Opening Writers Unlimited Festival 2025

• Date: 23 January
• label.tijd 19:30 - 21:00
• Location: Theater aan het Spui - Zaal 1

Andrej Koerkov (Ukraine), Viv Groskop (UK), Nelleke Noordervliet, Rešoketšwe Manenzhe (South-Africa), Onjuli Datta (UK/Germany). Presentation: Andrew Makkinga, music: Mamar. 

-- English spoken --

The theme of the 30th edition of the Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague is On Fire. On the one hand, fire symbolises destructive forces such as war and global warming, but on the other hand it also symbolises love and freedom. Jan van Zanen, mayor of The Hague, will perform the opening.

The opening night will focus on freedom of speech, with a keynote speech by Ukraine's most important writer Andrei Kurkov, whose two new books have just been published in Dutch translation: the poignant war diary Our Daily War and the historical thriller The Silver Bone.

Other speakers include author Nelleke Noordervliet, who will read a column, and British author and stand-up comedian Viv Groskop, who will represent PEN International, the writers' organisation that advocates freedom of speech.

This programme is also a preview and kick-off of the thirtieth edition of the festival, with readings, music and discussions. NPO Radio 1 Kunststof presenter Andrew Makkinga will talk to writers who will also be performing elsewhere in the festival:

South African author Rešoketšwe Manenzhe wrote Scatterlings (published in Dutch as Zwerverlingen), her first novel about a young family that falls apart because of the law that criminalized interracial relationships. The New York Times wrote: "a novel that is at once exquisitely intimate and globally ambitious. Rešoketšwe will also perform at both major festival nights Friday and Saturday Night Unlimited.

Author, stand-up comedian, podcast maker, TV and radio presenter Viv Groskop has written seven books and makes the podcast How to Own the Room, which has been listened to millions of times, about self-confidence, public speaking and dealing with stressful situations.

Onjuli Datta and her wife Mikaella Clements live and work in Berlin and are co-authors of the novels The View was Exhausting and Feast While You Can. They will recite a fragment from their own work in dialogue form.

Mamar, a formation of young musicians from Syria, Turkey, the US, Italy and the Netherlands, will provide musical contributions. The band members are Barış Ofluoğlu (double bass), Sebastiaan West (piano), Rita Brancato (drums), Talaf Fayad (oud) and Leah Uijterlinde (clarinet, singing).

The program includes the screening of the short film Monument for murdered writers and journalists 2024, a project by Theatre of Wrong Decisions, Committee To Protect Journalists (CPJ) and PEN International.

The Flame of Freedom - Opening Writers Unlimited Festival 2025 is curated by Ilonka Reintjens.

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