Rights list - Fall 2010 by De Bezige Bij

De Bezige Bij Publishers • Thomas Rap Publishers • Cargo Publishers Hayo Deinum via h.deinum@debezigebij.nl • tel +31 20 3059810 Van Miereveldstraat 1 • nl-1071 dw Amsterdam • Postbus 75184 • nl-1070 ad Amsterdam The Netherlands • fax +31 (0)20 305 9824 Foreign Rights Contact: Hayo Deinum via h.deinum@debezigebij.nl

publishing house de bezige bij www.debezigebij.nl

translation rights frankfurt 2010 content fiction Kees van Beijnum Oscar van den Boogaard Peter Buwalda Paul Claes Jessica Durlacher Sanneke van Hassel Saskia Konniger Margriet de Moor Erwin Mortier Nazmiye Oral Yves Petry Jan Siebelink Boudewijn Smid Manon Uphoff Tommy Wieringa

A Kind of Family More than a Lover Bonita Avenue The Lark The Hero Nest China Girl The Painter and the Girl Sleep of the Gods Zehra The Virgin Marino Clara’s Body A Good Son Morning Breaks Don’t go to Sea

non-fiction Anne Branbergen and Martin Šimek Jan Caeyers Bart Chabot Elma Drayer Stine Jensen and Rob Wijnberg Berthe Meijer David van Reybrouck Chris de Stoop Paul Verhaeghe Kilian Wawoe

Silvio Beethoven Up on the Hilton Roof Spoiled Princesses Therefore I Am Life After Anne Frank Congo. A History Peace Be With You, Sister The end of Psychotherapy Bonus – A Banker’s Story

thrillers Anita Terpstra Milou van der Will

Cherised Red Light

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

kees van beijnum a kind of family

(Een soort familie)

* New novel by best selling author of Oysters at Nam Kee and Paradiso Over 25,000 copies sold • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 480 pages In the 1980s, Teun Draaijer and his older brother suffer under the special position their family occupies among the town’s boorish inhabitants. They are regularly the butt of exclusion and harassment. Each in his own way, the boys do their best to survive at school and on the street. But then Teun’s brother turns his back on the ideals and expectations of his parents, and their family life is disrupted. Teun’s position becomes unbearable: should he take sides with his brother, or with his parents? Years later, Teun and his young son return to the town where he spent his youth. It turns out not to be a sentimental journey. The fateful night on which the family conflict finally came to a head has never stopped pursuing him.

kees van beijnum is the author of such success ful novels as Poet on Zeedijk (1995), The Arrange ment (1998) and Oysters at Nam Kee (2000), which also received the F. Bordewijk Prize. His former novel is the bestselling Paradiso. ‘A compelling novel with excellent scenes.’ – de volkskrant ‘Poignant and forceful.’ – vrij nederland ‘An intriguing novel.’ – gpd

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

oscar van den boogaard more than a lover (Meer dan een minnaar)

* A moving, bitter and funny portrait of parents and children in search of happiness World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 288 pages The enigmatic Regina Flemming has told her family she is going to Paris for the weekend. In actual fact, however, she is with the man next door, aboard the Herald of Free Enterprise when it capsizes. Having survived the disaster, she is now confronted with the biggest decision of her life. She decides to return home as though nothing has happened, by way of Paris where she buys a Dior scarf for her husband. He has just gone through a traumatic weekend, during which he drove the neighbor’s heavily pregnant wife to Zeebrugge to identify her husband’s body. That same night the neighbor children have had their first taste of wild euphoria. At graveside Regina bids a final farewell to the love of her life, and leaves the Parisian scarf in his coffin.

