Arts Flanders Literature

Herr Seele paints in Cézanne’s studio

vfl — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:19:41 +0000

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In April, the graphic artist Herr Seele, known for his comic character Cowboy Henk, will have the chance to work for a few days in the studio of the painter Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) in Aix-en-Provence.

Every year, Aix-en-Provence hosts a festival promoting the relationship between graphic novels and other art forms: ‘Rencontres du 9eArt’ (The Encounters of the 9th Art). This year, the major exhibition is dedicated to Cowboy Henk, plus other works by Herr Seele. In the days leading up to the exhibition, he will create a work in Cézanne’s studio, to be shown at the exhibition.

It is quite unusual for the studio in the museum to be opened to another artist. What is special about Cézanne's studio is that he had a large slit made in the wall, through which large canvases could be brought in and out. Herr Seele plans to produce a big painting, a composition showing Cowboy Henk posing for Cézanne and, naturally, Herr Seele will find a spot for himself in the picture.

The Frémok collective will be presenting a new French-language publication of a Cowboy Henk compilation in Aix-en-Provence under the title ‘L’humour vache’, a beautiful full-colour edition with a selection of comic strips.

Literature

Bologna 2013 confirms the international reputation of Flemish children’s and youth literature

vfl — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:16:40 +0000

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The Flemish Literature Fund (FLF), and Flemish children’s and youth books in general, can look back on a successful Bologna Book Fair. Recent award-winning books are gaining a new lease of life internationally, work by young illustrators has been much admired and a considerable number of translations have been announced. The Flemish publishers’ stand, which the FLF was part of, was busier than ever. Not only was there a great deal of coming and going, with all the Flemings’ appointments with international publishers, but a striking number of Flemish authors and illustrators had also come to experience the fair first hand.

This is the seventh time that the FLF has attended the Bologna Book Fair to promote Flemish children’s and youth literature. During the four days of the event, FLF staff presented interesting titles to 75 foreign publishers of children's and youth literatures, translators and festival organisers, with one meeting every half hour. These contacts can now consider whether to translate the titles into their own language.

The FLF was integrated into the general Flemish stand, efficiently organised by the Flemish Publishers Association, with support from Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT). The stand, under the banner, ‘Publishers from Flanders’, was a hive of activity. Not only due to all the publishers' packed schedules, but also because the picture books on display attracted crowds of passers-by. The quality of our picture books and graphic novels received a great deal of praise and many foreign publishers immediately made the link with our strong pictorial tradition.

After years of hard work, the FLF now has a close international network of publishers showing serious interest in our Flemish authors and illustrators’ literary novels and artistic picture books, which are increasingly being seen as a ‘strong, unique brand’. Many concrete plans were made at the fair for translations. In the offing are a French translation of Anne Provoost’s ‘Mijn tante is een grindewal’ (My Aunt is a Pilot Whale) from Alice Editions, a Turkish translation of ‘Roodgeelzwartwit’ (Redyellowblackwhite) by Brigitte Minne and Carll Cneut from Sarigaga, a Portuguese translation of ‘Het geheim van de keel van de nachtegaal’ (The Secret of the Nightingale’s Throat) by Peter Verhelst and Carll Cneut from the Brazilian Cosac & Naïfy, and German (Mixtvision) and English (Eerdman Books) translations of ‘Buurman leest een boek’ (Neighbor Reads a Book) by Koen Van Biesen. And there are more concrete plans for translations into English. US publishers Eerdman Books will be translating ‘Kleuren van het getto’ (Colours of the Ghetto) by Aline Sax and Caryl Strzelecki, and the New Zealand publishers Book Island will be releasing Tine Mortier and Kaatje Vermeire’s ‘Mare en de dingen’ (Mare and the Things that Matter) on the English market.

There was a notable amount of attention paid to books that had recently won prizes, such as ‘Allemaal willen we de hemel’ (We All Want Heaven), for which Els Beerten won the Flemish Culture Price for youth literature. After translations into German, Spanish, Hungarian, Norwegian and Macedonian, offers are expected from Russia and France after the fair. There is also interest from Italy, Australia, the US, Slovenia, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, South Africa and Poland.

A Danish translation of Kristien Dieltiens' ‘Kelderkind’ (Cellar Child), which just won the Woutertje Pieterse Prize, is due out shortly. France, Italy, Poland, Australia, Germany and Russia have also shown concrete interest. In September, a French translation of ‘Ik wou’ (I Wish), by Ingrid Godon and Toon Tellegen will be published by La Joie de Lire. Birgit Erdmann’s German translation has been nominated for the prestigious Jugendliteraturpreis and that has led to renewed interest in Godon’s work from Spanish and English-language publishers.

Other highlights were ‘Rosie en Moussa’ (Rosie and Moussa) by Michael De Cock and Judith Vanistendael, with interest from the US, France, Russia, Hungary, Slovenia and Norway, and ‘De Melkweg’ by Bart Moeyaert, with interest from the US, Italy, Sweden, Japan, the Czech Republic and Norway.

As usual, the FLF took along a pile of new titles, including ‘Tirol Inferno’ by Annelies Verbeke and Klaas Verplancke, ‘White Cube’ by Brecht Vandenbroucke, ‘De engel Yannick’ (The Angel Yannick) by Do Van Ranst, ‘De nacht van 2 april’ (The Night of 2 April), Jan Simoen’s latest book, ‘Groter dan een droom’ (Bigger than a Dream) by Jef Aerts and Marit Törnqvist, and ‘Zijdeman’ (Silk Man) by Kathleen Vereecken. These titles also attracted international interest. Marian De Smet’s ‘Rotmoevie’ (Bad Movie) was particularly popular, attracting interest from no fewer than ten countries.

The FLF put extra emphasis on the talent of the young illustrator Mattias De Leeuw with an information sheet on ‘Dertien rennende hertjes’ (Thirteen Running Deer), with words by Edward van de Vendel, and four more of his books published over the past eighteen months. Various publishers from Brazil, Spain, Hungary and Germany are interested in his work.

Each year, the FLF gives a young illustrator the chance to visit the Bologna Book Fair and this year the children’s and youth literature advisory committee selected Korneel Detailleur. He visited the fair accompanied by Goele Dewanckel, whom the FLF had invited to accompany him. Together, they had meetings with publishers from Spain, Italy and Switzerland, for example, where Korneel received feedback on his work. Many publishers at the Flemish stand were impressed by Korneel’s illustrations for Bart Moeyaert’s latest book, ‘Iemands lief’ (Someone’s Sweetheart).

Goele Dewanckel had other reasons for coming to Bologna too. On Sunday evening, her picture book, ‘Baci’, was presented in the most central children’s book shop in Bologna. The book will be published directly by Orecchio Acerbo, but a Flemish version will also probably be released in the near future.

