Carys Davies writer in residence in Amsterdam
10 July 2024
Welsh writer Carys Davies will be staying at the Amsterdam Writers Residency from July 2nd to August 11th, upon invitation by the Dutch Foundation for Literature.
Carys Davies’s debut novel West (2018) was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, longlisted for the Europese Literatuurprijs, Runner Up for the Society of Authors' McKitterick Prize, and winner of the Wales Book of the Year for Fiction. Her second novel The Mission House (2020) was The Sunday Times 2020 Novel Of The Year. Her third novel, Clear, came out in the spring of 2024. The Dutch translation of Clear is expected to be published in October 2024 by publishing house Meulenhoff. All of her novels were translated into Dutch by Nicolette Hoekmeijer.
Davies is also the author of two collections of short stories, Some New Ambush (2007) and The Redemption of Galen Pike (2014), which won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. She is the recipient of the Royal Society of Literature's V.S. Pritchett Prize, the Society of Authors' Olive Cook Short Story Award and a Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a member of the Folio Academy.
Born in Wales, she lived and worked for twelve years in New York and Chicago, and now lives in Edinburgh.
'I'm so looking forward to coming to Amsterdam and to having time and space to write in such a beautiful and vibrant city’, Davies notes about her Amsterdam residency.
‘I'm in the very early stages of writing a new novel in which water will be very important, and it's hard to think of a better place to be while I'm dreaming about that. Visual art, too, is a great inspiration for me in my work, so when I'm not writing I will be poking around in the city's amazing collections.’
She also looks forward to being in Amsterdam in the run-up to the publication of her most recent novel, Clear. ‘As ever, it's been a great pleasure to work with my wonderful translator, Nicolette Hoekmeijer.'
More news
‘Falling is Like Flying’ and ‘Movies Showing Nowhere’ mentioned as Books of the Year
This week, The Times listed ‘Movies Showing Nowhere’ by Yorick Goldewijk (translated by Laura Watkinson) as one of The Best Children’s Book of 2024. On top of that, Falling is Like Flying, by Manon Uphoff (translated by Sam Garrett) has been listed in the Books of the Year selection by the Times Literary Supplement. Both titles were featured in our Dutch Fiction and Dutch Children’s Books brochures and promoted at international book fairs.
Shortlist Vondel Translation Prize 2025
The British Society of Authors announced today the shortlist of the Vondel Translation Prize 2025. ‘The shortlisted translators have tackled these idiosyncratic works and challenging themes with exceptional skill, unflinching integrity, and above all, flair’, according to the jury.
Olga Tokarczuk and Karol Lesman receive European Literature Prize 2024
On Saturday November 2, writer Olga Tokarczuk and translator Karol Lesman received the European Literature Prize 2024 for 'The Empusium' (De Geus Publishers). Romkje de Bildt, Managing Director of the Dutch Foundation for Literature, handed over the award at The Kunstmuseum in the Hague, during Crossing Border Festival.
Laura Pignatti receives Dutch Foundation for Literature’s Translation Prize 2024
The 2024 Dutch Foundation for Literature’s Translation Prize goes to Laura Pignatti, the Italian translator of authors including Anjet Daanje, Edward van de Vendel and Hella Haasse. Laura Pignatti’s role as translator and trailblazer for Dutch literature is impossible to overstate. She moves effortlessly between contemporary Dutch novels and children’s books, but is also able to recreate classic works with skill and style. The Dutch Foundation for Literature’s Translation Prize is awarded to literary translators who have distinguished themselves both by the high quality of their oeuvre and by their efforts as ambassadors for literary translation in general. The winner receives the sum of €15,000. The prize will be presented at SPUI25 in Amsterdam on Monday 9 December.