Since his debut, Dentz, in 1990, oscar van den boogaard has put together an impressive literary oeuvre. Novels such as Julia’s Delight and Love’s Death have been nominated for many prizes and translated into many languages. ‘Oscar van den Boogaard constructs a compelling, delightful and always surprising universe.’ – le monde On More than a lover ‘Van den Boogaard’s ninth novel confirms his strength, it contains all the elements that has made so many of us adore his work.’ – elle ‘A dazzling novel. Van den Boogaard’s style is musical, his composition is perfect, his metaphors exquisite and his characters are very much true to life.’ – nrc handelsblad

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

peter buwalda bonita avenue * An impressive, hefty debut novel about the downfall of an ambitious family First print run 10,000 copies • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 544 pages Joni Sigerius, stepdaughter of the rector of a University, and her boyfriend Aaron, run a little business that she prefers to keep secret from her dynamic and brilliant father. It is in the year that a fireworks catastrophe vanishes a complete residential quarter in the city, that the explosion takes place within the family as well. Not only do Joni and Aaron find themselves in dire straits, but it is also in this same summer that Sigerius Sr.’s only real son is released from prison. Only eight years later – by which time Joni is running a million-dollar business in Los Angeles – does Aaron find out what was really going on in 2000.

peter buwalda worked as a journalist and editor for the literary pop music magazine Wahwah. His stories have been published in Hollands Maandblad and De Gids. ‘Already in the first chapter Buwalda portrays the convincing character of a cad with a turn for mathematics and an obsession for judo … Buwalda has an easy going style, clear and precise, and completely unpretentious.’ – de groene amsterdammer ‘Outstanding read. Bold language and content. Bonita Avenue is a book which deserves a large audience.’ – hp / de tijd

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

paul claes the lark

(De leeuwerik)

* Love, treachery and class struggle in mediaeval France World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 240 pages The Provence in the twelfth century. Raimon, son of a nobleman, loses his father and his inheritance and is sent to his uncle’s abbey. When he discovers the abbot’s bizarre predilections, he is sent on a pilgrimage by way of penance. Along the way he learns to play the lute and to write songs, and falls in love with the wife of his archenemy. Then he finds himself faced with a gruesome dilemma: to go to war against his own mother, or to betray the love of his life. This is Paul Claes’s ninth in a series of historical novels about turning points in European culture.

paul claes (b. 1943) is a writer, poet, essayist and translator. His novel The Chameleon, pub lished in 2001, was awarded the eci Prize and the Multatuli Prize. For his work as translator of authors including Ezra Pound, Arthur Rimbaud, T.S. Eliot and James Joyce he received the Martinus Nijhoff Prize in 1996. About The Chameleon “A first-rate literary performance, given here with so much verve that it made my head spin. Enraptured!” – trouw “A novel as erudite as it is colorful.” – elsevier About The Satyr “An uncommonly enjoyable, entertaining and compelling book, full of humorous and memorable phrases and passages.” – de morgen

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

jessica durlacher the hero

(De held)

* A modern-day novel about violence and revenge. Thrilling, filmic and full of momentum. First print-run 50,000 copies • Option publisher: Diogenes (Germany) • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 384 pages While out jogging, the driver of a car knocks protagonist Sara to the ground. This violence takes her back to the mysterious monologues which her father held in German right before his death. Monologues about his own mother, who was murdered during the war and about whom she knows almost nothing. The past is a venomous thing; when Sara’s son, who is attending college in America, announces his plans to join the Marines and go to Afghanistan, she tries to stop him cost what may. But then she is confronted, along with her husband and their daughter, with a follow-up to the violence. Revenge seems to be the only possible answer, and Sara decides to take the law into her own hands. Her grandmother’s secrets suddenly seem very timely indeed.

jessica durlacher is the author of such bestsellers as: The Conscience, The Daughter and Emo ticon. She has published three novellas during the last three years: Arthuro d’Alberti, Writers! and What Happened to Cathy M.?. About Emoticon: ‘Nabokovian twists and wonderfully sustained suspense. With Emoticon, Durlacher has written her best book yet.’ – elsevier

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

sanneke van hassel nest * A bitterly funny family drama about keeping up appearances and the art of pruning. World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 176 pages When eldest daughter Julia becomes pregnant, the Van Wees family is all in a tizzy. Behind cast-iron fences and high hedges, a desperate search ensues for a way to safeguard Julia’s future. Fortunately, her mother knows the right people and her father keeps a cool head. Meanwhile, however, her younger sister sees that the coast is clear and experiences her first love affair, with the singer of a band called What If. But what does the neighbor lady suspect, there behind her row of rhododendrons? And what advice is given by the friendly family doctor who lives just down the lane?

sanneke van hassel (b. 1971) made her literary debut in 2005 with the collection of short stories Frozen Rain. This was followed two years later by the collection White Feather. Both books were highly praised in the press. In 2008, White Feather received the bng New Literature Prize. ‘Nest is a successful novelistic debut.’ – het parool