Goele Dewanckel and Korneel Detailleur will be writing a report on their experiences in Bologna for the next issue of De Leeswelp. They will each be presenting their three ‘books of the fair’.

The FLF can look back with satisfaction at the fair and the many exciting contacts that will shortly generate a considerable number of translations. It was wonderful, too, that so many Flemish authors and illustrators came to Bologna on their own initiative this year. Bart Moeyaert, Kathleen Vereecken, Evelien De Vlieger, Peter Van Olmen, Kristien Dieltiens, Kristien Aertssen, Carll Cneut, Klaas Verplancke, Leo Timmers, Mattias De Leeuw, Inge Bogaerts, Guido Van Genechten, Jan De Kinder, Ingrid Godon: they all wanted to experience the fair for themselves. Their enthusiasm and enterprising spirit contributes to the positive image of Flemish children’s and youth literature in the international children’s book world, something the FLF is only too delighted with.

Literature

Els Beerten wins the Flemish Culture Award for Youth Literature

vfl — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:12:34 +0000

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On Saturday 2 March 2013 the Flemish Minister of Culture Joke Schauvliege presented writer Els Beerten with the 2011-2012 Flemish Community Award for Youth Literature. The jury honoured the youth author because she broke through the cocoon of youth literature with her novel ‘Allemaal willen we de hemel’ [We All Want Heaven]. The ceremony, held at the Kopergietery children's and youth theatre in Ghent, was paired with the start of the 2013 Week of the Youth Book, organised by the Stichting Lezen (Reading Foundation).

‘Allemaal willen we de hemel’ is a gripping and richly nuanced story of destiny about love, friendship, loyalty and betrayal in the lives of Jef, his sister Renée and their little brother Remi, who all look up to their friend Ward. Three adolescents and one child, surrounded by parents, teachers, friends and neighbours. They are regular people in an irregular situation: the Second World War. In each chapter, author Els Beerten writes from the perspective and mental world of one of the children. In this way, she lets us see how the war forces everyone to make choices. These choices have far-reaching and sometimes tragic results. In one way or the other, the children are partly responsible for the evil that makes up a part of the world.

Els Beerten (1959) grew up in Koersel. She has taught Dutch, English and creative writing in Aarschot since 1985. ‘Allemaal willen we de hemel’ was published in 2008 and became an instant classic in Flanders and the Netherlands. In 2009, the book won, among other things, the Boekenleeuw award, the Gouden Uil award for the Young Reader and the Gouden Lijst award. In the meantime, the novel has been translated into Norwegian, Spanish and German with the support of the Flemish Literature Fund. The German translation was nominated twice for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature award). Finally, the book also won the Nienke Van Hichtum award in 2010 and the Lodlavki award in 2012.

The jury feels the praise is justified. “’Allemaal willen we de hemel’ is much more than just an exciting war novel. It is also a coming-of-age story about growing up and taking responsibility for what you do in your life. Els Beerten also makes an indirect plea for the power of art: music is a leitmotiv in the story and binds the characters to one another. The multi-vocality also compels the reader to reflect on good and evil, truth and lies. The composition is well thought-out and developed with care, but this doesn’t stand in the way of the exciting ending.”

Flemish Minister for Culture Joke Schauvliege continues: “’Allemaal willen we de hemel’ shows how very thin or artificial the border can sometimes be between a novel for adolescents and adults. This story, about war and its far-reaching effects grips readers of all ages and deserves, especially during the present Year of Reading Aloud, to be ‘read aloud’ and shared.”

Literature

‘La Boîte à Gand’ Goes Down a Storm in Angoulême

vfl — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:48:16 +0000

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From 31 January to 3 February, the Flemish Literature Fund (FLF) was present at the international comic festival in Angoulême for the seventh time, promoting Flemish graphic novels. The festival was celebrating its 40th year, with a major retrospective of the work of Uderzo, the spiritual father of Asterix and Obelix, and with South Korea as a guest country. But the real talk of the town was, without doubt, the exhibition ‘La Boîte à Gand,’ an FLF initiative, in collaboration with the Flemish Representation in Paris and Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT).

The Angoulême comic festival is a real event. For four days, what for the rest of the year is a sleepy southern French town transforms into the Mecca for the international comic world. For the first two days (Thursday 31 January and Friday 1 February) the festival is only open to schools and professionals, but at the weekend the doors open to the general public. It also provides an annual gathering place for thousands of graphic novelists and illustrators and welcomes some 200,000 visitors every year from around the world. That is four times the town’s resident population.

At 13 different venues you can visit exhibitions large and small dedicated to a specific graphic novelist or theme. There are also various exhibition halls for the big international graphic novel publishing companies, which send their top authors for signing sessions; there is a big hall full of first editions and original comic plates and collectors’ items for the more flush comic fanatics. A great deal of attention is also devoted to new faces and apprentice graphic novelists presenting their work to professionals and established names for an expert opinion.

You are spoilt for choice. Yet everyone agreed that ‘La Boîte à Gand’ was the revelation of the festival. To offer the young, new generation of Flemish graphic novelists a forum, the FLF asked Brecht Evens if he would like to curate an exhibition of Flemish talent. Evens invited four compagnons de route to join him, artists with whom he had studied illustration at the St Lucas Art School in Ghent: Brecht Vandenbroucke, Hannelore Van Dijck, Lotte Van De Walle and Sarah Yu Zeebroek.

Brecht Evens has been known and loved in France since the publication of translations of ‘Ergens waar je niet wil zijn’ [The Wrong Place] and ‘De liefhebbers’ [The Making Of] by Actes Sud. For Evens, the exhibition 'Ceci n'est pas la BD flamande' in Angoulême in 2009 was the beginning of a flourishing international career. In 2011, he won the Prix de l'Audace in Angoulême. Since then, his work has been translated in France, England, Canada, Spain, Germany and Korea, always for renowned publishers.

The Angoulême festival welcomed Evens with open arms from the beginning, and this year placed him on the stage at the opening ceremony, between Uderzo and Matsumoto. Evens stole the show in his singular manner with a short, rock'n'roll-style performance that focused on presenting his colleagues' work and summing up a number of reasons why everyone should visit 'La Boîte à Gand'.

The results on Friday and Saturday spoke for themselves. Long queues of visitors, both for the exhibition and various signing sessions, and unanimous praise from the public and numerous media for the 'surprising, adventurous and highly-promising' new generation of Flemish graphic novelists. The fact that their work blurs the borderline between comic and art, something you might sooner expect in a museum setting, was also highly commended.

