At the invitation of the Heerenveen Literary Activities Foundation (SLAH), Annejet van der Zijl is coming to Heerenveen. Annejet van der Zijl spent her teenage years in Leeuwarden. What was it like to be a teenager in Leeuwarden?
Van der Zijl was born in 1962 in Oterleek, near Alkmaar, in a family of teachers. After moving to Friesland, she attended secondary school at the Christelijk Gymnasium in Leeuwarden. She studied Mass Communication at the University of Amsterdam and initially worked as a journalist.
Her books are groundbreaking: the biography Anna. The Life of Annie M.G. Schmidt, Sonny Boy, Bernhard. A Hidden History, Murder in Blood Street, Gerard Heineken, The American Princess, The Fall of Annika S., Leon & Juliette (Book Week gift 2020), Fortune’s Children, The Snowdrop Forest and her most recent The Floating World (August 2025). With sharp research and compelling prose, she brings forgotten or hidden stories from Dutch history to light.
Photo: Els Zweerink
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