaves the moving, yet disturbing story of Papinette with the history of Antwerp and the rich artistic tradition that has developed in this Flemish city.
'The Dog Eaters' describes the plight of ordinary citizens during WWI, as seen through the eyes of Victor, the epileptic 17-year-old son of a notary. With its mythical atmosphere and almost unbearable tension, this is an unforgettable novel for readers of all ages.
A revelation. Reading a story like this makes you happy
Corriere della Sera
Robin, young and ambitious, takes a tour of all the capital cities of Europe on behalf of his world-weary employer, looking for new marketing strategies for promotional gifts. In ‘Great European Novel’ – a tongue-in-cheek reference to ‘The Great American Novel’ – Koen Peeters has found the perfect form for a book about Europe and the European idea that lies behind it.
Russia’s Fortune. A Journey to the Loneliest People on Earth
An impressive collection of travelogues
Geert Mak
When Johan De Boose packs his bags, readers know they are in for a treat. Russia’s Fortune takes him to the heart of his first love. Given that De Boose is both a romantic and a sceptic, he manages to find a perfect balance between unconditional enthusiasm and sober observation. De Boose never flinches from asking questions about himself either. Could his passion for Russia have anything to do with a predilection for tragedy and suffering?
The Sons of the Sun’ is an anthology of his seven published poetry collections, each of which has an internationally-inspired theme as its foundation. Paul Claes’ poems conjure up meaning using the alchemy of words, blend in Shakespearian sonnets, showcase rhyming sound poetry alongside pastiches, visual poetry and epigrams, and so on.
Moeyaert is at his most interesting when he allows himself to be driven by subject matter. It is then that he knows best how to disarm and move his readers in a fresh and elegant way
Cutting Edge
In ‘Poems for Happy People’, happiness and love are inseparably linked. Love (in all its forms) emanates from every page. Young readers discover a love of reading for the first time, the lighthouse loves seeing people around its town, and the sea loves washing ashore (because, after every low tide, it always changes its mind and returns).
Literature of wonderment. For children. And for those few adults who are still capable of wonder.
De Groene Amsterdammer
In winter everybody hopes spring will arrive soon. Squirrel is counting down to his final beechnut, Elephant would like to push winter away, while Owl is writing a letter… Nothing seems to help. Until suddenly spring arrives and everybody starts visiting everybody else.
Adventures that are very recognizable for anybody who has gone through babyhood
Forbidden Planet International
This comic book series is a contemporary, humorous stop-comic about a young couple and their girl twins. The neurotic father, quick-witted mother and two pig-headed children live in a pink bunker and drive a pink tank. But apart from their eccentric residence and means of transport, they lead a perfectly ‘normal’ life. At least they try.
Joseph Pearce asks relevant and nuanced questions about the Jewish identity.
Het Nieuwsblad
Starting with a Jewish man requesting euthanasia in Belgium in 2008, Pearce traces the history of a Jewish family back to Poland at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Each chapter presents timeless conflicts between father and son. Do we stay or go, integrate or retain our own identity, cling to faith or enter the big, wide world? And how do we respond to persecution?
In the early twentieth century, Jean-Baptist Van Hooylandt travels from fair to fair with his collection of living human curiosities. The most astonishing piece in his collection is a ‘derodyme’: female Siamese twins, who unfortunately die in dramatic circumstances in 1912.
‘Pitbull’ is a chilling psychological thriller with a strong streak of horror. With a keen eye for detail, Deflo sketches a razor-sharp portrait of a tormented psychopath’s obsessions. Not suitable for sensitive readers.
A small boy compiles a mythical portrait of his grandfather: he is the father of the wood, of the village, even the whole country. But sometimes the roles are reversed. On such occasions the little boy waits until it’s his turn to be the comforting ‘little dad’ to his mournful grandpa-without-grandma.
A masterful symbiosis of colour, form and composition
Boekenpauw jury
Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale, ‘The Secret of the Nightingale’s Throat’ is a literary retelling that will appeal to readers of all ages. In the long line of illustrators who have made pictures to accompany Andersen’s tale, few have managed to catch the emperor’s despair as vividly as Carll Cneut.
Journalism, only better than that; the literature of reality
Liberation
They walk from market to market, sleeping in huts and schools, but gradually the power of the colonel starts to decline and the guide becomes increasingly insecure. The ancient landscape brings back powerful memories of Joris’ childhood village.
The clear prose offers a broad readership a reassuring perspective on a confusing time.
De Standaard
These turbulent times represent an enormous challenge to all of us, the world over. New questions that lack clear answers are making many people feel insecure. But fear is a poor counsellor.
Majestic. A book like this is written once a decade at most.
Dagblad van het Noorden
1943. In rich and vivid language, Els Beerten maps out the hopes, dreams and desires of four friends, deftly capturing the blurring of the boundaries between good and evil, black and white. A moving and subtle portrayal of the darkest pages of our history. All of the characters follow their instincts and act in good faith. But what happens when the course you have chosen turns out to be the wrong one?