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

saskia konniger china girl * A suspenseful love story in the new China World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 224 pages On behalf of her newspaper, the young, ambi tious journalist Anna Winter goes looking for the exact center of China. She hopes to gain deeper knowledge of Chinese politics, the modern art scene, Taoism and the culture of the old empire, but before long finds herself in deep trouble – trouble which causes her to lose her Chinese jetset lover. The charming and mysterious antique dealer who offers to accompany her to the mainland seems suspiciously friendly. During her journey Anna loses her moral bearings and makes a daring decision.

saskia konniger (b. 1974) is a writer and journalist and made her literary debut in 2008 with Club Karma. She studied art history at the University of Utrecht and works at the National Anthropological Museum in Leiden. China Girl is her first novel. About Club Karma: “Konniger guides us, as it were, through India, but also through her love story. The novel is a fantastic trip down memory lane for those who have been to India, but its evocative style makes it just as fascinating for those who never have.” – mind magazine

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

margriet de moor the painter and the girl (De schilder en het meisje)

* On an unfortunate girl and a man unable to express his true feelings, the brilliant painter Rembrandt 30,000 copies sold • Sold to Germany (Hanser) • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 254 pages It is May 3, 1664, the day that an eighteen-yearold girl from Denmark is publicly garroted on the Dam in Amsterdam. Half the city has turned out to see the execution. The painter of the novel’s title has no desire to attend. His thoughts are occupied by his recently deceased wife and an important canvas which he has set up and for which he has bought the materials that same morning: red and golden pigments. Later that day he hears from his son the grisly details of the girl’s last moments, and he rows to the place where she has been hung.

margriet de moor is one the most important Dutch female authors. First Grey, then White, then Blue won the ako Literature Prize in 1992. Her work has been translated into 24 languages. The Painter and the Girl is her first novel with De Bezige Bij. ‘She writes lyrical prose, and her stories about life are quiet and full of beauty.’ – Marcel ReichRanicki ‘Margriet de Moor sketches the philosophical ferment lightly but effectively, giving just the right amount of political and historical detail.’ – new york times ‘Here a storyteller succeeds in bringing across the unsayable in a mild and melancholy fashion.’ – die zeit On The Painter and the Girl ‘An extremely rich novel on death, imagination and eternity.’ – nrc handelsblad

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

erwin mortier sleep of the gods

(Godenslaap)

* An enchanting continuation of his internationally acclaimed oeuvre

erwin mortier made his literary debut in 1999 with the novel Marcel, which received the Gerard Walschap Literature Prize, the Van der Hoogt Prize and The Golden Dog-Ear. Sleep of the Gods won the ako Literature Prize 2009.

Over 100,000 copies sold • Winner ako Lite rature Prize 2009 • Sold to France (Fayard), Germany (Dumont) and Spain (Acantilado) • Full German translation available • English sample translation available • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 408 pages Sensing death’s approach, an old woman looks back on her childhood, her loves, her marriage and the years during the First World War that she spent in France with her mother and brother. What gradually arises is an intimate panorama of Belgium, with no desire to emphasize one event more than another. Sleep of the Gods, Erwin Mortier’s fifth novel, takes place at the intersection of history’s great events and the little lives of humans, the meeting place between language and the world, imagination and reality, between the writing of history and narrative prose.

‘Dieser Buch ist ein Roman zum Staunen.’ – frankfurter allgemeine ‘Un subtil chant d’amour et de mort.’ – livres hebdo ‘A novel without an equal … If Marcel Proust has a descendent somewhere in Flanders, he must be born in Ghent.’ – knack ‘A monumental and phenomenal book. Sleep of the Gods will be named in the future in one breath with The Sorrow of Belgium by Hugo Claus.’ – de morgen

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

nazmiye oral zehra * An intense debut about the inner strength of a damaged child World rights: De Bezige Bij â&#x20AC;˘ Novel, 240 pages, January 2011 The time of the big summer fires has arrived, and in a little Turkish coastal village the community is startled by the arrival of young stranger â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a child who calls herself Zehra. No one knows where she comes from, and the villagers keep a fearful eye on the girl. After a few days of begging, Zehra takes refuge with Havva, the woman who performs the funeral ablutions in the village. Havva is generally respected as a wise woman with supernatural powers. Before long, Havva discovers that Zehra carries a secret with her, and is tormented by terrible nightmares from her past.

nazmiye oral (b. Hengelo, 1969) is an actress who has played for main theatre groups in The Netherlands. She has also appeared in tv series and in films. Oral wrote one of the Veiled Monologues, in which she also performed. She writes a regular column for the De Volkskrant daily newspaper.

