An exciting surprise! The jury of the Gielegou Rige will review and assess all submissions. On Friday evening, October 30th at the Frisian Book Festival, the five writers who win a grant of €20,000 to write a Frisian novel will be announced.
Arjen Dijkstra: “We knew that quite a bit of new Frisian writing talent was emerging. We’ve been seeing this movement for a few years. But that the Gielegou inspired so many beginning and young writers to submit plans for Frisian-language novels is fantastic! With so much potential and drive to write in Frisian, we can ensure a new wave in Frisian literature in the coming years. We want to meet with all entrants to explore how we can support them in writing their books.”
Among the submitted proposals are many different literary genres. In addition to many plans for Young Adult and Coming-of-Age books, there are psychological thrillers, dystopian novels, historical novels, and adventure novels. Fantasy, magical realism, and science fiction are also represented. It’s also notable that more women than men submitted entries. This is good news, as the question of where the women in Frisian literature have been has been raised in recent years.
About the Gielegou Rige
The Gielegou project is a collaboration between Tresoar (a library and heritage center), the Netherlands Literature Fund, and the Province of Friesland. The project aims to encourage aspiring writers to write Frisian prose and to interest a new generation of readers in Frisian books and literature. Rige means “series”. The first call was launched last summer.
The five winners will receive extensive support in addition to the writer’s grant. They will be paired with an editor, connected with publishers, and can use the Skriuwersfakskoalle (Writers’ School) in Leeuwarden. Extra funds have been reserved for design and book promotion for the books that will appear in the Gielegou Rige in the coming years.
The Gielegou Rige jury members are:
- Erik Betten — writer, historian
- Akke Gerlsma — teacher of Frisian and Dutch at NHL Stenden teacher training college
- Karen Bies — documentary maker, writer
- Ronnie Terpstra — bookseller at Van der Velde
- Baukje Zijlstra — writer, editor, multilingualism coordinator
Announcement of Winners at Frisian Book Festival
Everyone is welcome at the Frisian Book Festival for the announcement of the five Gielegou Rige winners. The festival is on Friday evening, October 30th and marks the kickoff of the Frisian Book Week. The gift book for the Frisian Book Week will also be presented that evening.
Registration for the event is available on the Frisian Book Week website: Fryske Boekewike.
