Franca Treur (born 1979) is a Dutch writer and a freelance journalist for ''

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands. History ''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on 1 ...

'' and ''

nrc.next ''nrc•next'' () was a Dutch daily newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis. The first edition was released on 14 March 2006. It was stopped in March 2021. ''nrc•next'' was a morning edition tabloid, and its primary target group ar ...

''.

Biography

Youth and education

Treur grew up in a strict

Reformed Christian Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

farming family in her

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

ic birthplace of Meliskerke. After secondary school at the Calvijn College, she went on to study

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

. Later she switched to

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

and

literary science Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

. In

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, she became a member of the Reformed student association Panoplia. According to a newspaper interview, during her studies she discovered the similarities between stories from

Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

ern cultures and those related in the Bible, which convinced her that such stories were merely invented to console human beings. Moreover, she says that she had never felt the

existence of God The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorized ...

, and therefore abandoned her faith, informing the board of Panoplia about it on 11 September 2001.

Literary career

In 2006, Treur won an essay competition, themed 'Macht en onmacht' ('Power and powerlessness') commissioned by ''Contrast Magazine'' and ''nrc.next'', with her piece ''Maak iets van je leven! Maar wat?'' ("Make something out of your life! But what?"). In October 2009, her first book ''Dorsvloer vol confetti'' ("Threshing Floor Laden With Confetti") was published. It is a

psychological novel In literature, psychological fiction (also psychological realism) is a narrative genre that emphasizes interior characterization and motivation to explore the spiritual, emotional, and mental lives of the characters. The mode of narration examin ...

about a girl that grows up in Zeeland in a deeply religious farming family in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although her youth served as a crucial role of inspiration, the novel is not an autobiography. The book sold over 150,000 copies. Because of the topic and her background, her style is often compared to writers such as

Jan Siebelink Jan Geurt Siebelink (born 13 February 1938 in Velp, Gelderland) is a Dutch author. In 2005, he wrote the novel ''Knielen op een bed violen'' (literally ', translated into English as ''In my father's garden'') that sold over 700,000 copies. In 19 ...

and

Maarten 't Hart Maarten 't Hart (born 25 November 1944 in Maassluis) is a Dutch writer. Trained as a biologist in zoology and ethology at the Leiden University, he taught that subject before becoming a full-time writer in the 1980s, having made his debut as a ...

, who, like her, have broken away from the strict Reformed milieu in which they were raised. In 2010, Franca Treur won the

Selexyz De Slegte is an Almere, Netherlands-based store chain that sells and buys new books (often excessive stock), secondhand books and study books. Between 1 July 2013 and 19 March 2014 De Slegte and another chain of bookstores, Selexyz, combined forces ...

Debut Prize. ''Dorsvloer vol confetti'' was nominated several times, including for the

AKO Literatuurprijs The Bookspot Literatuurprijs (previously ECI Literatuurprijs, AKO Literatuurprijs and Generale Bank Literatuurprijs) is a prize for literature in the Netherlands and Belgium. It is awarded to authors writing in Dutch language, Dutch and amounts t ...

(longlist) and the NS Publieksprijs. At the end of 2010, Column Film announced that it had bought the

film rights A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

for ''Dorsvloer vol confetti''. It was shown in cinemas in 2014. In 2014, she participated in the International Writing Program's Fall Residency at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.

Works

Novels

*''Dorsvloer vol confetti'' ("Threshing Floor Laden With Confetti"), 2009 *''De woongroep'' ("The Commune"), 2014 *''Ik zou maar nergens op rekenen'' ("I Wouldn't Count on Anything"), Zeelandic

boekenweekgeschenk In the Netherlands, the Boekenweek (; English: Book Week) is an annual "week" of ten days dedicated to Dutch literature. It has been held in March annually since 1932. Each Boekenweek has a theme. The beginning of the Boekenweek is marked by the ' ...

2015 *''X&Y'' (stories), 2016

Essay bundle

*''Zondig in Zeeland'' ("Sinful in Zeeland"), 2012, together with

Freek de Jonge Frederik "Freek" Jan Georg de Jonge (born 30 August 1944) is a Dutch cabaret performer and writer. Biography Early life and career De Jonge was born in Westernieland as son of a pastor. His family moved to Workum, and later to Zaandam and G ...

Oek de Jong Oebele Klaas Anne (Oek) de Jong (born 4 October 1952 in Breda) is a Dutch novelist. He debuted in 1976 with ''De hemelvaart van Massimo'', a collection of short stories for which he received the Reina Prinsen Geerligsprijs. In 1980 he won the ...

and others.

Film adaption

*''Dorsvloer vol Confetti'' ("Threshing Floor Laden With Confetti"), 2014

References

External links

*
Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treur, Franca 1979 births Living people 21st-century Dutch novelists Dutch journalists Dutch women novelists People from Veere International Writing Program alumni Dutch former Christians Dutch atheists Former Calvinist and Reformed Christians 21st-century Dutch women writers