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl ÂŠ text De Bezige Bij

yves petry the virgin marino

(De maagd Marino)

* We are so heavily endowed with brains that nonsense becomes inevitable World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 304 pages A man anaesthetizes another man, amputates his penis, slashes his throat and keeps the body in the freezer, using it to abate his hunger in the weeks to come. And then to think that the victim had given his permission for all this beforehand. When Yves Petry heard about this real-life story, he decided to write a book about it. Not so much to reconstruct the facts, but to find out why this news report shocked him so deeply. The result of his research is found in The Virgin Marino. In his inimitable style, Petry lets us penetrate into the mind of the killer through the posthumous vision of the victim, and we discover things we have never read or heard anywhere else.

yves petry (b. 1967) studied mathematics and philosophy and is the author of four well-received novels. His previous work, The Lagger, won the bng New Literature Prize and the Flemish Brabant Prize. ‘One of the most striking voices in the new gen eration of Flemish writers.’ – de morgen About The virgin Marino ‘The virgin Marino is an extraordinary novel, both intelligent and bewildering.’ – knack

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

jan siebelink clara’s body

(Het lichaam van Clara)

* Jan Siebelink once again proves himself to be a peerless and wise storyteller. First print run 55,000 copies • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 334 pages In this stunning novel, Jan Siebelink plumbs the depths of the human soul. In a sober and clear style, he writes about love, loyalty and suffering. Clara Hofstede is an only child, and works hard to keep her parents from splitting up. The resulting self-reliance virtually robs her of a normal childhood. This has an ongoing effect: her own marriage, later on, is not a happy one either. What has become of sixty-two-year-old Clara Hofstede as she looks back on her life, a life tragic in a way reminiscent of that of Emma Bovary or Eline Vere?

jan siebelink ranks among the Netherlands’ most successful writers. His novel In my Father’s Garden (Knielen op een bed violen) won the ako Literature Prize 2005, earned him an unusually large and broad readership and sold over 600,000 copies. His novel Suez Quay, which appeared in 2008, was also a bestseller. ‘“Madame Bovary, c’est moi,” Flaubert said, and he plunged her into the abyss. Siebelink does the same in this classic novel, a work of timeless class.’ – de groene amsterdammer ‘Clara’s Body is a beautifully orchestrated novel about guilt and penance, pain and joy, religion and insanity.’ – de telegraaf ‘Clara’s Body is the work of an author in full command of his craft.’ – elsevier

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

boudewijn smid a good son

(Een goede zoon)

* The moving story of a youth torn between extremes World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 272 pages Krijn Sterveling is the apple of his mother Lenna’s eye. His youthful laughter serves to dispel her loneliness. Krijn doesn’t mind that his mother is becoming ever more deeply involved in the local Pentecostal movement. In fact, he takes part enthusiastically in the rounds of door-to-door witnessing in the little rural village to which the Sterveling family has only recently moved. Until the day arrives when Lenna orders Krijn to murder his father. Years later, the eccentric student Doris challenges Krijn to get to the bottom of his mother’s religious mania. Enchanted by Doris, he begins digging around in his mother’s past and makes a discovery with far-reaching consequences.

boudewijn smid (b. 1964) studied Dutch literature, worked at the P.J. Meertens Institute and is a journalist. His cycling novel On the Slope appeared in May 2008.

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

manon uphoff morning breaks * A tender account of a broken family World rights: De Bezige Bij • Novel, 128 pages, January 2011 One night Michael witnesses his parents having a fight. He registers the events carefully in his mind, but the next day his father tries to convince him of a very different version of reality. The life of the family, from the midst of which the mother disappeared that night, is further built upon this marred foundation. Young Michael, who will later move to London and work there as an architect, does everything in his power to keep the family together; he is like a parent to his younger sister and brother.

