GLOW

GLOEI (GLOW)

year:

2020

genre:

non-fiction, poetry, 480 p.

publisher:

Querido
illustrator:
Floor de Goede 

age:

14+ and adults

awards:

Rainbowbook of the year 2021

Nomination for the Çavaria Media Award 2020

Honour List IBBY 2022

Silver Slate 2021

Silver Pencil 2021 (for the illustrations)

 

For this big book I interviewed twenty one young people (between 15 and 23 years old). They talked frankly about all the things that glow in their lives: love, anger ambition. Being extremely diverse, they all have one thing in common: their sexuality or their gender differs from the majority. To every interview I wrote a poem, and Floor de Goede drew a portrait of each interviewee. At the end of the book there's a chapter that reveils what happened after the interviews. The beautiful book design is by Roald Triebels.

This book also marks the start of a whole new series with novels with queer main characters: Querido's imprint Querido Glow.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU TRIP OVER A HIPPO

WAT JE MOET DOEN ALS JE OVER EEN NIJLPAARD STRUIKELT (WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU TRIP OVER A HIPPO)
year:
2019 
genre:

poetry, 64 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Martijn van der Linden
age:

9+
awards:
Silver Slate 2020
Silver Pencil 2020
White Raven 2020
Golden Poetry Medal 2020
Honorary mention Big Poetry Award 2020
The poem 'What to do when you worry about a friendship' was awarded with a Poetry Star 2020

These 25-poems go under the title of What to do when you trip over a hippo and they also have a second title: Poems that are of use ('Gedichten waar je wat aan hebt'). The title of every poem starts with 'What to do when...'  and several 'questions' are being 'answered': What to do when you don't know what to draw? What to do when you are waiting for a train? What to do when you don't like your name? 
Martijn van der Linden, my brilliant campanion for our Vote for the okapi-book, now delivers 25 large and stunning illustrations in full colour. And I must say, it's one of those books that I'm kinda sad about because it's ready and published - it was such a joy making it! 
Thanks also to Steef Liefting, who did the book design. 

A special on this book by the Dutch Literature Fund, aimed at possible translations, is to be found here. 
There are also some poems translated into English by David Colmer. Ask for them at my mail: e.vendel@chello.nl.    
And here you'll find a 1-minute clip about this book.

A TRAIN FULL OF ZOMBIES

DE ZOMBIETREIN (A TRAIN FULL OF ZOMBIES)
year:
2017

genre:

poetry, 48 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Floor de Goede
age:

8+
awards:
Zilveren Griffel (Silver Slate) 2018
Nominated for the Golden Poetry Medal, 2018
The poem 'De zee is een schilder' was awarded with a Poetry Star 2018

This is the third volume of 'comic poems': it's not an ordinary book of poetry, it's not a comic, but I wrote 22 poems and Floor made two-page-comics out of them.

- A first book full of 'comic-poetry' came out in 2008 and was called GRANDPA SHOWS HIS TOES. This book was awarded with the 'Zilveren Griffel', the Silver Slate, the offical 'best books of the year'. The second volume was made two years later and got an honoray mention for that same prize, and was awarded with the 'best comic book for youth': DRAGONS WITH PLUGS (2010).

SUPERGUPPY IS EVERYTHING

SUPERGUPPIE IS ALLES (SUPERGUPPY IS EVERYTHING)
year:

2014

genre:

poetry, 240 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Fleur van der Weel
age:

6+

I'LL ROOT FOR YOU

IK JUICH VOOR JOU (I'LL ROOT FOR YOU)
year:

2013

genre:

poetry,  48 p.

Publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Wolf Erlbruch

age:
10+
awards:
Golden Poetry Medal 2014 (best book of children's poetry over the last two years)
Vlag en Wimpel 2014 (Honorary mention Best books for children)
rights sold:
English (USA) (Eerdmans)
Spanish (Spain) (Barbara Fiore)

The grandmaster of German illustration, Wolf Erlbruch, made many fantastic images about animals doing sports. My Publisher asked me to write new poems to these illustration. This was a big honour for me. The poems are about losing, winning, about secrets of athletes, and there is a speech in denglish (dutch/english).

- This title was chosen as one of the ten poetry volumes to be promoted in the Dutch Poetry Week 2014 (the other 9 volumes were all for adults)
- German and English translation of the poems available

MY HAPPY BOOK OF SOUNDS

MIJN FIJNE GELUIDENBOEKJE (MY HAPPY BOOK OF SOUNDS)
year:

2013

genre:

picture book, poetry, 64 p.

publisher:

De Eenhoorn, Wielsbeke

illustrator:
Mattias De Leeuw
age:

4+
awards:
Nominated for the Golden Poetry Medal 2014

This little booklet contains fifty short and playful poems lovely sounds from everyday-life. Opening a bag of crisps, daddy’s car that’s driving up the driveway, talking under water, the wind that’s blowing in the trees,... All these sounds are part of a warm home. Mattias invented a warm, funny family of bears that accompany all the poems in just as lively, full-colour pictures.