Its wording is exceptionally meticulous and subtle. A work of art
Knack
In a fragmentary way Stefan Hertmans explores and evokes the consciousness of Jelina, a forty-year old author. Promises for the future have failed to deliver, any hope of finding happiness has shrunk. Will she choose her family in the end?
'Linus' is a book that demands to be reread, for the story as well as the abundance of unique illustrations.
Het Laatste Nieuws
Linus lives with his mourning mother, who wanders around the house like a ghost. He has nobody to play with. Everywhere he goes, he draws signs pointing to his house, but nobody ever comes to visit. Until he writes a letter to his late brother Boris. One day, he turns up on the doorstep.
You never tire of the generously inviting three-dimensional world of Tom Schamp.
Boekenpauw jury
Schamp evokes a colourful and many sided universe, full of fascinating and dazzling details. With his well-chosen, beautifully filled out pictures Schamp presents a surprising, individual take on the creation story.
On Rosie’s tenth birthday, almost a year ago, her sister Pia gave her a notebook containing ten self-written verses and a mysterious task in the form of a riddle. Shortly after this Pia died. To keep Pia’s memory alive, Rosie sketches a series of astonishing portraits of her sister. ‘A Riddle for Rosie’ is one of those rare picture books in which a high quality text is accompanied by illustrations that themselves can be read as works of art.
Marc Reugebrink has written a beautiful and important book.
De Groene Amsterdammer
This book covers the aftermath of ’68, coupling the sexual revolution to its political counterpart. A serious yet entertaining rendering of recent history, evoked with great precision.
Karel van de Woestijne is perhaps the most important post-symbolist poet to have written in the Dutch language. Van de Woestijne’s collected work consists of almost one thousand pages of poetry and an equal amount of prose, a significant portion being dedicated to epic poetry and essays on the visual arts and literature.
Beautifully articulated and full of unexpected twists and turns
De Telegraaf
‘Greener Grass’ is a collection of stories in which a succession of people step into the limelight, all of whose lives contain substantial hidden realms. With their emotional isolation and longing for affection, the characters arouse sympathy and compassion, even if their self-control ends in a violent outburst.
Hallgerd is born in the frozen North, a land of wolves and snow – and of kings who vie for power. One night, she loses everything she holds dear. After that night Hallgerd has only one thing on her mind: revenge. A brutal and gripping story of revenge, lust and love in the time of the Vikings.
In the middle of the night a million different butterflies fly round the head of Stach, a young elephant. Stach is completely bewildered, but his parents know what he has to do. He must set out in pursuit of the butterflies. On his journey Stach realises that no one sees the butterflies but him.
Masterful. Brilliantly evokes an important historical period
De Leeswelp
‘We Two Boys’begins in 1910 when the Flemish family De Belder is getting ready for their new future in the promised land, the United States of America. Eventually it is only the young Adrian, however, who makes it all the way to New York. Aline Sax sketches a lively and convincing portrait of New York City.
A little boy is both scared of and fascinated by an old woman he often sees. Until one day she drops her bag, and she suddenly looks a lot smaller. ‘The Woman and the Little Boy’ shows children that prejudices actually make no sense. Because big old women are not usually scary giantesses, but sweet little old ladies.
The novel presents a Moroccan outlook on the differences between Moroccans in Morocco and those who have emigrated; between their own values and Western values; between tradition and the modern ways of thinking that men find so hard to deal with.
Lamrabet creates above all a subtle and convincing portrait of a fascinating woman, who, standing firmly by her decisions, must pay the social and intellectual price.
Dolores grows up as a dwarf, in 15th century Biar in Spain. When she is five she realises she is different to other people. But she refuses to reconcile herself to limitations and glosses over her handicap with a generous dose of humour.
As you read the stories you sometimes have the feeling that you are looking in a mirror.
Rifraf
A graphic novel that reacts to the here and now and is set in our modern multicultural society with all its pros and cons. 'Over to You' is also inextricably linked with Antwerp, the city where the Comic book artist and the scriptwriter have lived all their lives.
Louise is nostalgic for the time when she was a real creepy girl. And she longs for Rotboy, with whom she used to do scary things. Now she’s all by herself and life is boring. Louise decides to go to the Shivver Woods, the best place for creepy adventures. There she bumps into Rotboy.
With this extraordinarily successful book, Terrin confirms what gradually should become official: he and no one else is the most intriguing author of his generation.
De Tijd
‘The Bee Eaters’ combines a refined style with a great deal of depth of content, eeriness with the identifiable, the everyday with what is concealed behind the facade. Terrin is not only inspired by the work of Camus but also by, for example, Franz Kafka and Willem Frederik Hermans.
