(Belgium, 1958) writes novels, poetry, scenarios, columns and plays. The twelve-hour stage marathon Ten Oorlog (1997), his adaptation in verse of eight plays by Shakespeare, won him international acclaim. He lives and works in Cape Town and Antwerp, where he was the city's poet from 2003-2005. In 1985 he made his debut with Een slagerszoon met een brilletje, which was his instant breakthrough in a Sonja Barend tv show. In 2009 Sprakeloos appeared, about the death of his mother, who lost her capacity to speak owing to a stroke. With his theatre adaptation of this book he performed in Carre in 2012 during the National Book Week. In that year he wrote the national book week present: Heldere Hemel. His latest novel Gelukkige slaven is again typically Lanoye: an ink black tragicomedy with unforgettable characters and dialogues, an ingenious plot and a virtuoso style. At the festival in 2014 Tom Lanoye is recipient of the Constantijn Huygens Prize for his entire oeuvre.