- Proof translation in English is available.

HOORAY FOR SUPERGUPPY!

HOERA VOOR SUPERGUPPIE! (HOORAY FOR SUPERGUPPY!)
year:

2010

genre:

poetry, 64 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Fleur van der Weel
age:

6+
awards:
Zilveren Griffel 2011 (best books for children)

For this fourth volume of Superguppy-children's poetry I again made 50 short poems, always with a quite practical, normal-day title and subject, then trying to give it a poetical or funny swing. The fantastic playful illustrations by Fleur van der Weel make all the poems coherent. 

- Earlier volumes were
SUPERGUPPIE (2003),
SUPERGUPPIE KRIJGT KLEINTJES (2005),
and DE GROETJES VAN SUPERGUPPIE (2008)
and the big collection of all the volumes (& new poems as well) SUPERGUPPIE IS ALLES (2014).
- In 2005 I made a cd with composer and producer Edwin Schimscheimer. The poems were turned into lyrics and Edwin made songs out of it, which were sung by a terrific bunch of famous Dutch artists (under the title SUPERGUPPIE ZINGT, Superguppy sings).

DRAGONS WITH PLUGS

DRAKEN MET STEKKERS (DRAGONS WITH PLUGS)
year:

2010

genre:

poetry, 48 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Floor de Goede
age:

8+
awards:
Vlag en Wimpel 2011 (Honorary mention Best books for children)
Stripschap-penning voor Album van het Jaar, categorie jeugd 2010 (Comic-award, best album of the year for youth).

As in the first book illustrator Floor de Goede and I did, I wrote 22 poems and Floor made two-page-comics out of them: comic-poems.

- This book was preceded by a first volume of comic-poems: GRANDPA SHOWS HIS TOES (2008) and in 2017 there was a third volume: A TRAIN FULL OF ZOMBIES.

GRANDPA SHOWS HIS TOES

OPA LAAT ZIJN TENEN ZIEN (GRANDPA SHOWS HIS TOES)
year:

2008

genre:

poetry, 48 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Floor de Goede
age:

8+
awards:
Zilveren Griffel 2009 (best books for children)

For this book, which was my first collaboration with the awesome illustrator Floor de Goede (many books would follow!), we 'invented' the comic poem. I wrote 22 poems and Floor made two-page-comics out of them.

- A second volume was made two years later: DRAGONS WITH PLUGS (2010) and a third one in 2017: A TRAIN FULL OF ZOMBIES.

SUPERGUPPY'S GREETINGS

DE GROETEN VAN SUPERGUPPIE (SUPERGUPPY'S GREETINGS)
year:

2008

genre:

poetry, 64 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Fleur van der Weel
age:

6+

For this third volume of Superguppy-children's poetry I again made 50 short poems, always with a quite practical, normal-day title and subject, then trying to give it a poetical or funny swing. The fantastic playful illustrations by Fleur van der Weel make all the poems coherent. 

- Earlier volumes were
SUPERGUPPIE (2003),
SUPERGUPPIE KRIJGT KLEINTJES (2005),
and a later volume was
HOERA VOOR SUPERGUPPIE! (2010)
and the big collection of all the volumes (& new poems as well) SUPERGUPPIE IS ALLES (2014).
- In 2005 I made a cd with composer and producer Edwin Schimscheimer. The poems were turned into lyrics and Edwin made songs out of it, which were sung by a terrific bunch of famous Dutch artists (under the title SUPERGUPPIE ZINGT, Superguppy sings).

CHATBOX

CHATBOX
year:

2006

genre:

poetry, young adult, 48 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

age:

15+
rights sold:
English (USA) (A midsummer night's press) (selection of the poems, together with a selection of poems of my book QUOTATION MARKS)

As I wrote the novel OUR THIRD BODY, something extraordinary happened: I started writing poetry with somebody else's hand - with Tycho Zelings hand, the 19 years old main character of that novel. A separate volume was published, containing his/mine poems about the angers and joys of young people living in a big city, and, most of all, poems about love and the fire that goes with it.

- Some of the poems are available in German, translated by Rolf Erdorf.

SUPERGUPPY GETS BABIES

SUPERGUPPIE KRIJGT KLEINTJES (SUPERGUPPY GETS BABIES)
year:

2005

genre:

poetry, 64 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Fleur van der Weel
age:

6+
rights sold:
French (Éditions Être), German (Boje)

For this second volume of Superguppy-children's poetry I again made 49 short poems, always with a quite practical, normal-day title and subject, then trying to give it a poetical or funny swing. The fantastic playful illustrations by Fleur van der Weel make all the poems coherent. 