During the festival, the FLF was invited to take the exhibition on to Lausanne, Lisbon, London and elsewhere. Various cities in Belgium (including Ghent and Brussels) have also shown interest in being the first to show it in Belgium.

To accompany the exhibition, the FLF distributed a free 68-page magazine called 'Bangarang’, produced specially for Angoulême and entirely devoted to Flemish graphic talent, with a great deal of attention to new names, such as Frederik Van Den Stock, Shamisa Debroey and Charlotte Dumortier. The magazine certainly made a splash and was eagerly snatched up and read.

For Brecht Vandenbroucke, one of the five artists in 'La Boîte à Gand', Angoulême was the dream launch for his international graphic novel debut. The exhibition sales stand sold out of ‘White Cube’ within two days. His book was also the most popular at the FLF’s foreign rights stand, with concrete international interest from publishers in France, Germany, Spain, Argentina, Canada, England, Finland and Norway.

More and more international publishers are visiting the FLF stand to take a close look at the Flemish Graphic Novel, which has become a familiar phenomenon and stands for quality and innovation, adventurous artistic books and colourful paintings in comic form. A lot of interest was shown in the debut works of Shamisa Debroey and Wide Vercnocke, but also in Maarten Vandewiele’s new graphic novel, work by Simon Spruyt, 'Cowboy Henk' by Herr Seele and Kamagurka and Nix’s 'Billy Bob'. Billy Bob was nominated in the youth category for one of Angoulême's prestigious prizes.

The FLF can look back on another successful attendance at the Angoulême festival, a home from home for Flemish graphic novels. Next year will be no different.

> Photos of the Festival on the website...

> Film clips of the Festival on the website...

Literature

High Impact: Literature from the Low Countries

vfl — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:08:47 +0000

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From 14 to 19 January 2013, Flanders House London and the Netherlands Embassy in the United Kingdom presented 'High Impact': six top writers from the Low Countries toured six cities for six nights of readings and debates to showcase the best 'High Impact' literature from Flanders and the Netherlands in English translation. The tour ended with a final gala gathering in London, with authors from both the UK and the Low Countries. The authors who took part in the tour were Lieve Joris, Herman Koch, Ramsey Nasr, Peter Terrin, Chika Unigwe and Judith Vanistendael. Geert Mak attended the London gathering.

Starting 8 February with Lieve Joris’s ‘UK Safari’ blog, every day for a week we are publishing our Low Countries authors’ blogs and impressions of the High Impact Tour on the High Impact website.

These authors are the Low Countries literati: all prize-winners and best-sellers back home, all writing in Dutch, but from two different countries – Belgium and the Netherlands. Two of England's closest neighbours producing some of the most exciting literature in Europe, but about whom the English public knows too little, while they also know too little about each other. Now for the first time, and in a unique joint venture, six of the best Dutch-language storytellers came together for a rock star-style tour of six English cities – to perform for the English public and to discover what they may (or may not!) have in common.

Sponsored by Flanders House and the Netherlands Embassy in London and curated by Rosie Goldsmith, known in the UK as a champion of international fiction, 'High Impact' is a unique idea with a unique group of writers. The public heard the Dutch Poet Laureate side by side with Flanders' leading graphic novelist; two global bestsellers, a thriller writer, a celebrated historian and a travel writer together on stage every night. Selected by Rosie Goldsmith from across Flanders and the Netherlands not only for their brilliant books but also for their wit, wisdom, fluent English and 'High Impact' performance skills, these authors wowed the public with their readings and ideas. Each night a different city, a different theme, a different type of venue (a church, theatre, an arts centre).

And if by the time they reached London for their final gig the public was still unconvinced of the 'High Impact' of Low Countries Literature, then the impact level was boosted even further when they performed alongside such English literati as Tracy Chevalier, Deborah Moggach and David Mitchell, themselves famous for writing on Dutch themes.

Literature

Else Otten Übersetzerpreis 2012 presented to Christiane Kuby

vfl — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:01:53 +0000

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The translator Christiane Kuby has been awarded the Else Otten Übersetzerpreis 2012 for her translation of ‘Godenslaap’ (Divine Sleep) by Erwin Mortier. The prize was presented to her in Berlin on Wednesday 23 January. ‘Götterschlaf’ was published by the Cologne company DuMont in 2010.

The jury for the Else Otten Übersetzerpreis 2012 consisted of Professor Heinz Eickmans (chairman), translators Waltraud Hüsmert and Andreas Ecke and critic Hermann Wallmann. They praised the stylistic 'tour de force' of the translation: "Christiane Kuby's translation not only mostly strikes the right and for this novel characteristically deliberate, melancholic-resigned tone, but also deals with stylistic difficulties in a convincing and often brilliant way. Lexically, the translation is extremely varied and rich in differentiation, but the irony and the humour of the original also stay intact... Summing up, it may be said that even as Götterschlaf, as it is called in the German translation by Christiane Kuby, Erwin Mortier's novel Godenslaap effortlessly remains in every way an impressive and moving book of exceptional linguistic force.”

Christiane Kuby has been translating Dutch-language literature, poetry and non-fiction since the nineties. She has so far built up an impressive translation oeuvre amounting to some 40 titles. Apart from Erwin Mortier's 'Godenslaap', she has translated work by Kader Abdolah, Jeroen Brouwers, Carl Friedman, Marie Kessels, Herman Koch, Tomas Lieske, Tonnus Oosterhoff, Leo Pleysier, P.F. Thomése, Helga Ruebsamen, Jan Verplaetse and many others.

Every two years, the Flemish Literature Fund (FLF) and the Dutch Foundation for Literature give an award to the best literary translation of a Dutch novel into German. Christiane Kuby received a monetary prize of 5200 euro. The event was organised in cooperation with the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin and the Flemish Representation in Germany. Former winners of the prize are Andreas Ecke, Waltraud Hüsmert, Hanni Ehlers, Helga van Beuningen, Marlene Müller-Haas and Gregor Seferens.

Else Otten (1873-1931) was one of the most active literary translators from Dutch into German in the last century. She translated 'Majesty' by Louis Couperus ('Majestät', 1895) and literary work by Frederik van Eeden, Justus van Maurik and Herman Heijermans.

An overview of the translations by Christiane Kuby is to be found in the Translators' Database.

Literature

Two nominations for graphic novelists

vfl — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:22:52 +0000

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During ‘bd Boum’, the 29thBlois comics festival in France, the Association des Critiques et des journalistes de Bande Dessinée announced the shortlist of 5 graphic novels for the ‘Grand Prix de la Critique 2013’. One of the nominated books is the French edition of Judith Vanistendael’s ‘When David Lost his Voice’, translated by Hélène Robbe and published by Le Lombard.