(De ochtend valt)

manon uphoff (b. 1962) made her literary debut in 1995 with the short story “Poop”, which was awarded the Rabobank Spring Prize. Her oeuvre has enjoyed an extremely warm critical reception and two of her novels were nominated for the ako Literature Prize and the Libris Literature Prize. Gangrene and The Players are her most recent novels. About The Players ‘For novels like these, you read literature.’ – trouw

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

tommy wieringa don’t go to sea

(Ga niet naar zee)

* A sparkling, autobiographical portrait which takes the reader to the far corners of imagination and the poetic reality of daily life. World rights: De Bezige Bij • Collected pieces, 296 pages Don’t go to sea reads like the autobiography of Tommy Wieringa, in the form of more than 150 miniatures written in recent years for a number of publications. Thanks to the chronological order of these cameos, the reader can now follow the writer’s life the way it actually developed. “Don’t try to live any longer than you’re supposed to; eighty years is enough for a body. Plant a tree, that’s enough. Hang all your good memories in it like lanterns for when you’re afraid of the dark. Don’t be afraid, little man, and don’t doubt too much either, even though the philosophers say that makes you wise. Be cheerful. Eat onions to keep from getting cancer. Never wear a dead man’s shoes. Don’t go to sea.”

tommy wieringa is the author of the bestsellers Joe Speedboat and Caesarion. More than 350,000 copies of the former were sold within four years after publication. Joe Speedboat has been sold to 16 countries. About Caesarion ‘Tommy Wieringa has seen to it that he now ranks among the Big Ten in the world of Dutch literature.’ – nrc handelsblad

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

 anne branbergen/martin simek silvio * Modern leadership. The staggering reality of Silvio Berlusconi World rights: De Bezige Bij • Non-fiction, 256 pages, November 2010 In diary form, the authors keep track of Berlusconi’s doings for a period of one full year, from his seventy-third to his seventy-fourth birthday, a year in which all kinds of things happened to him: an earthquake, a prostitution scandal, a divorce, a deluge of court cases dealing with alleg ed corruption, ties with the Mafia, tax evasion. And the year in which he was struck in the face with a replica of the cathedral at Milan. Yet his position as prime minister remained unshakable. His arrival on the scene may, in fact, have rung in a whole new era… the era of modern leadership, based on the art of communication: the most important thing is no longer what is communicated, but how it is communicated.

anne brambergen (b. 1965) went to Rome to study at the age of nineteen. As Italian correspondent for a number of Dutch newspapers and magazines, she has followed Berlusconi ever since his arrival on the political scene in 1994.  martin simek (b. 1948) fled the Communist dictatorship in his native Czechoslovakia in 1968, but has felt well at home in Italy since 1983. In that, Berlusconi is no hindrance to him. His earlier work includes Chasing Fireflies, which was published in 2009.

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

jan caeyers beethoven * A lively biography of one of the most popular composers of all time Sold to Germany (Beck) • English and German sample translations available • World rights: De Bezige Bij • German rights: The Liepman Agency • Biography, 672 pages Beethoven grants full attention to the historical context within which the composer lived and worked, and deals clearly with his music, which became more complex and idiosyncratic as the composer grew older. Yet other aspects of Beethoven’s life are illuminated as well, including his relationship with the ‘immortal beloved’. Caeyer’s writing is based on years of experience as a conductor of Beethoven, and is characterized by a good eye for psychological detail and social frameworks. He also evocates the couleur locale of Vienna around the year 1800. It makes it a biography that will appeal to a broad audience of music lovers and those interested in cultural history.

jan caeyers is a symphony conductor and musicologist. He studied, worked and lived for many years in Vienna. With the Beethoven Academy he has performed in Europe’s major concert halls. In addition, he has served as special guest conductor with numerous orchestras and opera houses. He teaches at the University of Leuven in Belgium, and is considered one of Europe’s greatest Beethoven specialists. ‘A brilliant biography of Beethoven. A wonderful, moving and revealing life history that I read with great joy. An outstanding achievement.’ – Maarten ‘t Hart in vrij nederland ‘A superb biography.’ – de morgen ‘Caeyers new life of Beethoven is wonderfully written and as entertaining as it is well researched.’ – friesch dagblad ‘The Belgian conductor and writer Jan Caeyers brings the life and genius of Beethoven home to us.’ – dagblad van het noorden****

