The Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival can be found on many stages in The Hague from 23 to 26 January 2025. In Bibliotheek Nieuw Waldeck, writer Christine Otten will talk about and read from her new book Als ik je eenmaal mijn verhaal verteld heb (Once I've told you my story), with musical contributions from master ud player Mehmet Polat.

Als ik je eenmaal mijn verhaal verteld heb is a novel about big themes: can one escape the own background and the community one belongs to? What makes a good person? And when is one truly free?

After 12 years of detention, Anir is trying to build a new life 'outside'. At the probation office, he meets Emma. She finds in Anir the experienced person she needs for her dissertation. Anir hopes the conversations will be liberating. What begins as an equal 'deal' between two like-minded people soon becomes an intimate and sultry friendship, in which the scientific context seems to fade into the background.

Christine Otten is a writer, performer and theatre-maker. In 2004, she made her breakthrough with De laatste dichters (The Last Poets), which was nominated for the Libris Literature Prize. This novel, about the lives of four black Americans who created a furore under the name 'The Last Poets', was adapted for theatre. We hadden liefde, we hadden wapens (We Had Love, We Had Guns, 2016) is a whirlwind novel about the life of black civil rights fighter Robert F. Williams in America, and about standing up for the right to be who you are, regardless of the consequences. Een van ons (One of Us, 2020), her novel about lifelong criminal Luc was performed as a theatre monologue. The Blocknotes Foundation, co-founded by Otten in 2020, uses creative writing for empowerment and talent development of people in prison.

Mehmet Polat is a master ud player, composer, soloist and ensemble leader of his Mehmet Polat Quartet. He performs internationally from Africa to India, Persia to the Balkans with contemporary to jazz, combining different musical genres. In his improvisations, compositions and with his own take on different musical styles, Mehmet constantly seeks new musical paths and inspiration. He invented a new left-hand technique so that he can play more sophisticated and modern pieces on the ud. He also designed a ud with two extra bass strings to increase the range and function of his instrument.

Festival tip 1: for the full festival experience, go to the grand festival events Friday Night Unlimited (24 January) and Saturday Night Unlimited (25 January)! Both nights you choose your own route along some 20 performances, readings and conversations on five stages in Theater aan het Spui and Filmhuis Den Haag. English and Dutch spoken.

Festivaltip 3: as Writers Unlimited presents literature festivals for 30 years, we celebrate this anniversary with Playing with Fire, a show full of music, dance and literature at Amare (Danstheater) on Sunday afternoon, 26 January. You will see and hear Spinvis, Shirma Rouse, XILLAN, Babs Gons, Joost Oomen, Zaire Krieger, Claudia Karapanou Flamenco Trio, Royal Conservatoire Dance and percussion group Pulse led by Eli Wing, among others. Book now! Tickets are 11 euros (under 29s or students), or 16 - 35 euros (depending on seat chosen).

From 23 to 26 January 2025, Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague is to be found in theatres, libraries and schools throughout the city: from Theater aan het Spui, Filmhuis Den Haag, Amare and Paard to Theater Dakota, Theater De Vaillant, the Laakkwartier, Nieuw Waldeck, Schilderswijk and Ypenburg libraries, the Institute of Social Studies and De Haagse Hogeschool. With over 120 writers, poets and spoken-word artists and musicians from the Netherlands and abroad. With readings, prose, poetry, storytelling, spoken word, author interviews, topical talks, films and music.