Gideon Samson
As a boy, Gideon Samson (b. 1985) wanted to become a professional football player. He even played for a real club for a while. But, aside from the fact that he wasn’t good enough, he discovered that the world had more to offer him. Writing.
Samson dropped out of his studies of Dutch language and literature in Amsterdam, deciding instead to deliver parcels and to write. In 2010, he became the youngest-ever winner of a Zilveren Griffel, for Ziek (Sick). He made a big impression, particularly among teen readers, with Zwarte zwaan (Black Swan, 2013), about a girl who fakes her own death. Under the pseudonym of Menno Fernandes he wrote about his experiences as a referee in amateur football in De Scheids (The Ref, 2014), a book for adults.
More Gideon Samson
Zeb.
One day, the teacher says that, from now on, two plus two is five. Nearly everyone accepts the new maths. And other strange things happen too. Suddenly there’s a zebra in the class; she says her name is Ariane. Ozzie goes to buy a joke to impress Ziva, but can’t find one that he can afford. Noepy takes part in a demonstration against the abolition of crying. Ziva’s family take it in turns to have hiccups.
Animals Afloat
Noah and his ark, God and his fury — the Bible story has been adapted thousands of times, but rarely as ingeniously as Gideon Samson has done in this book to accompany Annemarie van Haeringen’s pictures.
Island Days
Three children – two boys and a girl – spend an endless summer on a Greek island. This book is about the unbearable lightness of a friendship that is more than a friendship. Puck is Miech’s girlfriend, but they let Jakob go with them as they explore the island. ‘Swimming, cycling, climbing, walking, riding donkeys and lots and lots of laughing, especially laughing, laughing all the time. (…) These are dream days for the three of them.’
Heaven Can Wait
Belle (12), from Gideon Samson’s 'De hemel kan wachten' (Heaven Can Wait, 2017), comes across as a nasty piece of work. But when you read her bitter-sweet story, you realize that there’s a good reason for that.