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

bart chabot up on the hilton roof * A fond, admiring and frank portrait of Holland’s only real rock ’n roll hero Exclusive interview with Bono on Herman Brood • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Biography, 450 pages, March 2011 Everyone knows who Herman Brood was, but few people really knew him. One of those chosen few was Bart Chabot. He spent years close to his friend – at his home, on the street, on the road, in the theater – and wrote four books about him, which together form compelling documentation of the adventures of Holland’s only real rock ’n roll hero. The high points from those books have now been collected in one hefty volume. This lively monument to a phenomenon deals with all facets of Herman Brood: the musician, the painter, the poet, the performer, but also the son, the husband, the father and the unruly child who refused to grow up.

bart chabot (b. 1954) is a poet, writer and biographer. He received the Johnny van Doorn Prize in 2007. This year, along with Jan Mulder and Remco Campert, he toured the theaters of Holland with the production Tot Zoens.

Translation rights De Bezige Bij Frankfurt 2010, contact h.deinum@debezigebij.nl © text De Bezige Bij

elma drayer spoiled princesses

(Verwende prinsesjes)

* About the misconstrued feminism of Dutch women. A Portrait. World rights: De Bezige Bij • non-fiction, current affairs, 192 pages Young girls in general suffer under the “sexual ization of society”. Working mothers lead an unbearably busy life. Day-care centers are bad for children. Islamic headscarves are merely innocent pieces of cloth. Emancipation is above all “the freedom to choose”. And if women had been in charge, the financial crisis would never have happened. Spoiled Princesses unravels these and other myths in which Dutch women believe en masse. How is it possible that today, in 2010, their views are so very different from fellow women in other countries? And why are they so proud of that very fact? Elma Drayer mops the floor with the “feminism” of Dutch women.

elma drayer (b. Drachten, 1957) studied Dutch language and literature at Amsterdam’s Free University. From 1985 on she worked for the weekly Vrij Nederland. In 2001 she began writing columns for the daily newspaper Trouw.

stine jensen and rob wijnberg therefore i am (Dus ik ben) * A quest for identity 17,000 copies sold • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Non-fiction, philosophy, 240 pages Our identity would seem to exist, but dissipates quickly in a world in which everyone has an Internet alias, is a job-hopper or aspires to be a citizen of the world. It is time, therefore, for some deep reflection – on the part of the young philosophers Stine Jensen and Rob Wijnberg. Our “I”, they state cheerfully, is something we derive from all manner of concrete things: our pasts, our bodies, our loves, our suffering, our sex lives, our desire for recognition and the group to which we belong. And from the work of a number of great thinkers who have done their best to define humankind. Jensen and Wijnberg look back on that history and add to it their own contemporary vision.

stine jensen (b. 1972) studied literature and philosophy. She took her doctoral degree with a much-acclaimed thesis concerning the relation ship between women and apes, Why Women Love Monkeys, and writes regularly for the nrc Handelsblad daily newspaper. rob wijnberg (b. 1982) studied philosophy. He is editor in chief for the nrc.next daily newspaper; his publications include the successful Nietsche & Kant Read the Paper, which sold over 20,000 copies.

berthe meijer life after anne frank (Leven na Anne Frank)

* A compelling portrait of an uncompromising life 10,000 copies sold • Full English translation available • Sold to Korea (Apple Books) and Czech Republic (Epocha) • World rights; De Bezige Bij • Autobiography, 270 pages A great deal has been written about the Second World War, but not about what such a war does with the life of a person who, like Berthe Meijer, survived concentration camp Bergen-Belsen as a child. Sixty-five years after the liberation, she looks back on a turbulent life that often coincided with major historical events. Particularly moving are her memories of the Frank family: Anne, Margot and their parents. Anne, who even in the concentration camp told stories to the younger children to keep their spirits up. Each chapter deals with traumatic experiences, described in a strikingly light-footed tone in which irony and even cheerfulness preclude all traces of the maudlin. A youth in an orphanage, the search for personal identity, marriage, motherhood and the search for missing pieces of the past characterize the life of a personality that has retained its power in spite of everything. Meijer portrays her dynamic life with a light, clear pen, making her memoirs read like a novel.

