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 exquisitely told story, the illustrations are stunning in their simplicity
Pluizer on 'I’ll Stay If I May'
Mole and Maurice are inseparable. Until one day, all of a sudden, Maurice says, ‘Bye, Mole!’ – and disappears without explanation. Mole doesn’t know if his friend is ever going to come back and finds comfort in the things Maurice has left behind. ‘All of a Sudden’is a warm and affectionate picture book that shows how true friendship endures, even when someone goes away (if only for a while).
The coolest, funniest and craziest children’s book of 2024
Wonderland by Alice on ‘Wille’
Princess Aurelia’s gold has disappeared, and she commands Brunhilde, a sharp-witted chambermaid, to solve the mystery alongside her famous uncle, Sir Faintheart. If they fail, they will pay with their lives. With buckets of humour and plenty of pace, ‘Sir Faintheart’ is a hilarious whodunnit full of exuberant humour and set in a delightfully grotesque world.
Peter Goes takes readers on a journey around the world to discover dragons, spirits, gods, monsters and other wondrous creatures from every continent. ‘The Atlas of Fabled Beasts’ is a book that sparks curiosity and invites endless exploration.
Waking up alive. Knowing what day it is. Having friends. On his first day in the rehab facility that is supposed to help him overcome his addiction, 17-year-old Lee writes down these three advantages of a life without drugs. Through Lee’s eyes, the reader has already witnessed how the boundaries of time blur when he is high, and how he makes sure that he is always high.
The stories are gripping, the writing is smooth, and the illustrations are colourful, funny and very beautiful.
Hebban on 'A Small World History in 100 Big Dates'
‘The World Is Full of Wonders’is a lively collection of humorous stories about great artists and iconic masterpieces as well as lesser-known names and unexpected events. The lively, colourful illustrations bring artists, artworks and historical events to life, making this book a true cabinet of wonders where looking, reading and discovering go hand in hand. The result is a vibrant tribute to the power of art.
De Vlieger approaches her subject with sincere admiration, and it shows.
NRC on The Big Chicken Book
From the prehistorical apple through Greek myths and Norse gods via Newton to Snow White: Evelien De Vlieger tells fifteen stories in which the apple is central. The stories alternate with heaps of facts about apples. ‘The Fairest of Them All’ shows that an apple is far more than just the most boring option in the fruit bowl.
One of the strongest and most sensitive voices in world of the Belgian graphic novel
Stripweb
In 2071, after yet another devastating flood in Brussels, Beth has been forced to flee to Norway with her grandson Tommie and her elderly mother Rosa. The reception by the Norwegian system is correct but far from friendly. In Judith Vanistendael’s hands, what could have been a dystopia becomes something moving, humorous and luminous. In lively colours she creates a vision of the future that is far from rose-tinted yet brimming with hope.
An ambitious novel that delves deep; it is of a high standard both structurally and stylistically, and offers a compelling reading experience.
Het Nieuwsblad
Actress Abbie de Lange is playing the early 20th-century Irish writer Therese Mae Smith in a historical biopic. Gradually, the line between the two women begins to blur. Abbie recognises herself in Therese: both lost their mothers at a young age, struggle with motherhood, and neither is taken seriously when it comes to their artistic ambitions. Their lives become increasingly intertwined, which is also reflected in the structure of the novel. A gripping novel about motherhood, longing, loss and female self-determination.
A celebration of language. Her language is sensory, shaped by rhythm, sound and feeling.****
NRC
Helle, an internationally successful artist, is devastated when Alma, her closest childhood friend, unexpectedly cuts off all contact. In a lyrical, sensory style, Astrid Haerens explores the complex boundaries between friendship, love and loss.
Adventurous, mildly sarcastic and a feast for the eyes. The most literary graphic author of the Low Countries ****1/2
Knack
With ‘The Moonwalker’, Simon Spruyt surprises readers with a layered narrative that is a cross between a biblical story and science fiction. He weaves in the history of nomadic peoples and urbanisation, alongside a philosophical exploration of human nature and its tendency towards religion and violence. Yet it all adds up to an adventurous story with many light-hearted scenes imbued with a clever sarcasm. Perhaps above all it is a true pleasure to look at.
A compelling, non-moralistic, empathetic exploration of non-traditional ways of loving ***
De Standaard
Eleven years after his art history teacher, Ilara, suddenly disappeared from school, she shows up unexpectedly at Willem’s door. Silent and distraught, she moves in with him without explaining what happened. Gradually, a novel about complex forms of love, boundaries, art and care unfolds.
Bert Moerman skilfully plays on our expectations of a family reunion ****
De Standaard
The recently retired Nadia is looking forward to a new and carefree phase in her life and finally having time for herself again. But as her children go their own way and her husband finds it difficult to adjust to retirement, she feels her familiar world starting to crumble. Moerman explores themes such as transience, family, love and letting go and brings existential questions to the fore.