The ‘Grand Prix de la Critique’ aims to support and appreciate graphic novels published in French in a spirit of discovery. The selected titles excel in their narrative and graphic form and are remarkable in their strength, their originality, the innovative way they treat a subject or the methods the authors use. The prize was first awarded in 1984 and is awarded every year. The winner of the 2012 Grand Prix de la Critique was Bastien Vivès’ ‘Polina’. The winner of the 2013 edition will be announced on Monday 10 December.

Meanwhile at the press conference of the 40thAngoulême International Comics Festival , it was announced that Nix’ ‘Billy Bob’ has made it into the official selection for the ‘youth’ category. This nomination means that the album will receive much French and international professional attention, as well as attention from the interested reader. ‘Billy Bob’ was published in France by Les Requins Marteaux, and has a striking fluffy cover.

Literature

‘La Boîte à Gand’ presents young talent in Angoulême

vfl — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:02:26 +0000

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The Flemish Literature Fund (FLF) is presenting ‘La Boîte à Gand’, an exhibition of young comic strip talent, at the annual comic strip festival in Angoulême. The festival is on from Thursday 31 January until Sunday 3 February 2013. The young comic artist Brecht Evens was invited to be curator of the exhibition. He was given carte blanche and chose to set up a dialogue with comic artists of his own generation: Brecht Vandenbroucke, Lotte Vandewalle, Sarah Yu Zeebroek and Hannelore Van Dijck.

Brecht Evens, author of ‘The Wrong Place’ and ‘The Making of’ among others, is considered as the pioneer of a new generation of Flemish comic artists who are innovative, daring and often exuberantly colourful. With translations of his work into French, English, German, Spanish and Korean, he is successful on an international scale.

In ‘La Boîte à Gand’, Brecht Evens not only exhibits his own work, but also that of four comic artists of his generation, fellow travellers who shared their education at St Lucas Institute in Ghent. One can discern the same influences, yet Brecht Vandenbroucke, Sarah Yu Zeebroek, Lotte Van de Walle and Hannelore Van Dijck have each undeniably developed their own style.

Brecht Vandenbroucke, who has already had work published by the English publisher Nobrow, will make his début in January 2013 with ‘White Cube’, published by Bries. Among other things, Sarah Yu Zeebroek will show animations: video clips made for her music project Hong Kong Dong. Lotte Vandewalle will be noted for her sometimes mysterious, sometimes almost childlike paintings, and Hannelore Van Dijck uses only charcoal. She mostly draws on the walls or floors of old buildings, but in Angoulême she will exhibit an enormous paper drawing.

The works this young bunch will present in ‘La Boîte à Gand’ balance on the interface between comics and art. The exhibition will be accompanied by a colourful poster which also serves as a catalogue. The poster will be inserted in the center of a free magazine on Flemish comics that also contains new work by other young comic artists.

The exhibition was initiated by the Flemish Literature Fund and is being organised with the support of the Flemish Representation in Paris.

Literature

‘Appelmoes’ wins Spanish ‘Best picture book of 2012’ award

vfl — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:40:36 +0000

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‘Compota de manzana’, the Spanish translation of ‘Appelmoes’ by Klaas Verplancke, has been granted the award ‘Best picture book of 2012’ by the Madrid Booksellers’ Association.

There are two stages in the award’s selection process. In a first stage, booksellers from Madrid select a number of books among all potential candidates and in the second stage later on, a jury formed by booksellers appoints the winner by voting.

The jury based the choice for Verplancke’s book on the perfect balance between text and images. Besides, ‘Compota de manzana’ effortlessly connects to a young readers’ universe and deploys a hint of nostalgia that also catches the attention of adults It is a book that offers a realistic view on the relationship between parents and children, where love tends to go much deeper than simple gestures of tenderness or arguments that take place within a family every day.

The award will be presented on 12 December 2012 at 21:00 in the assembly hall of the Círculo de Lectores Foundation.

‘Appelmoes’ has been translated into Danish, Swedish, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and English. Chinese and Hungarian versions are in preparation. The original Dutch version was published by De Eenhoorn. The Appelmoes artwork was one of the 72 submissions selected for the prestigious Bologna Illustrators Exhibition 2012.

Literature

French and German prizes for David Van Reybrouck

vfl — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:46:33 +0000

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David Van Reybrouck has received the prestigious French Prix Médicis for essays. The 41-year-old writer was awarded the prize for his book ‘Congo, une histoire’ (Actes Sud), the French edition of ‘Congo, een geschiedenis’ (De Bezige Bij), translated into French by Isabelle Rosselin. ‘Congo’ had already won him the Libris Geschiedenisprijs, the J. Greshoffprijs and the AKO Literatuurprijs in 2010.

Through countless personal testimonies, in ‘Congo, een geschiedenis’ Van Reybrouck portrays Congo’s evolution from prehistoric times to the current regime of Kabila in a detailed and stylistically refined way.

David Van Reybrouck’s non-fiction novel has shown itself to be a real bestseller. In Belgium and the Netherlands the book has sold over 250,000 copies. In France, where it was published in September and launched by Van Reybrouck in October, 25,000 copies have been sold so far.

‘Congo, een geschiedenis’ has already been translated into German, French, Swedish and Norwegian. ‘Damals’, a German history magazine, proclaimed it to be the best book of the year. The German translation of ‘Congo’ (Suhrkamp) also won the NDR Kultur Sachbuchpreis. Joachim Knuth, chairman of the jury and programme director of Nord-Deutsche Rundfunk, praised the way Van Reybrouck combines historical analysis and testimonies told in a lively manner to create a striking example of modern ‘oral history’. The Danish, Finnish and Polish translations will be published soon and the English translation has been announced for 2014.

Van Reybrouck and Avraham B. Yehoshua, winner of the Prix Médicis Etranger, will be receiving the Prix du meilleur livre étranger in the essay and novel category on November 28.

Literature

Chika Unigwe wins NLNG Prize for Literature

vfl — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:43:22 +0000

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Chika Unigwe, author of ‘On Black Sisters’ Street’ has emerged winner of this year’s NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature, carting away the coveted prize of $100,000.

The Belgium based Nigerian author was announced the winner of the prize on Thursday 1 November at a World Press Conference in Lagos by the Chairman of the Board of panelists chosen to screen entries for this year, Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo.

‘On Black Sisters’ Street’ made the final shortlist of 3. The other two entries were ‘Only a Canvas’ by Olusola Olugbesan and ‘Onaedo: The Blacksmith’s Daughter’ by Ngozi Achebe.

The prize was instituted in 2004 by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited to promote and encourage authorship and the development of Nigerian literary culture and Ms Unigwe is the first Nigerian author based outside Nigeria to win the prize.

