Welcome
Thanks for taking an interest in my work. Please click on the book covers below for more information and reviews. The central column features my latest blogs and recent updates, mostly in English and sometimes in Dutch.
For contact details and my biography (in English and Dutch) please visit the About page.
Books
Latest
World War II history
"The dark cloud envelopes us again" – excerpts from the wartime diary of Max Hes
18/11/22
In the summer of 1942, a Jewish haberdasher from the Dutch town of Zwolle sought refuge in the Trophy Room of Zwaluwenburg Manor, which was then a psychiatric institution for women and girls. Michel Leo (Max) Hes meticulously recorded the mounting tension in his journal.
More...Dutch Skating Traditions — all the ficts
14/12/22
As temperatures drop, Dutch people become increasingly excited about strapping razor-sharp knives to their feet and getting in each other's way on a stupidly slippery surface. That means it's time to share some ficts about this great Dutch tradition.
More...kort verhaal
Allemaal onzin natuurlijk
19/5/21
Dit verhaal verscheen eerder in een bundel ter viering van Guus Bauers 60ste verjaardag, waarin schrijvers op uitnodiging van David de Poel vertelden over hun meest miserabele bijbaantjes.
More...Letters
Preemptive Letters of Rejection
19/5/21
A series of letters to McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The Paris Review, Playgirl, The New Yorker, Granta Magazine, Oprah Winfrey, the Nobel Prize and the Prime Minister of Canada, pre-emptively rejecting their offers to exploit my literary assets.
More...blog
Drie generaties meelopers
19/5/21
‘Het is makkelijk praten vanuit de helikopter,’ tweette ik gisteren aan een vriendin, toen ze haar bezorgdheid uitsprak over het protest op de Dam, waar mijn jongste dochter aan meedeed. Ze is negentien maar gaat inmiddels al aardig wat jaartjes haar eigen gang in Amsterdam.
More...oorlogsherinnering
Mijn moeder en de Schriele Gevangene
18/11/22
Mijn moeder zou vandaag 99 zijn geworden. Altijd als ik gesoigneerde fascisten op de kanalen zie moet ik aan haar denken. Vooral aan het oorlogstrauma dat ervoor gezorgd heeft dat ook ik weet dat iedereen een stem mag hebben, zelfs als daar uitsluitend haat mee wordt gezaaid...
More...News
Unbearable Joy – a Slovenian translation from my latest novel
10/12/17
Neznosna radost – Unbearable Joy – is the beautiful Slovenian title of a story from my latest novel Van Kleine Helden (All The Little Heroes), which was recently published in the leading Slovenian literary magazine Literatura.
More...Poem
Things I Have Said About Rain
19/5/21
A poem about love composed of selected #walk tweets about rain.
More...On writing
Compendium of Useless Writing Tips
31/8/17
This compendium of #UselessWritingTips will be regularly updated. Or not. They have been posted in reverse order to save you having to scroll down. You should be writing, not reading tips.
More...