Mensje van Keulen

(The Hague, NL, 1946) is the pseudonym of Mensje Francina van der Steen. At the festival she will receive the 2014 Constatijn Huygens Prize for her entire body of work, which, according to the jury, is testament to an extraordinary technical mastery: "All her stories are composed with precision and subtlety; they appear to be ordinary and commonplace, but the typical Mensje van Keulen touch invariably adds surprising heft or an unexpected twist." Van Kelen debuted in 1972 with the acclaimed novel Bleekers zomer (Bleeker's Summer), about a man who leaves his job and family and goes to Amsterdam. At first he experiences the environment of touts and pimps as liberation, but eventually he returns home. In 1992 she wrote a book about her friend Maarten 't Hart and his penchant for cross-dressing, Geheime dame (Secret Lady). In 1997 her autobiographical novel Olifanten op het web (Elephants on the Web) was published, in which she tells of her childhood, her life, and authorship. On several occasions, Van Keulen ran as candidate for the Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals).