Ticket sales for all ILFU 2024 programmes launched

New names confirmed: including David Nicholls, Tommy Orange, Maggie Stiefvater, Teun van de Keuken and Carolina Trujillo.

ILFU International Literature Festival Utrecht will take place this year from 21 September to 5 October. Some 200 writers and over 20,000 visitors visit ILFU every year. Earlier, ticket sales started for major festival events such as the Night of Poetry, Exploring Stories, the Belle van Zuylen lecture and YALFU. From today, tickets are on sale for the NK Poetry Slam, the festival night I write about me, the Book Clubs with Brenda Navarro and Alana S. Portera and the theme night Poetry and Jazz in collaboration with De Utrechtse Boekenbar. We can also announce that British author and screenwriter David Nicholls, known for One Day and Cold Feet, will visit ILFU to talk about his new book You're Here.

Book Talk David Nicholls

On 1 October, British writer, screenwriter and actor David Nicholls will be interviewed by podcast creator and Nicholls admirer Tim de Gier. Nicholls wrote the scripts for successful TV series such as Cold Feet and broke through internationally with his novel The First Day, which was recently remade successfully by Netflix as One Day. He also proved himself a master storyteller in his well-known books Us and Sweet Sorrow. During ILFU, he will talk to De Gier about his new book You are Here, in which two thirty-somethings meet during a walking tour of England. The conversation will be about writing novels and screenplays, about loneliness and then going for a walk for God's sake and about the landscape Nicholls loves.

Exploring Stories: Nature's Narrative

The successful Exploring Stories is at the heart of ILFU and this year, for the first time, it will last a whole weekend. On Saturday 28 September, ILFU hosts more than 25 international writers in four venues for conversations on major themes of our time, including Nicolas Lunabba (Sweden), Brenda Navarro (Mexico), Layal Liverpool (Great Britain), Constance Debré (France), Tommy Orange (USA), Vamba Sherif (Netherlands), Radna Fabias (Netherlands), Teun van de Keuken (Netherlands) and Carolina Trujillo (Netherlands). The festival Sunday is entirely dedicated to the theme 'Nature's Narrative', in which we consider the big question to what extent man's voice can speak for other entities. Including Tijs Goldschmidt (Netherlands), Elizabeth O'Connor (Great Britain) and Charlotte Van den Broeck (Belgium).

During this weekend, the Belle van Zuylenring will also be awarded, the international honorary prize for a writer with a body of work of great social relevance. This year, it goes to Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexijevich (Belarus). On Saturday 28 September, Alexijevich will receive the ring and also deliver the accompanying Belle van Zuylen lecture. This lecture is open to the public.

Poetry Night line-up complete

As every year, the Night of Poetry marks the festive conclusion of the festival. In the octagonal Great Hall of TivoliVredenburg, Ester Naomi Perquin and Piet Piryns again present some 20 poets and a handful of 'entr'actes'. This year's Night Poets are Anna Enquist, Astrid Haerens, Daan Doesborgh, Simone Atangana Bekono, Rozalie Hirs, Mahat Arab, Ramsey Nasr, Ted van Lieshout, Peter Verhelst, Lies Van Gasse, Yentl van Stokkum, Bibi Dumon Tak, Kees 't Hart, Tomas Lieske, Roan Kasanmonadi, Maarten Inghels, Bernard Wesseling, Lena Plantinga and Benzokarim.

Book Talks, Book Market, NK Poetry Slam and more

There is much more. ILFU starts as every year with the NK Poetry Slam, in which our country's best slam poets will compete with each other for the title of Slampion 2024. The day after, lovers of antiquarian books can indulge themselves at De Utrechtse Boekenmarkt. American writer Rachel Kushner will visit ILFU for a Book Talk. On the evening I write about me, about memoirs and autofiction, Finnish Pirkko Saiso, Nicolien Mizee and Marja Pruis are guests. There are programmes on literary translation, Book Clubs to talk to an author in an intimate setting, film programmes, workshops and the Children's Night of Poetry. Finally, this year everyone can take part in the Ikjes marathon: submit an Ikje (an anecdote in up to 120 words, known from the popular column in NRC Handelsblad), be published online and have a chance of being published in the newspaper or in the special Ikjes tear-off calendar.

This year's ILFU takes place at venues including TivoliVredenburg, Bibliotheek Neude and various locations in Utrecht. All information and tickets can be found at ilfu.com

ILFU 2024 festival programme

21 September - 5 October

Sun 21 + Sun 22 + Fri 27 - 09
10:00 a.m. deBuren X De Reactor X ILFU - Welbeschouwd: literary criticism workshops - ILFU

Za 21 - 09
20:00 NK Poetry Slam - TivoliVredenburg

Sun 22 - 09
09:30 Utrecht Book Market - Vredenburgplein
12:00 Ikjesmarathon programme - Vredenburgplein

Mon 23 - 09
20:00 ILFU Book Talk: Rachel Kushner - Neude Library

Di 24 -09
19.00 (ov) Films & Talk: Natalia Ginzburg - Slaughter Street Film Theatre

Wed 25 - 09
20:00 I write about me - Neude Library

Do 26 - 09
19.00 (ov) Films & Talk: Marcel Proust - Slachtstraat Filmtheater

Fri 27 -09
NNB hour Poetry & Jazz (in cooperation with De Utrechtse Boekenbar) - Vogelfrei

Za 28 - 09
13:00 Exploring Stories - TivoliVredenburg

19:30 Belle van Zuylen lecture: Svetlana Alexijevich - TivoliVredenburg

Sun 29 - 09
13:00 Exploring Stories (Nature's Narrative) - TivoliVredenburg

13:00 YALFU Young Adult@ILFU - TivoliVredenburg

19:00 ILFU Book Club: Alana S. Portero - De Utrechtse Boekenbar

Mon 30 -09
7pm Films & Talk: Fatima Mernissi - Slaughter Street Film Theatre

19:00 ILFU Book Club: Brenda Navarro - De Utrechtse Boekenbar, ism Das Mag

Di 01 - 10
15:15 Awater Translated - ILFU

20:00
ILFU Book Talk: David Nicholls - TivoliVredenburg

20:00
Presentation of Filter Translation Prizes 2024 - Utrecht Library

Wed 02 - 10
7pm (ov) Films & Talk: Clarice Lispector - Slaughter Street Film Theatre

Fri 04 - 10
19:30 Children's Night of Poetry - Utrecht Library

Za 05 - 10
20:00 41st Night of Poetry - TivoliVredenburg

All information, update and tickets can be found at ilfu.com