berthe meijer wrote culinary columns for the Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad, made tv documentaries, radio programs and wrote monthly culinary articles for a host of publications. She is married to the well-known concert pianist and author Gary Goldschneider. The couple divide their time between the Netherlands and France. ‘Touching memoires by Berthe Meijer, who survived Bergen Belsen.’ – trouw

david van reybrouck congo. a history

(Congo. Een geschiedenis) * The fate of one of the world’s most devastated countries. Sold over 30,000 copies • English proposal and sample chapter available • Nominated for the ako Literature Prize 2010 and the Libris History Prize • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Nonfiction, 550 pages David Van Reybrouck begins his gripping account of hope and madness in the 1870s and chronicles the pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial era up to 2010, the fiftieth anniversary of Congo’s independence. His vivid narrative zooms in on the impact of the slave trade and the late-nineteenthcentury rubber boom, presents lively portraits of Belgian colonization, the struggle for independence, Lumumba’s tragic life and Mobutu’s dictatorship, and details the causes of the war that has raged between 1996 and the present, the deadliest conflict since the Second World War. Congo. A history is based on little-known archival sources and extensive travelling in Central-Africa. The hundreds of interviews which Van Reybrouck conducted both in the slums of Kinshasa and in the villages of the interior, as well as in the African diaspora of Europe and China, lend a unique dimension to a rich and convoluted history.

david van reybrouck (b. 1971) is a journalist, a literary non-fiction writer, a novelist, a poet and a playwright. Many of his books were nominated and have won literary prizes. His work has been translated into French (Actes Sud), Afrikaans (Protea) and Hungarian (Gondolat). He lives in Brussels. ‘Sublime… monumental… virtuoso. This literary non-fiction is more thrilling than a novel can be.’ – nrc handelsblad ‘Accurate, renewing, well balanced. This book gives a lot of room to the Congolese experience of the past… It makes it an excellent read.’ – de standaard ‘It’s raining Congo books. But this one outclasses all competition in a spectacular way: it’s more important, more intelligent, written better, yes, even thicker than all others… An incredible tour de force.’ – humo

chris de stoop peace be with you, sister (Vrede zij met u, zuster)

* The story of the first Western Muslim suicide bomber 10,000 copies sold • English sample translation and outline available • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Non-fiction, 288 pages This is the true story of Muriel Degauque, who drove her white Mercedes from Brussels to Baghdad in order to blow herself up. The first and only Western woman to carry out a suicide attack. But it is also the story of the little group of young, unemployed Muslims around Muriel, who talk about the holy war as though it were football and who go to Iraq the way others go to Tenerife. Until the horrors of war catch up with them. It is a story about the banality of terrorism. Chris de Stoop sketches the amazing world of these young delinquents who, in a banal and workaday fashion, take to terrorism and carry out their struggle in a banal and amateurish fashion – in counterpoint to the stereotypical image of the well-organized, well-trained terrorist cell.

chris de stoop is an author and journalist. His work has been translated and published in a dozen countries and has received literary and journalistic prizes. His debut came in 1992 with the controversial bestseller They Are such Darlings, Sir, the story of a gang of international sex-slave traders. For They Came from the East (2004), Chris de Stoop received the Readers’ Golden Owl Award. In 2008, his book The Belgian Conspiracy, about the genocide in Rwanda, was shortlisted for the prestigious ako Literature Prize. ‘A monumental book. Chris De Stoop’s style is both fluent and straightforward. He succeeds superbly in making the story speak for itself.’ – nrc handelsblad**** ‘De Stoop’s books are the stuff that Pulitzer Prize winning books are made of.’ – de morgen ‘Poignant, unsettling prose that demonstrates the complexity of the truth.’ – hdc media

paul verhaeghe the end of psychotherapy (Het einde van de psychotherapie) * Pills instead of talking?

