The six contenders are: Nico Dros with Willem who made MadocMariken Heitman with worm moonAuke Hulst with The Mitsukoshi Comfort Baby CompanyDeniz Kuypers with The atlas of everywhereRenée van Marissing with Our children and Lisa Weeda with Alexandra†
The six novels together span many centuries and continents, according to the jury, from a farmyard in Ukraine and a terraced house in Drenthe to medieval France. ‘They provide insight into complex geopolitical issues, but also into the loneliness that can overwhelm you in a freshly painted nursery.’
It is indeed a varied list. From science fiction to a bulky historical novel to small and large family stories. To avoid blind spots, the jury made piles in the run-up to the long list: how many men and women, how many Flemish and Dutch people, how many debuts, how many authors of color?
‘It became clear that the diversity that characterizes society is still far from being reflected in authorship in Dutch-language literature, and that it is necessary that publishers continue to invest actively in a culturally diverse fund,’ the jury writes in its report. Nevertheless, the jury was pleased to be able to present a ‘cross-section’ of the best Dutch-language literature in 2021 with the long list.
Many big names did not make the selection. Former prize winners were already missing from the long list: Adriaan van Dis, K. Schippers, Marcel Möring, AFTh. van der Heijden and Arnon Grunberg. Rob van Essen and Robbert Welagen and Marie Kessels also dropped out of the shortlist. There is also no Fleming on the shortlist. Lisa Weeda, who this year through de Volkskrant was named the literary talent of 2022, is the only debutant on the list.
The jury (the mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb, chief book editor VPRO Guide Katja de Bruin, literary critic for The Green Amsterdammer Femke Essink, the Flemish philosopher and writer Alicja Gescinska and literary critic Theo Hakkert) writes that with their different backgrounds and reading experiences, she found ‘common ground’ in novels that challenged us to leave our own bubble and showed us how the world affects concrete human lives, in the past, present and future’.
On May 9, a live broadcast of news hour announced who was the most successful. The winner will receive a prize of 50 thousand euros.