De Groen lives up to all expectations with her lyrical sentences, her deadpan humour and her nods to David Lynch.*****
Knack
Few debut novels become such an instant cult sensation upon publication as ‘Corpus Britney’. The book appears to begin as a crime story, but also explores the dark side of capitalism. Science fiction, historical fiction and crime fiction merge in a rich, maximalist novel that constantly surprises the reader and immerses them in new worlds.
Olbrechts is a consummate master of both storytelling and drawing
Enola
In September 1921, four ambitious young men are sent to Siberia’s Wrangel Island to claim it for the British Crown. The young Iñupiat woman Ada Blackjack goes with them to cook and sew. In the end, Ada and her cat are the only members of the group to be rescued alive after two years on Wrangel Island. In ‘Ada’ Olbrechts transforms a forgotten tragedy into a compelling, vividly realised and highly accessible graphic novel.
A plotless novel that nonetheless manages to be incredibly gripping****
De Standaard
In ‘You Sit on a Chair’, Bob Vanden Broeck takes as his starting point an extremely simple situation: a person is sitting on a chair at a table. What at first seems mundane, branches out into memories, fears, desires and philosophical reflections on identity, perception, time and the relationship between body and mind.
Jeroen Janssen is a legend in the field of graphic journalism.
NRC
Armed with a sketchbook and a pencil case full of coloured pencils and felt-tip pens, Jeroen Janssen takes readers to places and people that are often overlooked. He gives them a face and a voice, and shows the unexpected beauty of their surroundings. Janssen’s keen eye for detail is reflected in colourful, richly layered illustrations. Slow journalism at its best.
Claeys succeeds in translating abstract ideas into highly concrete visual imagery.
Humanistisch Verbond
Few things seem as personal as our feelings. Yet emotions play a central role in social and political debates, from fears about migration to anger over wars. In ‘On Sensitivities’, philosopher and award-winning author Martha Claeys explores the meaning and impact of emotions in our society.
Flemish city-dweller Matthias Declercq has been fascinated by the idea of the wilderness ever since he was a child. What would it be like to live far away from everything, in the heart of nature? He decides to follow in the footsteps of a fellow villager who emigrated to Alaska in the 1960s and ends up in Tanana, a tiny village on the River Yukon, inhabited by only a few hundred people.
What You Need to Know to Understand the Middle-East
Clear and concise
Boekenkrant.com
The Middle East dominates the news almost every day. From the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, from the wars in Syria and Yemen to the lasting consequences of colonialism and geopolitical power struggles: the region seems to be becoming increasingly complex. In this book, Koert Debeuf makes this complex reality understandable.
An indispensable book for those trying to fathom the Russian war mentality
NRC
Why is Russia continuing to fight a war that is costing so many lives? And why does the Russian army keep going despite heavy losses? In ‘Land of the Great Dying’, expert Joris Van Bladel investigates the complex relationship between the state, the army and society in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The invasion of Ukraine is, after all, no isolated event, but the product of deeply rooted military, political and social traditions.
Based on years of research and personal involvement, Bousset reveals the intimate motives of an author scarred by war, guilt and fear. At the same time, she sheds new light on his pioneering oeuvre and on the mechanisms of canon formation that helped shape his mythical status.
Very accessible – even for chronically overstimulated teenagers.
De Reactor
With sharp observations and a healthy dose of irony, the author shows us how we can reclaim our attention by embracing precisely what the digital world has taken from us: boredom. In doing so, he rediscovers the poetry of the everyday.
We seldom see so much humour, beauty and linguistic creativity.
Cutting Edge, on ‘Show and Tell Me the World’
'What If?' takes readers into Tom Schamp’s boundless imagination, where dragons serve tea, mammoths become pets and every page sparkles with unexpected discoveries. This richly detailed look-and-find book invites children to dream, invent stories and explore endless possibilities through Schamp’s trademark humour, colour and visual wit.
An intimate and accessible debut poetry collection about migration, family, identity and belonging. While some of the poems touch on sadness and grief, others brim with hope and consolation, weaving together emotions that will resonate with many readers.
A first-rate collection. ‘Heart-warming poetry’ that deserves to be promoted with great fanfare.
Cutting Edge
Drawing on the profound confrontation with his own mortality, Demets takes a fresh look at himself, his surroundings and society. He writes rebellious poetry, resulting in a collection that transcends its autobiographical origins.
