Enne Koens

The Dutch children’s book author Enne Koens was born in Amsterdam in 1974. She studied acting and writing for performance at the University of the Arts in Utrecht and later writing for film and television at the Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound in Brussels and began publishing short stories in »Hollands Maandblad« in 2006.

In 2007 she made her début with a novel for adults, »Tot alles gezegd is« (tr: Until Everything is Said), about a couple’s dying love affair and the consequences for their child: After Liesbeth places restrictions on when Michel can see their daughter Josja, Michel summarily kidnaps the child to southern Spain, until he is finally apprehended near Gibraltar. Koens describes the custody problem after a divorce with nuance and sensitivity. Koens’ young adult novel »Vogel« (2011; tr: Bird), for which she was awarded the Young Jury Début Prize, is also about a child of divorce. Berre is six when her parents separate. From now on, she lives with her mother and has to witness how her mother increasingly loses sight of herself and constantly falls in love with the wrong men. After graduating from high school, she moves to Leiden to study philosophy, renames herself Elke, and wants to put all her bad memories behind her. But her acquaintance with the carefree Lassie and her questions about her heritage finally lead her to the realization that she cannot simply shake off her past. After publishing her children’s book »Sammie en Opa« (2013; tr: Sammie and Grandpa) for children aged seven and over, in 2015 Koens published »Hotel Bonbien« (2017) for children aged nine and up. The protagonist is Siri, whose parents run a hotel. Due to financial difficulties, however, her parents start to argue more and more, until one day Siri falls from a tree and the events take an unexpected turn. For her young adult book »Ik ben Vincent en ik ben niet bang« (2017; tr: I’m Vincent and I’m Not Scared), Koens received the Charlotte Köhler scholarship as the best new author of children’s and youth books. The book deals with topics such as childhood, being different, friendship, and overcoming fear: eleven-year-old Vincent, who loves adventure in nature above all, is bullied by his classmates and therefore dreads the upcoming school trip. But rescue is promised by a new classmate, Jacqueline, who not only has a way with words and is just cool, but also seems to like Vincent.

Koens also writes theater and song lyrics for adults and children, including for the theater group Maas, de Toneelmakerij and Artemis. In 2004 she won the Hollandse Nieuwe Toneelschrijfprijs for the play »Skills«. The author lives in Utrecht.

Tot alles gezegd is

Podium

Amsterdam, 2007

Vogel

Pimento

Amsterdam, 2011

Sammie en Opa

Moon

Amsterdam, 2013

Der Tag, an dem ich vom Baum fiel und unser Hotel rettete

[Ill. Julia Dürr]

Gerstenberg

Hildesheim, 2017

[Ü: Andrea Kluitmann]

Ich bin Vincent und ich habe keine Angst

[Ill: Maartje Kujper

Gerstenberg

Hildesheim, 2019

[Ü: Andrea Kluitmann]

Die zomer met Jente

[Ill: Maartje Kujper]

Luijtingh-Sijthoff

Amsterdam, 2019

www.ennekoens.nl