10,000 copies sold • English synopsis available • World rights: De Bezige Bij • Psychology, 256 pages Are we experiencing the dying throes of psychotherapy? Is Freud finished for good? These days, it is assumed that all mental problems are neurological-genetic in nature and can be combated with the use of medicine. Pills, rather than talk. We seem to be right back where we started: more people than ever are being institutionalized, patients are increasingly prescribed more and more medication, and electroshock treatment no longer meets with protest. Psychotherapy, in other words, is ‘out’. People go to the psychiatrist with very different problems and are much less inclined to introspection and reflection, but expect to have their problems taken away without any effort on their own part: ‘because they’re worth it!’, as the ads shout.

paul verhaege is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst and also a professor at the University of Ghent. With Between Hysteria and the Feminine (1996) and Concerning Normalcy and Other Disorders (2002), he achieved international recognition as an expert on Freud and Lacan. With Love in Times of Loneliness (1998), a critical analysis of modern-day relations between men and women, he made his breakthrough to a broader public; the book became an international bestseller and has been translated into eight languages. ‘Useful questions for the fashions in psychiatry.’ – nrc handelsblad

kilian wawoe bonus – a banker’s story (Bonus – een bankier vertelt)

* A former banker tells the disconcerting story of the bonus madness World rights: De Bezige Bij • Non-fiction, current affairs, 288 pages, November 2010 For ten years, Kilian Wawoe worked as senior personnel manager for the ABN/Amro Bank. As the one responsible for handing out bonuses, he was part of the system. Wawoe carried out research into the effects of bonuses, and came to the conclusion that they often provide undesirable stimuli. Rather than encouraging better performance, they lead to an increase in the quantity – but not the quality - of an employee’s achievements. The quality actually decreases. In Wawoe’s view, bonuses should be banned. In this book he provides an insider’s account, without sparing himself. A spectacular and extremely revealing behind-the-scenes report, one which makes the reader think about where things must go from here in the financial sector.

kilian wawoe (b. 1972) is an organizational psychologist. He served as personnel manager for the abn/Amro Bank in the Netherlands, India, Belgium and Monaco. He is currently working on his doctoral thesis, entitled Proactive Personality, which comprises an investigation of entrepreneurial behavior within the banking sector. “(…) In daily practice, bonuses achieve the very opposite of their intended effect: employees are actually stimulated to do the wrong things. (…) A mortgage vendor running on the promise of a bonus may sell more, but the quality of the mortgages will quickly decrease.” – de volkskrant “I am convinced that bonuses should be banned.” – Kilian Wawoe in de volkskrant

anita terpstra cherised World rights: De Bezige Bij • Thriller, 320 pages, January 2011 Stella Krist’s life seems like a bed of roses. She is busily involved with her promising career in politics, and her new boyfriend, Sjoerd de Jong, has just proposed marriage to her. But then Hessel, her former boyfriend and father of her daughter, is found dead. When the police discover that Hessel was blackmailing Stella, she becomes a murder suspect. During the investigation, Stella is confronted with secrets from her own past and her involvement in the death of an animal rights activist. This marks the beginning of a witch hunt. The press and the public at large raise an outcry, and Stella is forced to step down. Then the only person who could help her turns out to have disappeared.

(Dierbaar)

anita terpstra (b. 1974) studied journalism and art history, then went to work as a freelance journalist and editor for a number of magazines. Her thriller debut, Night Flight, was warmly received and nominated for the best Dutch-language thriller debut. “Night Flight is a promising debut. Well fleshedout characters, a logical plot and written with verve.” – algemeen dagblad

milou van der will red light

(Rood licht)

* Convincing debut about the power of love and at the same time about its destructive aspects. World rights: De Bezige Bij • Thriller, 352 pages Roos and her daughter Evie have a knack in common: they’re both attracted to the wrong men. But where Roos always got away with only a bit of unpleasantness, her daughter walks into the trap. Evie falls victim to a gang of “lover boy” pimps, and ends up working as a prostitute. Roos and Boris, Evie’s father, both try in their own ways to save their daughter. But driven by mistrust and the fear of betrayal, they merely get in each other’s – and the police’s – way. When their youngest daughter, Tessa, becomes dangerously involved in the situation as well, they have to work together to save their family. Meanwhile Evie descends deeper and deeper into a spiral of violence, abuse and murder. She fears for her own life. And for that of her loved ones.

milou van der will (b. 1986) studied communications and is a reporter for the daily newspaper Metro. She is specialized in issues related to lover boy pimps. While researching Red Light, she spoke with victims, social workers and culprits.