In the fourth edition of Exploring Stories, ILFU will bring together exceptional writers and thinkers from around the world. Meet your favourite authors, discover new voices, and find inspiration in their literary perspective on the world. And don’t be surprised to come home with a stack of new books.
The festival programme for last year’s Exploring Stories event was such a success that we decided to add an extra day this year. Now we can devote even more attention to all the authors and the important topics they bring with them. On Saturday, 28 September, the four stages at TivoliVredenburg will host conversations with writers of fiction and non-fiction, journalists, politicians, poets and philosophers. They will come together to talk about the pressing issues of our time, including (hidden) perspectives on contemporary conflicts, anthropocentrism, racism, femicide, transphobia and social inequality. Saturday will be devoted to political and social issues and all their many layers; Sunday’s programme will focus entirely on the theme of ‘Nature’s Narrative’, when we will delve into the big question of whether humans’ voices can speak on behalf of other entities. More information about Sunday's programme.
The Belle van Zuylenring, the international honorary prize for a writer with an oeuvre of great social relevance, will also be awarded during this weekend. This year it goes to Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich (Belarus). On Saturday, September 28, Alexievich will receive the ring and will also give the accompanying Belle van Zuylen lecture. This lecture is open to the public.
Throughout the weekend-long event, visitors can browse the many book stalls, enjoy a drink or a bite to eat, and join one of the signing sessions in the festival plaza.
English spoken talks on Saturday:
‘The Pen and the Barricade’ – presentation of the Belle van Zuylen Ring to Svetlana Alexievich
‘The Pen and the Barricade’ – presentation of the Belle van Zuylen Ring to Svetlana Alexievich, with Mayor Sharon Dijksma, Julia Cimafiejeva and Franka Hummels
More info:Layal Liverpool and Babs Gons on the (in)visible structures of racism and inequality in the medical community
We as a society are becoming increasingly aware of how racism is interwoven into every social structure. But do we realise how much racism and inequality are affecting health care?
More infoBrenda Navarro and Alejandra Ortiz, on how you are perceived as a migrant in Europe
One escaped from Mexico to live in safety as a trans woman; the other sought exile in Spain because she could not continue her work as a writer and human rights activist in Mexico without constant threats.
More infoTommy Orange, on the trauma of the Indigenous population of America (based on his new novel Wandering Stars).
A new novel by Tommy Orange! Those who’ve read his acclaimed debut There There already know what Orange can do like no other: giving a voice to the Native American community.
More infoConstance Debré and Saskia de Coster, on families you’re given and families you choose, and the limits on freedom within family structures
What if you had to sacrifice your family in order to feel free as a queer person?
More infoNicolas Lunabba, Marit Törnqvist and Sinan Can, on growing up in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, inequality of opportunity, and how far you can go to help someone
How far are you willing, able and allowed to go to protect a vulnerable young person? Nicolas Lunabba grew up in a Swedish neighbourhood where violence was always looming around every corner. As a youth worker, he devoted himself to helping young people who ran those same risks.
Vamba Sherif, Temi Oh and Saleem Haddad, on Afrofuturism and the power of speculative fiction by writers of colour
Exactly 30 years ago, Octavia E. Butler published The Parable of the Sower – one of the most important works of science fiction of all time. Butler is sometimes referred to as ‘the mother of Afrofuturism’. But how is the genre doing today, 30 years later?
More infoJulia Cimafiejeva and Manon Uphoff, on the female face of the war in Ukraine
A conversation in response to Alexievich’s first book: War’s Unwomanly Face. Featuring Manon Uphoff and Julia Cimafiejeva. Programme in collaboration with PEN Nederland.
More infoSusan Abulhawa, Saleem Haddad and Fatena Al-Ghorra, on writing about Palestine on writing about their (devastated) Palestinian homeland from exile
How do you describe a homeland that is being destroyed while you live in exile. How can you capture the sorrow, the resilience, and the struggle for a country that you cannot enter, but that lives on in your words?
More infoDevika Partiman, on women in politics (Kamala Harris special)
Seven years ago, Devika Partiman founded Stem op een Vrouw (Vote for a Woman), to fight for more equality and representation in politics. And now she has written an eponymous book.
More infoIhab Saloul, on Palestinian resistance literature
What characterises the voices of writers in resistance, writers in exile, and specifically: Palestinian writers? In this lecture, Ihab Saloul, affiliated with the University of Amsterdam, will give us a bird’s-eye view of Palestinian literature, its relationship with resistance, and the censorship that the literature faces.
More infoIndigo Burnett, on Afrofuturism (i.c.w. CPT collective)
What do Sun Ra, ancient Egypt and the electronic musical duo Drexciya all have in common? If you would like to learn more about the Afrofuturism movement – and the big question: how can we envision a future through a Black cultural lens?, then join this mini-lecture by Indigo Burnett of the CPT Collective.
More infoTimetable Saturday 28 September
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