‘Atman!’ is first-rate, as we’ve come to expect from Bart Moeyaert: sharp, clever and highly relevant.****1/2
Knack
Atman goes to get a loaf of bread for himself and his dad, but he gets lost on the way back. Before he knows it, he’s been kidnapped by a female pirate captain who won’t be trifled with. Bart Moeyaert wrote ‘Atman!’ as a libretto, and it shows: the sentences flow and the rhythm is unmistakable. Mark Janssen goes to town with paint and coloured pencil. Together, they light-heartedly address sensitive subjects like uprootedness, loneliness and homesickness. ‘Atman!’ is a brilliant book that begs to be read aloud.
A remarkable book for connoisseurs, in which much is to be found between the lines
Jaap leest
Transylvania, 1874. After losing his mother, Mika and his father take to the road and meet a small group of Rom, with whom Mika feels very much at home. But Ayan wants to travel on with his son alone. When he is arrested, Mika is left on his own. Marleen Nelen depicts the travelling life beautifully and brings nineteenth-century Transylvania completely convincingly to life. ‘The Birds’ is a moving, unostentatious adventure novel about freedom and finding your own way.
This beautifully illustrated book shows that migration is common to all eras. From prehistory to the recent past: the reasons for migrating were as numerous then as they are today. De Gendt and De Jongh in no way limit themselves to Western history, which makes the book exceptionally valuable. ‘On the Move’ is much-needed and shows convincingly, and with empathy, that all humans are migrants – or at the very least, descendants of those who once set out in search of a life elsewhere.
A moving and endearing gem of children’s literature.
Zilveren Griffel jury report on ‘Roversjong’
Pablo is a word doctor. His room is full of little beds for the words that he’s caring for: wrongly pronounced, misunderstood and almost forgotten words. Right on the top floor of the hospital lies the most special word of all: Sweetheart. It was the pet name his parents used for each other, but it hasn’t been spoken for a long time. Can Pablo still cure it?
An uncommonly beautiful solo work. Dreamy, honest, with humour and compassion
9e kunst
In this little book, Sabien Clement reports in word and image from the eye of the storm: a severe burnout that has put her entire life on hold. ‘Brittlebrave’ is the word Clement invented for what she believes a person must be capable of being: vulnerable, yet fully aware of the strength that lies within that vulnerability. With her honest drawings and observations, the author fully exemplifies that word in this book.
The pictures are marvels of illustration that hold your attention and stimulate the imagination.
Pluizuit
Deep under water, microplastics stick together to form colourful, surprising Things. As this evolution spreads onto land, a new species emerges that seems indestructible. Yet they struggle with a sense of emptiness. They dream of something more and what they invent is truly amazing: Life.
A highly original reversal of evolution that invites readers, with humour and imagination, to think about our throwaway society and how we treat the planet.
A magnificent rhyming story with beautiful, dreamy drawings
Boekwijzer
King penguin Quinn is looking for Pip among the many penguins in the bay. She doesn’t look at beaks, feathers or feet; she searches with her ears. By listening carefully, Quinn finds Pip. And Pip has a surprise. An endearing story in sparkling rhyme for the smallest of children that celebrates diversity, brought to life with enchanting, atmospheric illustrations.
Lucien is avoided like the plague: when he’s around, someone always dies. He lives like a hunted animal, but he can’t be wounded or killed. Not even he understands exactly who he is. This impressive and mysterious tale reads like an enchanting dream, and is an original and ingeniously composed graphic novel about the closeness of death.
Account of the Wrecking of the Merchant Ship Mytilida
Daring but brilliantly successful
De Morgen
On 17 April 1685, the merchant ship Mytilida leaves on a transatlantic voyage with enslaved people, child sailors and one all-seeing mussel on board. This remarkable mollusc keeps a log, recording everything that goes on above decks and below, yet it knows nothing about slavery.This raw, poetic and visually powerful book provides a fresh, subversive view of slavery, gives full scope to voices that history has often left unheard, and creates a lasting impression.
In the wordless ‘PRHSTR’ Sébastien Conard places a faceless group of people from prehistory at centre stage. This brave move creates a very different kind of reading experience. This apparently abstract book is colourful, poetic and from time to time downright moving.
A sophisticated, level-headed story about ‘disappointment that brings us to our knees’ and perpetually shattered hope.
De Morgen
‘Refuge’ follows a woman who, after years of activism, leaves her life in Belgium behind and withdraws to a remote valley in Normandy. In a simple house, she tries to relearn how to look: at the cows languidly grazing, birds skimming past, the rhythm of the seasons. But when the valley is hit by a devastating flood, her fragile new life is swept away overnight. For Peeters this is a way to ask a probing question: can you really flee a world in crisis?
How do we hold on to hope in dark times? How do we stay human when faced with inhuman conditions? And what can we do when fundamental values such as freedom, tolerance and pluralism come under pressure? These are the central questions explored by Alicja Gescinska in ‘Women in Dark Times’.