French cover

- An earlier volume was
SUPERGUPPIE (2003),
later volumes were
DE GROETEN VAN SUPERGUPPIE (2008),
HOERA VOOR SUPERGUPPIE! (2010)
and the big collection of all the volumes (& new poems as well) SUPERGUPPIE IS ALLES (2014).
- In 2005 I made a cd with composer and producer Edwin Schimscheimer. The poems were turned into lyrics and Edwin made songs out of it, which were sung by a terrific bunch of famous Dutch artists (under the title SUPERGUPPIE ZINGT, Superguppy sings).

SONG FOR A BABY GIRAFFE

LIED VOOR EEN GIRAFJE (SONG FOR A BABY GIRAFFE)
year:

2004

genre:

poetry, gift book, 32 p.

publisher:

De Eenhoorn, Wielsbeke

illustrator:
Sebastiaan Van Doninck
age:

grown ups
awards:
Boekenpluim (for the illustrations)

'Oh tiny giraffe, who isn't yet full grown, do you hear what I am singing ?' An expectant father giraffe sings a tender song for his unborn baby giraffe. He sings about the world and what it looks like, about the food that hangs in the trees, about the baby's mother who has very long, graceful legs, about possible dangers... He also muses on the differences between a mother, who is always near her child, and a father, who keeps in the background. Fit as a gift for expecting fathers and expecting mothers, this book contains one longer poem and very tender pencil drawings.      

SUPER GUPPY

SUPERGUPPIE (SUPER GUPPY)
year:

2003

genre:

poetry, 64 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Fleur van der Weel
age:

6+
awards:
Woutertje Pietersprijs 2004 (best children's book)
Zilveren Griffel 2004 (best books for children)
Vlag en Wimpel 2004 (for the illustrations)
Die Besten Sieben Dezember 2008 (Germany)
Buch des Monats November 2008 (Germany)
Recommended pick voor National Poetry Day 2020 (United Kingdom)
rights sold:
French (Éditions Être)
German (Boje)
English (UK) (The Emma Press)

For this first volume of children's poetry for a younger age (four more volumes would follow) I made 51 short poems, always with a quite practical, normal-day title and subject, then trying to give it a poetical or funny swing. The fantastic playful illustrations by Fleur van der Weel make all the poems coherent. This was and is my number one bestselling book in Holland, nicely helped by the prestigious Woutertje Pieterse Award.

- Follow-up volumes were
SUPERGUPPIE KRIJGT KLEINTJES (2005),
DE GROETEN VAN SUPERGUPPIE (2008),
HOERA VOOR SUPERGUPPIE! (2010)
and the big collection of all the volumes (& new poems as well) SUPERGUPPIE IS ALLES (2014).
- The Dutch Translation Fund made a special on this book, to be found here.
- In 2005 I made a cd with composer and producer Edwin Schimscheimer. The poems were turned into lyrics and Edwin made songs out of it, which were sung by a terrific bunch of famous Dutch artists (under the title SUPERGUPPIE ZINGT, Superguppy sings).

QUOTATION MARKS

AANHALINGSTEKENS (QUOTATION MARKS)
year:

2000

genre:

poetry, 48 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

age:

15+
rights sold:
English (USA) (A midsummer night's press) (selection of the poems, together with a selection of poems of my book CHATBOX)

This third volume of poetry contained poems about love, about sensuality, as well as a sequence about sports and one where I wrote poems to six famous classical paintings (also depicted in the book). The wonderful bookdesign was done by Barbara van Dongen Torman.

GIJSBRECHT

GIJSBRECHT
year:

1998

genre:

historical novel (in free verse), 122 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:

Hanneke van der Hoeven

age:

12+
awards:
Gouden Zoen 1999 (Golden Kiss Award, best book for youth)

This historical novel, written in free verse, was heavily inspired by one of the most well-known classical Dutch plays, Gysbreght van Aemstel (1637), by playwright Joost van den Vondel (1587-1679), and is exuberantly illustrated by Hanneke van der Hoeven.

- GIJSBRECHT got an honorary mention at the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs 1999.
- The Dutch Translation Fund made a special on this book in English - here.

ALMOST ALL THE KEYS

BIJNA ALLE SLEUTELS (ALMOST ALL THE KEYS)
year:

1998

genre:

poetry, 36 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:

Sylvia Weve

age:

12+

My second poetry volume, maybe a bit more coherent. Mostly about growing up, about growing pains. The poems are in most cases a bit longer, a bit more rhythmical as well.

- The book got an honorary mention at the 1999 Woutertje Pieterse Prijs. 

CATCH ME

BETRAP ME (CATCH ME)

year:

1996

genre:

poetry, 40 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:

Hanneke van der Hoeven

age:

10+

My first book, which was also my first collection of poetry. Poems that I had gathered in the previous years, often about school, sometimes about animals.