Chika Unigwe holds a Ph.D in Literature from the University of Leiden and has published novels and short fiction in several anthologies, journals and magazines including ‘Wasafiri’, ‘Moving Worlds’, ‘Per Contra’, ‘Voices of the University of Wisconsin’ and ‘Okike’ of the University of Nigeria. In 2003, she was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing. In 2004, she won the BBC Short story Competition and a Commonwealth Short Story Competition award and her short story made the top 10 of the Million Writers Award for best online fiction.

‘On Black Sisters’ Street’ is the English translation of her Dutch-language novel ‘Fata morgana’, which is also translated into German and Hungarian.

Literature

Peter Terrin wins 2012 AKO Literature Prize

vfl — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:06:23 +0000

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On Monday 29 October 2012, Flemish writer Peter Terrin was awarded the prestigious AKO Literature Prize for his novel ‘Post Mortem’. The jury called the book “a masterly reflection on literature”. Peter Terrin had twice been nominated for the prize before, but it was a case of third time lucky. The presentation of the prize took place in the Central Library in The Hague and the winner was announced on ‘Nieuwsuur’, a live television programme.

‘Post Mortem’ is the first of Terrin’s novels to be centred on a dramatic event in his own life. The book is a crafty interplay of imagination and reality, taking the reader on a trip through a literary hall of mirrors. In ‘Post mortem’ a novelist plans to write his own biography. But fate strikes hard and his daughter Renée is hit by a rare cerebral infarction. ‘Post Mortem’ is an equally intense and ingenious novel about a writer’s inspiration, a father’s love for his daughter and a man’s fear of losing his life after his death.

"There are books one would like to have written, and books that need to be written,” an emotional Peter Terrin said when he received his prize. “Unfortunately, ‘Post Mortem’ suddenly changed from the first into the second during the writing process." He dedicated the prize to "his great example". "Not Hermans, Elsschot or Camus, but an eight-year-old girl, Renée, who taught her father every day for the past four years never to give up."

The AKO Literature Prize is awarded to the best Dutch-language literary fiction or non-fiction title of the past year. With a prize money of 50,000 euro and a sculpture by Eugène Peters, the AKO Literature Prize is one of the most substantial literary prizes in the Dutch language area. Peter Terrin succeeds Marente de Moor, who won last year with ‘De Nederlandse maagd’ [The Dutch Virgin].

Literature

Great interest in literature from Flanders at the Frankfurt Book Fair

vfl — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:36:18 +0000

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This year, the Flemish Literature Fund’s stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair was again flooded with foreign publishers looking for new titles from Flanders. The interest was highly diverse in terms of genre. The Flemish Literature Fund’s stand was part of the collective Flemish stand, organised by the the Association of Flemish Publishers (VUV) and Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT).

There was interest from all continents for ‘The Very Last Caracara in the World', by Peter Verhelst, whose book ‘Tongue Cat' was also bought by the Egyptian publisher Golden Pony, which will be releasing an Arabic translation. Many publishers were excited by ‘Tuesday' by Elvis Peeters and ‘A Thousand Hills' by Koen Peeters. Following the publication of the English translation of Peter Terrin’s ‘The Guard', his work has received a great deal of interest. The Czech publisher Mlada Fronta, which has already released ‘Goddamn Days on a Goddamn Globe', plans to publish Dimitri Verhulst’s ‘The Misfortunates' next year.

In children’s literature, we noticed a striking amount of interest in illustrated books for beginning readers. Publishers were highly enthusiastic about books such as ‘Rosie and Moussa’ by Michael De Cock and Judith Vanistendael, ‘My Grandma’s Made of Gingerbread' by Evelien De Vlieger and Sabien Clement, ‘Thirteen Running Deer' by Edward van de Vendel and Matthias De Leeuw and ‘Job and the Pigeon', by Evelien De Vlieger and Noëlle Smit.

‘Cellar Child', Kristien Dieltiens’ fiftieth novel, was presented to publishers of both youth books and prose for adults. The Germans in particular, who are familiar with the mystery of Kasper Hauser, were extremely interested, but publishers from Italy, Poland and France who are looking for powerful stories are also keen to read the book. Publishers from Korea, Italy, Russia, Poland, Switzerland and Denmark paid particular attention to Els Beerten’s ‘We All Want Heaven'. On the basis of the German translation of her novel by the renowned German translator and author Mirjam Pressler, published by Fischer, she was nominated for the Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis in no fewer than two categories: the prize for the best youth book of the year and the youth jury prize. The awards went to Nils Mohl and the American Patrick Ness, but the double nomination of Beertens’ book is an extraordinary honour in itself.

Flemish non-fiction titles can count on growing international interest. Paul Verhaeghe’s books, and especially ‘Identity', which was released just over a month ago, were lapped up by publishers in and outside Europe. Other popular science titles, such as Mark Nelissen's ‘Darwin in de supermarket’, are going down well with foreign publishers. Jan Caeyers’ Beethoven biography attracted international attention. The German translation, which was released early this year, is already on its second impression. Bart Van Loo’s France trilogy and chanson book, Lieve Joris’s travel stories and ‘Intercities' by Stefan Hertmans were much discussed at the Frankfurt Book Fair. ‘In the meantime, David Van Reybrouck’s ‘Congo. A History' is continuing its international success. In Germany, it was voted the best historical book of the year and Van Reybrouck also earned much praise from the French press. This Flemish author is now on the eve of conquering Scandinavia: following the Norwegian translation, a Swedish translation will be launched next week and translations in Finnish and Danish are to come. An English language version is also due out in both the USA and the UK and the Polish rights were recently sold.

In poetry, it is less a question of individual titles and much more one of a whole body of work or the complete poetry field. Both a Spanish and an American publisher, for example, indicated that they were keen to make a thorough investigation of contemporary poetry from Flanders, South Africa proved to be interested in the work of Leonard Nolens and a couple of interesting projects are taking shape in Germany. In Switzerland, a German translation of Paul Bogaert’s ‘The Slalom Soft' is on the cards.

Literature

Film rights sold for Stefan Brijs’ book 'The Angel Maker'

vfl — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:34:53 +0000

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Film producer Els Vandevorst of N279 Entertainment has bought the film rights to ‘The Angel Maker'. The film will be directed by Christophe Van Rompaey, known for his multi-award-winning ‘Collision in Moscou’ (2008, A Private View) and ‘Lena’ (2011), also produced by Vandevorst. Els Vandevorst has filmed several books, including the successful ‘Winter in Wartime', ‘The Twin' (in post-production) and ‘Nono, the ZigZag Kid', based on the David Grossman novel, which premieres on the opening evening of the 2012 Dutch Film Festival.