A beautifully fashioned gem; exceptionally relevant
Cutting Edge
If traumatic memories are handed down from one generation to the next, then we surely must have generations of consolation in our bodies as well. Can we move on from trauma to solace? And if we can, then how? In ‘How the Pain Sings’, Aya Sabi investigates these questions in a lyrical, intimate essay.
Warm, generous, down-to-earth – and yet a snake in this paradise. Spellbinding!
Geert Mak
In ‘My Parents’ Banquet Hall’, Els Snick opens the doors one last time to the iconic De Visscherie in Oostrozebeke, West Flanders. For generations, hundreds of families celebrated weddings, anniversaries and even funerals there. Shortly before the building was demolished in 2017, Snick organised one final, warm reunion – a return to a place full of high spirits, traditions and hidden histories.
This book grabbed me as fiercely as a painful contraction.
Rekto:verso
In her literary nonfiction debut ‘Monstrous Motherhood’, essayist and critic Jozefien Van Beek investigates the expectations, anxieties and contradictions surrounding motherhood. Drawing inspiration from films, artworks, and feminist thinkers, she poses a central question: is it perhaps not only mothers who are monstrous, but motherhood itself?
In ‘Archive of a Possible Loss’, Tine Hens goes in search of what is gradually slipping away from us in a rapidly changing world. She travels to landscapes under pressure – melting glaciers, depleted fields – and observes the animals and plants that are losing their habitats, such as the once so familiar lark. Along the way, she submerges herself in her own memory, where the old abundance still resonates.
Yugoslavia began as an aspiration, as the noble ideal of uniting the southern Slavic peoples. What followed was a meandering and often turbulent history: from kingdom to socialist republic, from tourist paradise to warzone.
Everyone has heard of Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond books. Far fewer people know that the surname of this bestselling British author points to his Flemish roots. The people who ventured across from Flanders to England in the early Middle Ages and settled there were known as Flemings – a designation that reflected both their origins and their reputation.
From the very first page, Depelchin propels the reader forward with great intensity, through brisk dialogue and vivid descriptions.
De Lage Landen
After his parents disappear, Jeremy grows up in Ptitami, the hook-up hotel run by his grandparents. It soon turns out that the hotel is a cover for the ‘red cow gang’, a shadowy organisation that brings the radical left and the radical right together. Their activities catch the attention of private detective Diane, who thinks that Jeremy may be the key to unmasking a dangerous underground network. Depelchin addresses subjects as diverse as parenthood, idealism that flips over into extremism, look-alikes and decadence, shaping a mythical narrative.
After years of silence, 75-year-old Kristien at last decides to share her story. During one long and intense therapy session, Kristien tells her therapist, Sophie, how her life was thrown off course after a new neighbour, Tove, moved in across the street. ‘The Last Session’ takes an unexpected turn when Kristien’s revelations touch on Sophie’s own traumatic childhood, and their lives begin to intertwine.
Pointedly expressed and with appropriate irony, Debruyne uses small, apparently trivial events to show how the frustration mounts and the tension rises. ****
De Standaard
In ‘Aline’ a young woman looks back on a period marked by struggles within her relationship, the challenges of motherhood and the pressures of a hostile environment. In Aline’s relationship the implicit expectations escalate into growing conflicts. Feminist literature and therapy provide less and less of a footing and the inner tension grows. Aline takes her pent-up anger out on the men around her. With sharp prose and a keen sense of irony, Debruyne uses ‘Aline’ to probe the fault lines of progressive morality.
Sax builds the story expertly, before inflicting a swingeing sledgehammer blow near the end.
Trouw
‘Nineteen Nineteen’ follows young Henry Bennett, a former British soldier, as he returns to Flanders in 1919, only months after the Armistice. Henry is overwhelmed by memories of battles, comradeship and above all the loss of friends such as Archie, with whom he had a close bond. With empathy, sensory power and an almost cinematic style, Aline Sax weaves together past and present to create an intense psychological portrait.
A melancholy gem. A novel that slows time and invites reflection. ****
NRC
‘Whiteout’ is a moving novel about the boundaries of language and memory, and about the complex bond between parents and children. With discerning observations and stylistic precision, Six makes the melancholy of leave-taking tangible.
A multifaceted, ambitious novel that can easily be read as a muscular ode to women.
Humo
In the late nineteenth century, Amandine and her twin brother Ambrose grow up in a wealthy Antwerp banking family. When Amandine reaches adulthood, she is given in marriage to an ambitious banker who makes his fortune in the colonial rubber industry. She seeks her freedom in an affair and in the supernatural. This is the account of a woman who refuses to look away, and of an era that is at once dazzling and devastating.