Flair, intelligence, and humour are abundantly present in his book.
Het Parool
Gram is a devotee of cool intelligence who likes to regard people as machines rather than as creatures with a unique personality and psychology. However, he cannot function as a machine himself. But then he becomes a prey to the thing he had always repudiated: emotions.
Two sisters, Hannah and Kim, were left by their mother under dramatic circumstances twelve years ago. Confronted with both professional and romantic issues, the two sisters decide to rethink their lives and leave for Australia. There they start on a suicidally inspired journey, in the course of which they are able to locate their mother, who is living with a group of Aboriginal women.
Once again this is a marvellous book, that makes you laugh out loud, shudder, and strikes you dumb. Literary juries note: praise this book, praise this man!
Elsevier
'The Third Marriage' reads like an intense tragi-comedy, spiced with criticism of the gay movement, the dumbing-down of television, the narrowmindedness of a cool urban neighbourhood.
This is an extremely accurate and haunting collection of poems.
Jury Report Herman de Coninck Prize
In the poems of Moors’ debut collection ‘There is a tall sky above us’, a rather peculiar ‘I’ communicates ongoing amazement about a rather peculiar world. Undoubtedly the strong compositional aspect and the equally strong, provocative nature of her work are partly why these poems have already been deemed classics of the twenty-first century and Moors one of the rising stars of Flemish poetry.
Observation is second nature to Bernard Dewulf, not only as a means to gather inspiration, but also as a linguistic method to catch a glimpse of the essence of things. In a stylised language he transforms his images and impressions into highly sensitive poems.
In this reworking of a medieval story, the magnificent illustrations by Klaas Verplancke bring Reynard vividly to life. Each iconographic image is a genuine masterpiece, full of quirky details that the reader can explore for hours on end.
Fox and Hare live together in the wood, next door to Owl. They love each other and they tease each other and, as befits an inseparable duo, they’re complete opposites. Vanden Heede succeeds in creating unforgettable characters in a fresh and funny style. The story’s so much fun that the readers barely notice the words and sentences are getting longer and longer.
A book about shock and shame, about the power of the imagination and about the longing for forbidden fruit
De Morgen
Marita de Sterck beautifully depicts the claustrophobic atmosphere of the strict boarding schools of yesteryear and the shame and secrecy surrounding menstruation and budding sexuality. Rhythmic sentences are bursting with sensual suggestion and thrilling secrets about the body, secrets that must not be spoken.
Sensitive language and delicate treatment of emotions
De Standaard
A Creole plantation on the Mississippi, in Louisiana. Planter's daughter Lara and slave girl Rebecca grow up together and become bosom friends. Vereecken describes her characters with great subtlety and nuance. But the division between black and white, between slave and master, cruelly and irrevocably tears them apart. A profound and compelling novel.
Virtuoso writing and an intellectually challenging reflection of our living environment
De Standaard
In this polyphonic theatre novella, there are fantasises, speculations and brainstorms in antitheses about the future of Europe. Seven anonymous Europeans tell their stories. Lanoye describes a future Europe that is dominated by dissatisfaction and the longing for a better version of itself.
A human story without corniness, with an overdose of emotions and identifiability
De Morgen
Although this graphic novel begins as a classic boy-meets-girl story, the tone quickly becomes less cheery. Author Conz chose a visual narration with a limited amount of text, but a great richness of imagery. His dark, expressive pages perfectly fit this loaded story about characters whose past keeps catching up with them.
In this tour de force, Koubaa brings the Western tradition of rationality and Eastern nature poetry into harmony with each other.
Knack
Bart Koubaa brings the life story of an ordinary man into direct connection with historical events and developments. His main character is a man trying to come to terms with his past but also fascinated by the mysteries of the universe.
Beautiful illustrations: evocative images with clever ideas
De Leeswelp
Mouse is wrestling with an identity crisis. He’s always comparing himself with others, and sees himself as inferior. He dreams of being another animal. But Mouse learns that the other animals' lives also have their drawbacks. At the end of his journey of discovery, he realises that there’s only one animal he really wants to be: Mouse.
The illustrations glow, and conjure up the feeling of a safe home.
Trouw
Nelly builds a gigantic house at a spot with fantastic views. But when her friends Bird, Bear, Duck and Cow come by to visit one by one, she realizes she misses the view of the forest, the mountain, the pond and the meadow. So Nelly begins by knocking down the walls, until all that’s left is the roof over her head.
Jan De Leeuw's book is unusual and surprising in equal measure.
Gouden Uil Young Reader's Prize jury
Fantasy and reality are combined in a mesmerizing fashion. Tension is built up and maintained throughout the book with skill and expertise, the plot remains exciting from the first page to the last, and there are a number of clever surprises built into the narrative. ‘Nightland’ is an exhilarating and layered literary work, which does not reveal all its secrets in a single reading.