Stefan Brijs' book ‘De engelenmaker’ (Atlas, 2005) is a novel that interweaves village gossip, science, good and evil and the human urge to find eternal life. The book has won several awards and has been nominated for numerous others. It has been published in thirteen languages, including English, German, French, Russian and Chinese. More than 150,000 copies have so far been sold in Flanders and the Netherlands.

Vandevorst and Van Rompaey will shortly start work on the script. The film will be co-produced by Antonino Lombardo (Prime Time).

Last year, a new novel by Stefan Brijs was published, 'Post for Mrs Bromley', which is currently on the AKO literature prize long list. 21 September saw the premiere of ‘Arend’, the stage play based on Stefan Brijs’ novel of the same name, by the Afslag Eindhoven theatre company.

Literature

‘Congo’ history book of the year 2012 in Germany

vfl — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:31:14 +0000

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The German magazine ‘Damals. Das Magasin für Geschichte’ has chosen ‘Congo’ by David Van Reybrouck as book of the year 2012.

‘Damals’ motivates its choice as follows: “Zwar wird man mit all den bedrückenden Fakten konfrontiert, zugleich aber vermittelt der Autor den beeindruckenden Überlebensmut der einfachen Kongolesen, ihre Wünsche und Gefühle. Van Reybrouck stützt sich dabei auf zahlreiche Gespräche, die er im Land geführt hat: Die Betroffenen können so endlich einmal selbst ihre Stimme erheben. Mit großer Mehrheit wählten die Juroren deshalb diesen Titel zu ihrer Nr. 1, zum Buch des Jahres.”

Literature

FLF urges publishers to explore China

vfl — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:28:11 +0000

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“Flemish fiction and children’s and youth literature have great potential in China”, says Koen Van Bockstal, director of the Flemish Literature Fund (FLF), following the Beijing Book Fair (BIBF), where the FLF had a stand for the second time. “We can advise publishers to seriously consider exploring the Chinese market in the years to come. Flemish quality and creativity have been making a great impression here”.

After attending the trade fair in Beijing just twice, the fund can already boast considerable results. Hugo Claus’ ‘The Sorrow of Belgium' will be published in Chinese by Yilin Press, a large, prestigious publishing house that generally only publishes Nobel Prize winners or books that have been awarded major prizes such as the Prix Goncourt and the Booker Prize. The book will probably be out in 2014. The same publisher has shown interest in Chinese translations of ‘The Rumours', ‘Wonder' and ‘About Deedee' as well. Chinese publishers proved especially interested in ‘Intercities' by Stefan Hertmans, ‘The Virgin Marino' by Yves Petry, ‘A Stammered Songbook' by Erwin Mortier and ‘Tuesday' by Elvis Peeters.

Flemish non-fiction has also been enthusiastically received. ‘Love in a Time of Loneliness' by the Ghent professor and psychoanalyst Paul Verhaeghe is due to be published by Flower City Publishing, a publishing house that has also shown serious interest in his new book ‘Identity'. Flower City Publishing has already published works by Harry Mulisch, Cees Nooteboom and Geert Mak. Three different publishers are bidding for Jan Caeyers’ ‘Beethoven’, which is reminiscent of the book’s German success. David Van Reybrouck’s ‘Congo’ attracted a great deal of interest, too.

Most successful, however, were the numerous Flemish children’s and youth books. Following the annual Bologna Book Fair, China, too, is now highly enthusiastic about the originality, creativity and exceptional quality of both the text and illustrations of our children’s and youth books. During the fair, the FLF was officially invited by the BIBF organisers to arrange a workshop or seminar, together with Flemish publishers, on Flemish children’s and youth books in Beijing in 2013 or 2014, to provide extra exposure for this creative industry in the Chinese market.

Last year, the FLF attended the BIBF for the first time, following in the footsteps of our Dutch colleagues, who were the guest country at the time. This already generated contract signings for translations of ‘The Angel Maker' by Stefan Brijs and Dimitri Verhulst’s ‘The Misfortunates'. Both books are due out on the Chinese market this autumn. In addition, some 20 contracts were signed for literary books by Flemish children’s and youth authors and illustrators. The numerous contacts with Chinese publishers of children’s and youth literature this year look set to generate double the number of contracts for that genre.

The FLF shared its stand with a number of Flemish publishers. Uitgeverij Lannoo is delighted with the interest shown in children’s books, design, photo books and popular science. Children’s and youth book publishers Clavis also spoke of a highly successful week at the fair in Beijing, during which they succeeded in selling a considerable number of titles on the Chinese market.

Literature

Ivo Michiels has passed away

vfl — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:24:09 +0000

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On Sunday morning 7 October 2012 Ivo Michiels passed away in Le Barroux in the Vaucluse in France, where he lived. On 8 January 2013 he would have celebrated his ninetieth birthday. Ivo Michiels will be buried on Wednesday 10 October 2012 in Le Barroux.

Ivo Michiels (pen name of Henri Ceuppens) was born in Mortsel, near Antwerp in 1923. After World War II he became a novelist and essay writer, was active as a journalist, founded several literary magazines and taught at art and theatre schools. He collaborated on radio and television programmes and wrote scenarios for films and documentaries. He is seen as one of the most outstanding modernist and experimental writers of the twentieth century.

In 1977 Ivo Michiels was awarded the State Prize for Prose for his novel ‘A Garden between Dog and Wolf', in 1990 the Emiele Bernheim Prize for his collected oeuvre and in 1993 the triennial Prize of the Flemish Community. His work has been translated into French, German, Hungarian, Polish, Spanish and Norwegian. The English translation of ‘Book Alpha’ and ‘Orchis Militaris’ by Adrienne Dixon has only recently been published by Green Integer in Los Angeles.

Ivo Michiels completed two elaborate cycles of novels: the five-part cycle ‘Book Alpha' (a complete reprint was published in 2007, introduced by Peter Verhelst) and the ten-part cycle ‘Journal brut’. The last cycle ended in 2001 with the publication of ‘The Miracles, Elizabeth, The Miracles'.

In 2011 Ivo Michiels was still collaborating with publisher De Bezige Bij on a reconstruction of ‘Journal brut’. That book was published as ‘Dare I speak?'. 2011 also saw the publication of an interview-based biography ‘More than I remember. Conversations with Ivo Michiels' by Sigrid Bousset.

On 8 September 2012 Ivo Michiels completed his last piece of writing, ‘Maya Maya’, which will be published on 8 January 2013 as planned.

