The 10 writers and book authors of the Netherlands
Who are the ten writers of our country right now? Researchers of advice Hendrik Beerda Brand Consultancy started talking with more than compatriots and drawn up traditions.
1. Jan Terlouw
Jan Terlouw (1931) is a true centipede. He obtained his doctorate in actual physics, was a councilor in Utrecht (D66), researcher at the famous MIT in the United States, minister of Economics (Van Agt II & III cabinet) and of course he is a writer.
As an author, Terlouw has by far most concentrated on children’s books in his life, of which ‘Winter War’ and ‘Koning van Katoren’ are very well-known examples. For both works he received the Gouden Griffel, an important prize for Dutch-language children’s literature.
In addition, Terlouw has also written works of fiction for adults in recent years. Such as the detective book series ‘Reders & Reders’, which he made together with his daughter Sanne. Terlouw is also looking for a collection of poems and some non-fiction works.
This year Terlouw is number one in the list, last year he is second.
2. Carry sled
Second place at the top of the rankings. Like fellow writer Terlouw, Slee has mainly focused on making children’s books during her career. And with great zeal: there may already be more than sixty of them.
Slee’s works? Those are probably the books ‘Keep off’, ‘Regret’ and ‘Distraught’, for which they receive. All four works have been filmed several years now and have attracted hundreds of thousands of moviegoers.
3. Saskia Noort
In 2003 Saskia Noort (1967) made her debut with her book ‘Back to the coast’, a so-called literary thriller. In the following years Noort comprised a total of ten novels and five collections of columns (which she had written for the LINDA magazine).
Several of Noort’s works – who, just like last year, again occupy the third place in the ranking – have been made into a television series film. In addition to her debut novel, this also concerns the books ‘De Verbouwing’, ‘De Eetclub’ and ‘Nieuwe Buren’.
4. Helen van Royen
In 2000, Heleen van Royen (1965) made her debut as a writer with ‘The Happy Housewife’, in which her father’s suicide plays a major role. In the years that followed, Van Royen wrote several novels, such as ‘De ontsnapping’ (2006, for which she received the NS prize.
The popularity of Van Royen – who took position five last year – is also apparent from the number of reprints of her books. Her debut novel, for example, has a thirty-second edition, ‘Goddess of the Hunt’ (2003) a twenty-eighth edition and ‘De Mannentester’ (2009) a seventh.
5. Paul van Loon
If you say Paul van Loon (1955), you say books for children. His well-known works are the seven parts of the ‘Griezelbus’, all of which have won prizes. In 2005 this series was made into a film by Pieter Kuijpers (the film attracted approximately 225,000 visitors to the cinema).
Van Loon – who was in fourth place in the previous edition of the list – is also known for his work ‘Dolfje Weerwolfje’, which has also been made into a film. In total, during his authorship (and to date) he has created more than a hundred children’s books.
6. Kees van Kooten
Kees van Kooten (1941) – new in this ranking – is definitely more than just a writer. For example, he typically formed a duo with Wim de Bie, which made numerous humorous TV sketches. As a novelist, Van Kooten only made his debut in 1984 with a book called ‘Hedonia’.
In the years before, Van Kooten mainly wrote columns and short stories, which he collected and of which he sold many tens of thousands of copies. In addition, in 2013 he wrote the text for Groot Dictee der Nederlandse Taal – which is of course a great honor for an author.
7. Adrian of Dis
Adriaan van Dis (1949) – who died in 1983 and made his debut as a writer with the work ‘Nathan Sid’ – is just like last year in seventh place in this ranking. He now has dozens of novels, novellas and short story collections to his name, in which the Dutch East Indies regularly plays a major role.
In addition to his authorship, he is certainly also known for the television program ‘Hier is… Adriaan van Dis’ (VPRO), which was broadcast between 1982 and 1993, in which he interviewed famous people from the world of art, literature and science.
8. Kluun
Kluun is the pseudonym of Raymond van de Klundert (1964), who made his debut in 2003 with the later filmed ‘A woman comes to the doctor’ – a dramatized autobiography of what he and his wife went through until she developed cancer and had a fatal success.
Nearly 800,000 of that work were sold. According to publisher Podium, these are the masters of a novel that have ever been sold in the Netherlands. After his foreign debut Kluun – which was also eighth last year – eleven other works, such as ‘Familiestelling’ (2020).
9. Maarten ‘t Hart
Maarten ‘t Hart made his debut as a literary writer in 1971 under the pseudonym Martin Hart with the novel Stones for a Long-eared Owl. A few years later – in 1978 – he obtained his doctorate at the University of Leiden with a dissertation on behavioral biology.
Meanwhile, ‘t Hart – which took place six last year – has dozens of books to his name that are permitted in German, English, Polish and Swedish, among others. ‘I had a brother in arms’ (1973) and ‘A flight of curlews’ (1978) are his well-known works.
10. Ronald Giphart
In 2001 ‘Ik also van je’ was published, the debut novel by Ronald Giphart (1965), in which a beginning writer and a woman with a borderline personality disorder took the lead roles. Ten years later, this book was made into a movie.
This also applies to his well-known books ‘Phileine says sorry’ (1996) and ‘I ben je met 1000 arms’ (2000), which were screened in cinemas in 2003 and 2005. Last year Giphart was one place higher in the ranking of Hendrik Beerda Brand Consultancy.