The Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren (''Dutch Literature Prize'') is awarded every three years to an author from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

or, since 2005,

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

writing in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. It is considered the most prestigious literary award in the Dutch-speaking world, and the award is presented alternately by the reigning Dutch and Belgian monarchs. The €40,000 prize is administered by the

Taalunie The Dutch Language Union (Dutch: , NTU) is an international regulatory institution that governs issues regarding the Dutch language. It is best known for its spelling reforms which are promulgated by member states, grammar books, the Green Boo ...

. The jury comprises three Dutch members, three

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

members and one from

. The chair alternates between a Flemish and Dutch jury member. Until 2001 the prize was awarded alternately to a Flemish and a Dutch author. Subsequently, the four winners have all been Dutch; but the winner for 2012,

Leonard Nolens Leon Helena Sylvain Nolens (born 11 April 1947 in Bree), pseudonym Leonard Nolens, is a Belgian poet and diary writer. He graduated from the ''Hoger Instituut voor Vertalers en Tolken'' in Antwerp. Nolens lives and works in Antwerp. Themes in hi ...

, is Flemish.

List of winners

* 1956:

Herman Teirlinck Herman Louis Cesar Teirlinck (Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, 24 February 1879 – Beersel-Lot, 4 February 1967) was a Belgian writer. He was the fifth child and only son of Isidoor Teirlinck and Oda van Nieuwenhove, who were both teachers in Brussels. As a ...

* 1959:

Adriaan Roland Holst Adriaan Roland Holst (Amsterdam, 23 May 1888 – Bergen, North Holland, 5 August 1976) was a Dutch writer, nicknamed the "Prince of Dutch Poets". He was the second winner, in 1948, of the Constantijn Huygens Prize. He was nominated for t ...

* 1962:

Stijn Streuvels Stijn Streuvels (3 October 1871, Heule, Kortrijk - 15 August 1969, Ingooigem, Anzegem), born Franciscus (Frank) Petrus Maria Lateur, was a Flemish Belgian writer. Biography He started writing at a very young age. He was inspired by his uncle, th ...

* 1965:

J.C. Bloem Jakobus Cornelis (Jacques) Bloem (10 May 1887, Oudshoorn – 10 August 1966, Kalenberg) was a Dutch poet and essayist. Between 1921 and 1958 he published fourteen volumes of poetry. In 1949 he won the Constantijn Huygensprijs, one of the countr ...

* 1968:

Gerard Walschap Jacob Lodewijk Gerard, Baron Walschap (Londerzeel-St. Jozef, 9 July 1898 – Antwerp, 25 October 1989), was a Belgian writer. Early life He went to ''highschool'' at the ''Klein seminarie'' in Hoogstraten, and later in Asse. His Flemish awarenes ...

* 1971:

Simon Vestdijk Simon Vestdijk (; 17 October 1898 – 23 March 1971) was a Dutch writer. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature fifteen times. Life Born in the small Frisian town of Harlingen, Vestdijk studied medicine in Amsterdam, but turned t ...

* 1974:

Marnix Gijsen Marnix Gijsen (20 October 1899 – 29 September 1984) was a Belgian writer. His real name was Joannes Alphonsius Albertus Goris; his pseudonym relates to Marnix van Sint Aldegonde and the surname of his mother (Gijsen). Early years Gijsen w ...

* 1977:

Willem Frederik Hermans Willem Frederik Hermans (1 September 1921 – 27 April 1995) was a Dutch author of poetry, novels, short stories, plays, as well as book-length studies, essays, and literary criticism. His most famous works are ''The House of Refuge'' (novella, ...

* 1980:

Maurice Gilliams Maurice, Baron Gilliams ( Antwerp, 20 July 1900- Antwerp, 18 October 1982) was a Flemish writer and poet. Life and work Gilliams was the son of printer Frans Gilliams, and he learned to be a typographer. On 27 August 1935, he married Gabriëlle B ...

* 1983:

Lucebert Lucebert (; Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk; 15 September 1924 – 10 May 1994) was a Dutch artist who first became known as the poet of the COBRA movement. He was born in Amsterdam in 1924. He entered the Institute for Arts and Crafts in 193 ...

* 1986:

Hugo Claus Hugo Maurice Julien Claus (; 5 April 1929 – 19 March 2008) was a leading Belgian author who published under his own name as well as various pseudonyms. Claus' literary contributions spanned the genres of drama, the novel, and poetry; he also l ...

* 1989:

Gerrit Kouwenaar Gerrit Kouwenaar (9 August 1923 – 4 September 2014) was a Dutch journalist, translator, poet and prose writer. Biography Kouwenaar was born in Amsterdam, North Holland. In the early 1940s, during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, he w ...

* 1992: Christine D'Haen * 1995:

Harry Mulisch Harry Kurt Victor Mulisch ( ; 29 July 1927 – 30 October 2010) was a Dutch writer. He wrote more than 80 novels, plays, essays, poems, and philosophical reflections. Mulisch's works have been translated into over thirty languages. Along with Wi ...

* 1998: Paul De Wispelaere * 2001:

Gerard Reve Gerard Kornelis van het Reve (14 December 1923 – 8 April 2006) was a Dutch writer. He started writing as Simon Gerard van het Reve and adopted the shorter Gerard Reve in 1973. Together with Willem Frederik Hermans and Harry Mulisch, he is ...

(King

Albert II of Belgium , house = Belgium , father = Leopold III of Belgium , mother = Astrid of Sweden , birth_date = , birth_place = Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium , death_date = , death_place = , signature = Albert II of Belgium Signat ...

refused to present the prize to Reve because his partner was suspected of pedophilia) * 2004: Hella S. Haasse * 2007:

Jeroen Brouwers Jeroen Godfried Marie Brouwers (30 April 1940 – 11 May 2022) was a Dutch writer. From 1964 to 1976 Brouwers worked as an editor at Manteau publishers in Brussels. In 1964 he made his literary debut with ''Het mes op de keel'' (''The Knife ...

(declined) * 2009:

Cees Nooteboom Cees Nooteboom (; born 31 July 1933) is a Dutch novelist, poet and journalist. After the attention received by his novel ''Rituelen'' (''Rituals'', 1980), which received the Pegasus Prize, it was the first of his novels to be translated into an ...

* 2012:

* 2015:

Remco Campert Remco Campert (28 July 1929 – 4 July 2022) was a Dutch author, poet and columnist. Early years Remco Wouter Campert was born in The Hague, son of writer and poet Jan Campert, author of the poem ''De achttien dooden'', and actress Joekie Bro ...

* 2018:

Judith Herzberg Judith Frieda Lina Herzberg (born 4 November 1934) is a Dutch poet and writer. Life and work Judith Herzberg is the daughter of lawyer and writer Abel Herzberg. During World War II Herzberg went into hiding on various locations. Since 1983 He ...

* 2021:

Astrid Roemer Astrid Heligonda Roemer (; born 27 April 1947) is a Surinamese-Dutch writer and teacher. The Dutch-language author has published novels, drama and poetry, and in December 2015 was announced as the winner of the P. C. Hooft Award, considered th ...

Notes

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External links

Homepage of the Taalunie
Dutch literary awards Belgian literary awards Awards established in 1956 1956 establishments in the Netherlands 1956 establishments in Belgium