Literature

Helsinki Comics Festival focuses on Belgian comics

vfl — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:43:52 +0000

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The 27th Helsinki Comics Festival takes place at Lasipalatsi Square, Kiasma and nearby venues in Central Helsinki on 7, 8 & 9 September 2012. The theme this year is "9 - Comics as an art form", and the focus country is Belgium.
The Helsinki Comics Festival is the largest comic-related event in Finland and Northern Europe, and has been put on by the Finnish Comics Society since 1979. The festival is free of charge and the programme consists of a comics fair, interviews, lectures, discussions, exhibitions, workshops, performances, competitions, signings and evening events.
During the festival there will be exhibitions of illustrations by Brecht Vandenbroucke, Judith Vanistendael, Brecht Evens, Ward Zwart and Herr Seele, who also made the Belgian Comics banner.

Literature

FLF attends the Beijing Book Fair again

vfl — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:03:03 +0000

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After a successful attendance at the Beijing Book Fair under the wing of guest country the Netherlands last year, the Flemish Literature Fund will be in China again this year. The Beijing Book Fair will take place from 29 August to 2 September 2012.

The FLF will again be present at the most important Chinese book fair in close collaboration with the Dutch Foundation for Literature. Together with the publishing houses Clavis and Lannoo, the FLF has a 36 m² stand (E2C10) close to the stand of the Dutch Foundation for Literature. Two department managers and the director will be taking part in the expedition. The objectives of the second visit to the Beijing Book Fair are to reaffirm contacts established last year and to further explore the Chinese market for translations of Flemish authors.

This year, too, the promotional material will consist of a brochure in English and Chinese, produced specially for the occasion, that devotes attention to a number of books in various genres. In addition to the brochure, the Fund now has an account on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, with some million users. Translator SaYing Chen maintains the account, where visitors can post messages of up to 140 characters, linking it to a more extensive blog where book presentations can be viewed.

> Take a look at the Chinese blog…

Literature

Successful London Book Fair

vfl — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:24:59 +0000

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Flemish literature attracted a great deal of interest at the London Book Fair this year. Between 16 and 18 April, FLF staff had more than 50 meetings with publishers of prose, non-fiction, children's and youth literature, graphic novels and poetry.

Particularly striking was the interest in Elvis Peeters’ 'Dinsdag’ [‘Tuesday’]. The deceptive humdrum life of an old man, mixed with his amoral and violent past, intrigued many foreign publishers. Erwin Mortier’s ‘Gestameld liedboek’ [‘Stammered Song Book’], a collection of thoughts and observations written in beautifully lyrical prose, also caught the attention of various foreign publishers. Two up and coming Flemish talents, Ivo Victoria and Rachida Lamrabet, also got themselves noticed with ‘Gelukking zijn we machteloos’ [‘Fortunately We’re Powerless’] and ‘De man die niet begraven wilde worden’ [‘The Man Who Didn’t Want to be Buried’]. Ivo Victoria also was nominated for the Libris Literature Prize.

Some publishers also talked about future projects: soon Hugo Claus will be translated into Croatian and Russian. The Danish publishing house Turbine is involved with two Flemish novels this year: very soon it will be publishing ‘De engelenmaker’ ['The Angel Maker’] by Stefan Brijs, and later it will also publish ‘Vissen redden’ ['Saving Fishes’] by Annelies Verbeke. The latter book will also be translated into Russian. We are also looking forward to the publication of the English translation of ‘De bewaker’ [‘The Guard’] by Peter Terrin. The rights of this title have been sold to more than ten countries.

As always, non-fiction publishers were interested in popular science titles, such as ‘Liefde in tijden van eenzaamheid’ [‘Love in a Time of Loneliness’] by Paul Verhaeghe and Mark Nelissen’s ‘Darwin in de supermarkt’ [‘Darwin in the Supermarket’]. And ‘Congo’, a history book by David Van Reybrouck can also count on attracting interest.

The English translation of ‘Paris’, the trash graphic novel by Maarten Vandewiele, Peter Moerenhout and Erika Raven, was ready just in time for the fair and was proudly exhibited at the British Knockabout stand. British publisher SelfMadeHero was also displaying the English translation of Judith Vanistendael’s ‘Toen David zijn stem verloor’ [‘When David Lost his Voice’].

There was a striking amount of interest from children’s publishers in stories for beginning readers, such as ‘Job en de duif’ [‘Job and the Pigeon’], by Evelien De Vlieger and Noëlle Smit, and ‘Rosie en Moussa’, by Michael de Cock and Judith Vanistendael. Finally, the prestigious Tate publishers, affiliated to the gallery, showed genuine interest in Tom Schamp’s cardboard books about Otto.

Literature

Two Paris exhibitions for Tom Schamp

vfl — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:21:03 +0000

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From May onwards, the Flemish illustrator Tom Schamp will be exhibiting his work at two venues in Paris. The ‘Urban’ exhibition is showing 60 works inspired by the city and its surroundings, which Tom produced while he was working in advertising. In ‘Toutes les îles aux trésors’ [‘All the Treasure Islands’] you can see the original illustrations for the picture book ‘Het heerlijke eiland van Koning Torelore’ [‘The Wonderful Island of King Torelore’].

Schamp, one of the most renowned Flemish illustrators, won the French children’s jury prize in 2005 (for 'Le livre des peut-être'), the Flemish Boekenpluim in 2007 (for ‘De buidelbaby’) and the Flemish Boekenpauw in 2008 (for ‘The Sixth Day’). His work is published in France, Spain, Germany, Norway and Italy. At the London Book Fair, the prestigious British Tate Publishing company showed interest in translating the cardboard book ‘Otto drives back and forth’ [‘Otto rijdt heen en weer’] into English.

URBAN, 3-26 May 2012

Galerie Petits Papiers

91, rue Saint-Honoré - 75011, Paris

Thursday-Friday (15h-19h) and Saturday (11h-19h)

TOUTES LES ILES AUX TRESORS, until 1 july 2012

La Maison des Contes et des Histoires

7, rue Pecquay - 75004 Paris

Monday-Sunday (14h30-18h)

More information: www.tomschamp.com

Literature

Dutch Literature Prize for Leonard Nolens

vfl — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:16:50 +0000

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The Flemish poet and diarist Leonard Nolens (Bree, 11 April 1947) has received this year’s Dutch Literature Prize. It is the most prestigious prize in Dutch-language literature. The award includes a cash prize of €40,000.

‘Nolens makes Dutch sing again,’ said the jury, chaired by Herman Pleij. The jury called Nolens an 'exceptional poet and a highly-gifted reader’ and characterised his work as ‘a life-long struggle with language and a quest for his own identity and that of others’.

The winner was overwhelmed by the news on Wednesday morning. He was sitting in his study when Minister Smet called. ‘It was if the outside world was coming inside in some ethereal way’.

