The new agency for literature
Bee Rights, which is part of De Bezige Bij publishing house, is an agency for translation, film and theatre rights for authors who are not published by De Bezige Bij. It was launched in January, 2019. In the fall of 2019 a speakers bureau was launched under the name Bee Speakers, which focuses on author presentations, readings and other speaking opportunities.
Bee Rights authors
Geert Mak
Geert Mak was born in 1946. He is a journalist and writer. His books include Amsterdam, How God Disappeared from Jorwerd, My Father’s Century, In Europe and The Many Lives of Jan Six. He has won numerous awards, including the Leipziger Buchpreis and the Prins Bernhard Cultural Oeuvre Prize. His new book Great Expectations will be published by Atlas Contact in November 2019. A TV series based on Great Expectations will be broadcasted in the autumn of 2019 on Dutch television, radio and online. In October 2021, Geert Mak will receive the Charlemagne Medal for European Media for his ‘essential contribution to the discussion of Europe’s role in the world’. Geert Mak’s work has been translated in twenty-two languages. An extended biography is included below.
Geert Mak was born in 1946. He is a journalist and writer. His books include Amsterdam, How God Disappeared from Jorwerd, My Father’s Century, In Europe and The Many Lives of Jan Six. He has won numerous awards,...
Wessel te Gussinklo
In 1986, Wessel te Gussinklo (b. 1941) published his debut novel, The Forbidden Garden, which was crowned with the Anton Watcher Prize. His second novel, The Assignment (1995), was awarded the Lucy B. and C.W. van Hoogt Prize, the ECI Prize and the F. Bordewijk Prize, and nominated for the Libris Literature Prize and De Gouden Uil (The Golden Owl). His novel Very Bright Light was shortlisted for the AKO Literature Prize in 2014. Te Gussinklo received the C.C.S. Crone Prize for his complete oeuvre in 2016. The Returned Flower was published in 2017. His novel The Fraud won the Zeeland Province Book Prize and the Bookspot Literature Prize 2019. En route to The Hartz, the fourth novel in the Ewout Meyster Cycle, was awarded the Boekenbon Literature Prize 2021.
In 1986, Wessel te Gussinklo (b. 1941) published his debut novel, The Forbidden Garden, which was crowned with the Anton Watcher Prize. His second novel, The Assignment (1995), was awarded the Lucy B. and C.W. van Hoogt Prize,...
Dimitri Verhulst
Dimitri Verhulst (b. 1972) has written novels, short stories, poems, essays and plays. His novels The Alasness of Things and Problemski were both filmed. He has won just about every award an author can win: among other prizes the Libris Literature Prize and the Golden Owl Reader’s Choice Award. He is adored for his humour, sharp observations and turns of phrase, as well as his perceptive characters sketches. In 2018, cinemas screened Angel, which was based on his 2011 book Monologue by Someone Grown Used to Talking to Himself. Verhulst’s novel The Harvest of the Plums was published by Pluim in June 2019, followed by his undated dairies, Reports from the Void, in 2020. His work has been translated into twenty-nine languages.
Dimitri Verhulst (b. 1972) has written novels, short stories, poems, essays and plays. His novels The Alasness of Things and Problemski were both filmed. He has won just about every award an author can win: among other prizes...
Eva Rovers
Eva Rovers (b. 1978) is a cultural historian with a PhD from the University of Groningen. Her biographies of art collector Helene Kröller-Müller and writer Boudewijn Büch received great critical acclaim. The Kröller-Müller-biography was awarded the prestigious National Biography Award. Together with filmmaker Leo de Boer, she produced a documentary film about Kröller-Müller’s turbulent life. Eva was guest editor for the Oxford Journal of the History of Collections, and editor of the Dutch journal Tijdschrift voor Biografie. Besides biographies Eva Rovers wrote various books on civil resistance and other ways individuals can change the world. Her philosophical essay Ik kom in opstand, dus wij zijn. Nieuw Licht op verzet (I Rebel – Therefor We Are. Casting a Different Light on Resistance) was shortlisted for the Socrates Award. With Practivisme. Een handboek voor heimelijke rebellen (Practivism. A Handbook for Closeted Rebels) she empowered many people who had never considered themselves to be rebels.
Eva Rovers (b. 1978) is a cultural historian with a PhD from the University of Groningen. Her biographies of art collector Helene Kröller-Müller and writer Boudewijn Büch received great critical acclaim. The Kröller-Müller-biography was...
Jaap Scholten
Jaap Scholten (b. 1963) has lived in Hungary since 2003, alternating between Budapest and the countryside, surrounded by wild boars and jackals. Scholten made his debut in 1995 with his novel Eighty, which quickly found its way to the longlist of the AKO Literature Prize, as did Morning Star in 2000. In 2008, Spengler’s Law was chosen as Book of the Year by bookseller chain Selexyz. His book Comrade Baron (2010) won the 2011 Libris History Prize. Scholten’s book Horizon City was published by AFdH Publishers in 2014. In June 2020 his new novel Sugar Bastard was published by Pluim. His work has been translated in multiple languages.
Jaap Scholten (b. 1963) has lived in Hungary since 2003, alternating between Budapest and the countryside, surrounded by wild boars and jackals. Scholten made his debut in 1995 with his novel Eighty, which quickly found its way to the...
Splinter Chabot
Splinter Chabot (b. 1996) is a TV presenter, political junkie and a born optimist. He read political science and theatre studies at the University of Amsterdam. Although the narrator in hs debut CONFETTI RAIN is called Wobie, it is an autobiographical story of Chabot's coming-out and the way that led to it. In a Dutch television programme, Chabot revealed that even though his parents were open-minded, he still struggled with his sexuality and even had suicidal thoughts.
Splinter Chabot (b. 1996) is a TV presenter, political junkie and a born optimist. He read political science and theatre studies at the University of Amsterdam. Although the narrator in hs debut CONFETTI RAIN is called Wobie, it is...
Ish Ait Hamou
Ish Ait Hamou (b. 1987) is born in Belgium. Aside from his career as a professional dancer and choreographer he became a storyteller when he wrote his first novel, Hard Heart, in 2014. In 2015 his bestseller Cécile was published (45,000 copies sold), followed by the novella When You Lose Somebody, which was adapted for the screen in 2018. Hamou is an important voice in the Belgian public debate and participated in the television programme Terug naar Eigen Land (Return to Your Country), in which he travelled with anti-immigration politicians and public figures from Mogadishu to Belgium, capturing the journey of refugees. This impressive and heart-breaking journey lead to writing The Beauty We Share, which became an instant bestseller in Belgium (80,000 copies sold).
Ish Ait Hamou (b. 1987) is born in Belgium. Aside from his career as a professional dancer and choreographer he became a storyteller when he wrote his first novel, Hard Heart, in 2014. In 2015 his bestseller Cécile was published...
Maike Meijer
Maike Meijer (b. 1967) is an actress and screenwriter. Together with Margôt Ros, she wrote and acted in the comedy series Toren C. The series won multiple awards and was an international success.
Get Used to It is her debut as an author and illustrator.
Maike Meijer (b. 1967) is an actress and screenwriter. Together with Margôt Ros, she wrote and acted in the comedy series Toren C. The series won multiple awards and was an international success.
Get Used to It is her debut...
Bee Speakers
Bee Rights also includes Bee Speakers, a speakers bureau that focuses on a specific part of the market regarding author presentations, readings and other speaking events.