The 2021 Boekenweek (Book Week) will be moved to the summer due to corona. So from 6 to 14 March there is no Boekenweek, but it will be a week full of books. During that week, with the title Het voorwoord van de Boekenweek, various online and offline activities are organized to celebrate the book and call on everyone to continue to support his or her favorite bookstore. The Boekenweek itself will take place in the summer when the bookstores and libraries are fully open again. Due to the pandemic, the start and end of the Boekenweek, the traditional Boekenbal and the free travel day of main sponsor NS cannot take place this edition.

Eveline Aendekerk, director CPNB: “Was a Boekenweek theme ever as topical as Tweestrijd? In any case, we have been in conflict in recent months. The Boekenweek is the annual celebration in the bookstore and library. But what kind of celebration is it when the shops and libraries are still closed, and we only have a pick-up counter at our disposal? At the moment there is still too much uncertainty about the situation at the beginning of March to fully focus on this big annual readers’ festival. We have therefore decided to respond to the urgent request from bookstores not to celebrate Boekenweek until they are open. A difficult decision all the more because Boekenweek is of great importance for the entire book trade – for writers, publishers, libraries and bookstores.

For example, many authors have scheduled performances around the Boekenweek, publishers are publishing new titles, libraries have plenty of programming and the financial boost for bookstores is desperately needed. From March, we will therefore start Het voorwoord van de Boekenweek: we celebrate this period of the book. We will give the beautiful and thrilling gift from Hanna Bervoets and the intriguing essay by Roxane van Iperen the attention they deserve this summer. “

Het voorwoord van de Boekenweek
Het voorwoord van de Boekenweek takes place in the original period of the Boekenweek, from 6 to 14 March. During this week, numerous online and offline activities will be organized with the Boekenweek theme Tweestrijd in mind. All this to show readers in March what wonderful books are for sale and borrowed and to call on them to continue to support their favorite bookstore.

Boekenweek Poem
To kick off Het voorwoord van de Boekenweek, Trouw publishes, on Saturday 27 February, the Boekenweek poem, which is based on the Boekenweek theme Tweestrijd.

De Kleine comedy and NS
NS has been the main sponsor of the Boekenweek since 2001. In 2021, that means twenty years of main sponsorship: that will not go unnoticed. That is why the CPNB Foundation, the Schrijverscentrale and the Letterenfonds organize author performances on the (online) stage of the theater De Kleine Komedie. These performances are made possible by the NS. More information will follow later.

The Boekenbal on TV
Raising a glass in International Theater Amsterdam with many hundreds of authors and with the book trade is not responsible, not even this summer. The 80th edition of the Boekenbal will therefore not take place. On March 5, a special TV broadcast will be made from the empty theater in Amsterdam (ITA). Various well-known writers will pass by in order to celebrate the book together in a unique way and at the same time lift a tip of the veil of the traditional Boekenbal for the viewer at home.

Writer appearances and author visits
Performances by writers in the country are a regular part of the Boekenweek. In consultation with the Schrijverscentrale, it can be seen which performance can continue (online) and which performances in March can be postponed. The writers are supported by the new measure announced last week by the Netherlands Foundation for Literature, the Schrijverscentrale and the Royal Booksellers’ Union.

The Boekenweek in the summer, with the Boekenweek gift and Boekenweek essay
The Boekenweek Gift Wat we zagen from Hanna Bervoets, readers will receive a gift from their favorite bookstore this summer when they spend € 15 on Dutch books. The Boekenweekessay De genocidefax by Roxane van Iperen will also be for sale for € 3.75. To spread the crowds and encourage readers to support their favorite bookstore, these issues are available for a whole month.