Since his debut in 1969, Nolens has amassed an impressive oeuvre. His collection of poems entitled ‘Liefdes verklaringen’ [‘Declarations of Love’] (1990) was awarded the Jan Campert Prize in the Netherlands and the Triennial State Prize in Belgium. In 1997 he received the Constantijn Huygens Prize for lifetime achievement. In 2008, he was awarded the VSB Poetry Prize for the collection 'Bres' [‘Breach’].

Every three years, the Committee of Ministers of the Dutch Language Union awards the Dutch Literature Prize. The prize is presented to the authors of major literary works originally written in Dutch. On each occasion, a member of either the Belgian or the Dutch royal family presents the prize-winning author with the award. The prize can be awarded for a writer’s lifetime achievement or for an individual work in the genres of poetry, narrative prose or drama.

Minister Pascal Smet announced the news in the Bourlaschouwburg theatre during a festive evening to celebrate Leonard Nolens' 65th birthday. Publishers Querido issued a new, expanded monumental edition of Nolens’ collected works on the occasion of his 65th birthday, entitled ‘Manieren van leven. Gedichten 1975-2011’ [‘Ways of Living. Poems 1975- 2011’], which forms a diptych together with ‘Dagboek van een dichter’ [‘A Poet’s Diary’].

An English translation of Leonard Nolens’ work is expected and there is a great deal of interest in the idea of compiling an anthology translated into Spanish.

Literature

Foreign publishers on tour in Flanders

vfl — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:02:27 +0000

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From 13 to 17 February 2012, eight foreign publishers invited to Flanders by the FLF discovered the flourishing world of Flemish children’s and youth literature on the third Publishers tour. The FLF offered them a cultural, creative and recreational programme during a midweek in Flanders. The publishers – from Sweden, Turkey, France, Spain, Germany, China, the United Kingdom and New Zealand – received guided literary tours in Antwerp and Ghent, and met authors, illustrators, specialists, scientists, publishers, book organisations etc.

In the mornings, appointments with several Flemish publishers of children’s and youth literature were planned. These informal meetings resulted in many new contacts and in appointments at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which takes place in the second half of March. In the afternoons they took a close look at the literary side of the cities they visited. The highlights of a fully booked week were the opening reception in the Nottebohm Room at the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library in Antwerp, the screening of the film ‘Northsea Texas’, introduced by author André Sollie, and a guided tour of the MAS by various Flemish authors.

One of the most important highlights of the Publishers Tour is traditionally the open workshop, where illustrators reconstruct their workplace. They bring along not only their books and original works but also work in progress and the materials they work with. These range from a table covered in paint and brushes to a laptop. Kristien Aertssen, Sabien Clement, Carll Cneut, Ann De Bode, Jan De Kinder, Elsje Dezwarte, Merel Eyckerman, Pieter Gaudesaboos, Ingrid Godon, Benjamin Leroy, Tom Schamp, Tom Schoonooghe, Kaatje Vermeire and Geert Vervaeke were showing original illustrations, working on the spot on new commissions and demonstrating their specific techniques to foreign publishers. For this part of the programme, we were invited to Ghent’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, where amongst others Carll Cneut lectures in illustration.

Who’s who in the photograph:

	Kathleen Vereecken (A)	Gill Evans (P)	Sarah Yang (P)
Evelien De Vlieger (A)	Marita De Sterck (A)	Ana Laura Alvarez (P)	Peter Van Olmen (A)	Kristien Dieltiens (A)	Jan De Leeuw (A)	Erik Titusson (P)
Julia Marshall (P)	Cécile Emeraud (P)	Bart Moeyaert (A)	Saskia Heintz (P)	Do Van Ranst (A)	Esra Okutan (P)

Literature

Flemish Delegation in Budapest opens library and reading room

vfl — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:53:15 +0000

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The Flemish Delegation in Budapest has opened its new offices at Raday utca 58. This is the first foreign branch of the Flanders International Department with its own library and reading room.

At the moment, the library offers almost three hundred works of Flemish literature not only to students of the Dutch language but also the general public. The library is being compiled in consultation with the Dutch language courses at Elte University and Károli University. The proximity of the library to the Goethe Institute, which is housed in the same building, is a major plus for the public.

The books are purchased in Flanders.The Demian bookshop in Antwerp has a three-monthly budget for compiling a booklist and buying the books with an eye to economy. The advantage of working with a second-hand book shop is not only that it eliminates the time spent waiting for books that are out of print to find their way to the library; buying signed editions also adds extra appeal to the collection. New titles will be added to the library every month.

Joseph Pearce, in Budapest for the opening, signed copies of his books on site, officially becoming not only the library’s first user but also its first lender.

Literature

Four Flemish illustrators at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair

vfl — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:48:04 +0000

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Ruth van Wichelen, a young and very promising illustrator, has been awarded a travel grant by the Flemish Literature Fund to visit the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The grant also comes with a mentorship: the experienced illustrator Geert Vervaeke will join Ruth in Bologna and help her not only to find her way in the maze of publishers and international contacts, but also – and mainly – to get to know the work of other illustrators. ‘It is important to be able to see my work in relation to that of others,’ Ruth says. ‘In this respect Bologna could be a turning point for me. Will I be able to find my place in the world of illustration?’

Ruth van Wichelen is an up-and-coming talent. ‘Composition is an important aspect of illustration and is very difficult to master,’ explains mentor Geert Vervaeke, ‘but it seems to come naturally to Ruth. Her work is always very well thought out. The underlying ideas slowly unfold as you look at the images. Nothing is there without a reason.’ Ruth’s former teacher, the illustrator Kristien Aertssen, adds: ‘Ruth has a graphic style that makes use of ingenious collage and a wide range of techniques. This great variation means she can handle a whole array of assignments.’

Geert Vervaeke is a renowned illustrator in Flanders. Her first book was published in 1981, since when she has produced twenty picture books that have won her a Book Peacock and Book Feather, a White Raven and a Silver Paintbrush. Like many Flemish illustrators, Geert also teaches and coaches budding graphic talent. This year, her own artistic work can be admired at the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition.

Sabien Clement, Klaas Verplancke and Geert Vervaeke are three of the 72 illustrators the jury chose from 2,685 submissions from all over the world. The selection features both well-established figures and up-and-coming talent. Each participant is presenting five original illustrations from recently published or as yet unpublished work, which will also be collected in the exhibition’s catalogue entitled ‘Annual’.

The prestigious Bologna Illustrators Exhibition shows visitors a whole range of innovative illustrating trends from all over the world. At the same time, the exhibition offers the illustrators a unique chance to present their talent and work to key figures from the international children’s book industry.

After the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the exhibition will travel to several parts of Japan.

Literature