On Thursday, March 26, about 80 people from the literary field in Fryslân gathered at Neushoorn (Leeuwarden) for the fourth edition of Lettertreffen. The theme was ‘Publishing. Out or In?’. We happily look back on the afternoon with some photos taken by Lucas Kemper.
The afternoon was very enjoyable and informative. We received comments like that from visitors and speakers as well. We would appreciate more feedback from you as a visitor, especially since we want to make the next – fifth – edition even bigger. During Tryntsje van der Steege’s presentation on what Leeuwarden UNESCO City of Literature (CoL) has done and continues to do, CoL consultation hours were announced. The exact dates, times, and locations will be announced on this website soon. You can sign up to receive an email notification. Note: both forms are in Dutch.
You can read a summary of the afternoon below the photos, based on the minutes by Hedwig Terpstra.
Pictures: Lucas Kemper
Summary Lettertreffen 2026
Project coordinator Tryntsje van der Steege presented City of Literature’s recent activities. She looked back on the Klein Geluk project during the Arcadia year 2025 – a 100-day literary programme with 100 literary texts published in 100 different ways. She highlighted growing international collaborations, including the current project The Flight of the Bar-tailed Godwit with Melbourne City of Literature, and upcoming writer residencies in Barcelona.
She also announced upcoming initiatives: consultation hours in May and October 2026 where writers and organisations are welcome with their questions about subsidies, publishing, education and projects; the summer publication of literary magazine LETTER; Page Against the Machine in May; and an open call by De Gjalp for poetry and literary festival productions on the theme ‘It Waad’ (the Wadden Sea area).
Panel discussion
Moderator Esmé van den Boom (poet, writer and programme maker) led a panel discussion with Tsjerk Bottema (editor-in-chief of de Moanne), Lolies van Grunsven (literary agent), Tomias Keno (writer and singer-songwriter) and Marleen Nagtegaal (artistic director of Explore the North).
Key insights from the discussion:
Lolies van Grunsven emphasised the importance of visibility for writers: publishing in literary magazines, performing at literary events, and sharing work on online platforms. Networking within the field makes a difference.
Tsjerk Bottema explained how de Moanne operates both in print and online as two complementary media. The printed magazine has become more timeless, while urgent pieces are published online. De Moanne functions as an important breeding ground for Frisian writers. Tsjerk also discussed ‘translanguaging’ – the concept that languages should not be separated.
Tomias Keno shared his experience creating the multidisciplinary project Astronaut as a novel, podcast and pop album. The three forms don’t stand alone but feed each other. The podcast ultimately became the most popular.
Marleen Nagtegaal noted that the field has broadened for creators. Increasingly, collaborations between publishers, festivals and makers are expanding opportunities. The literary field is increasingly looking at what happens on stage before taking the step to publication.
Presentation by Tomias Keno
Tomias presented fragments from the podcast, audiobook and pop album of Astronaut, demonstrating how the three parts create a network of echoes, shifts and new meanings.
Lecture by Niels ‘t Hooft
Hybrid writer Niels ‘t Hooft gave a lecture on his work at the intersection of literature and technology. He discussed media convergence and showed how elements from books, music, film, TV, games and software can combine to create new forms. He presented his work on Immer, an innovative system to make digital reading more attractive, and outlined plans for developing tools that enable authors and designers to create new types of stories that can only exist on screen.
Closing
Esmé thanked the speakers for their contributions, the City of Literature team for the organisation, and all attendees from the sector. After the plenary programme, there was time for further conversation during the drinks reception and to browse books by Frisian writers at the book market until 6 PM.
