Jan Brokken

(Leyden, 1949) is one of the most prominent figures in Dutch literary non-fiction. He has also gained international recognition with works such as Baltische zielen (Baltic Souls) en De rechtvaardigen (The Righteous). His writings have been translated into 23 languages, among which English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, Chinese and Russian. His two most recent books are set in former Dutch East Indies, where both of his parents lived and were held captive in Japanese internment camps during the war: De tuinen van Buitenzorg (The Gardens of Buitenzorg, 2021) and De Kampschilders (The Camp Painters, 2022). In September 2023, Brokken was honored with the Golden Quill Award for his entire body of work. Brokken studied journalism in Utrecht and political science in Bordeaux. After a career in journalism (including roles at Trouw and HP/De Tijd), Brokken decided to dedicate himself fully to his writing in 1986. His debut, the adapted novel De provincie (The province, 1984), had already been published by that time. He has since produced over thirty-five titles - a mix of fiction and non-fiction - in which he unveils the histories of countries he has visited, from Africa and the Caribbean to Indonesia.