LITRO LIVE! WORLD SERIES PRESENTS
DOUBLE DUTCH
FREE FESTIVAL
WORDS
28/02/12
GET YOU
FUR THER
Mart Smeets
Ramsy Nasr
David Winner
Simon Kuper
Chika Unigwe
THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS
Official Sponsor
ROCOCCO CHOCOLATES
Paul Binding
Abdelkader Benali
Sanneke Van Hassel
Keep up with words and more from Litro Magazine.
Go to www.litro.co.uk and subscribe to the magazine
Music: Dust, Mad Dog & more...litro.co.uk
litro.co.uk | 0203 371 9971
“ONE’S
DESTINATION IS
NEVER A PLACE,
BUT A NEW
WAY OF SEEING
THINGS.”
– HENRY MILLER
Litro is a free monthly literary magazine that publishes new,
original short fiction, poetry, illustrations and art that excites
and offers a creative alternative to disposable papers.
Previous contributors include, Kate Williams, Benjamin
Zephaniah, India Knight, Michel Houellebecq, Yiyun Li
and more.
Litro Magazine is proud to partner with the Dutch embassy
London, to host a free spoken word and music festival in
celebration of the Netherlands and the impact it has had
on the world through literature, sports and the arts. The main
stage will be in Hyde Park at the Serpentine Bar and Kitchen
from 10:00 – 18:00, and evening events will take place at the
Kensington Gore Hotel.
With London playing host to what is the greatest sporting
show on earth, our theme on the day will be Sports, the Arts
and everything else in between. There will be readings,
discussions, interviews and live music from the soulful ‘Dust’,
and we will welcome back ‘Mad Dog’ who rocked our
Camden Crawl stage back in 2010 following on from their
2011 tour in the evening. Guest speakers include Mart Smeets,
David Winner (journalist and author of Brilliant Orange),
Simon Kuper of the Financial Times, award-winning writer
& poet laurete Ramsey Nasr, Abdelkader Benali (marathon
enthusiast and writer of the novel Marathon Runner), and
award-winning Flemish writer Chika Unigwe, winner of the
2004 BBC Short Story Competition and a Commonwealth
Short Story Competition award. Many more award-winning
writers are to be announced.
Copies are distributed monthly around London and the
UK, including in, libraries, galleries, bars and cafes, as well
as online.
And all for free!
Why not support us in bringing fresh new writing to
Londoners and beyond by subscribing to Litro.
Eric Akoto
Visit www.litro.co.uk for more information
Eric Akoto
litro.co.uk | 0203 371 9971
ABDELKADER BENALI
CAROLINE HAVERS
Abdelkader Benali wrote his first novel Bruiloft aan Zee
Since 1990 Caroline has moved all over the world with her husband
(Wedding by the Sea) aged 21. The novel won the Geertjan
and children. Manila, Washington D.C., Prague and Brussels were
Lubberhuizen Prize for Best First Novel. Other novels include De
considered home for many years.
Langverwachte (The Long-awaited) published in 2002 and he won
In the studio of Kathryn Freeman (Chevy Chase) she was taught all
the LIBRIS LITERATURE PRIZE and Laat Het Morgen Mooi Weer Zoig
about the ‘old-school’ technical aspects of painting. Caroline has
(May the Sun Shine Tomorrow). Abdelkader is also an avid long-
since then worked as a full time artist.
distance runner and has written a book about his failed attempt to
improve his best result, Marathonloper (Marathon Runner) .
BEN MOOR
PAUL BINDING
Ben Moor is an actor and writer. He has starred in several films
including Dead Man Running. His television credits include The
Paul Binding is a novelist, critic regular contributor to the Times
I.T Crowd and Knowing Me, Knowing You…with Alan Partridge.
Literary Supplement, poet and cultural historian. He studied English
He’s also created three series of sci-fi comedy titled Undone for
Literature at Oxford University. He has written over ten books. Four -
BBC Radio, and his journalism has appeared in newspapers and
The Still Moment: Eudora Welty, Portrait of a Writer, Lorca, St Martin’s
magazines such as The Guardian, The Observer and The Idler, of
Ride and My Cousin the Writer - are to be reissued in Faber Finds.
course.
SANNEKE VAN HASSEL
DAVID WINNER
Sanneke van Hassel studied theatre arts and cultural history. Her
David Winner is the author of Brilliant Orange: the Neurotic Genius
debut collection of short stories IJsregen (Ice Rain), published in
of Dutch football and Those Feet: a Sensual History of English
2005, was nominated for several literary awards. In 2006 she wrote
football, which, among other things, he states proves that the
about every day life in Sarajevo after a three week stay: Pieces
global game was created as a direct consequence of Victorian
of Sarajevo. In 2007 she published her second collection of short
masturbation anxiety.
stories titled Witte Veder (White Feater). For this book she won the
BNG Literary Award.
LITRO | 04
05 | LITRO
MART SMEETS
Mart Smeets is a celebrated Dutch sports presenter and
commentator with the Dutch public broadcaster NOS. He is most
famous for his reporting of the Tour de France, but also comments
MAD DOG
on speedskating. Smeets was a former player for the Dutch national
Mad Dog are a three-piece rock band from Southeast London,
basketball team.
fronted by Tommy Smith. They are the first band to sign to legendary
Yamaha’s new North American label. The bands roots are in classic
rock, but they have a hard hitting current style; and have recorded
the whole of their latest album on analogue tape, which is almost
unheard of in this age of drum machines, auto-tune and tablet
JORIS LUYENDIJK
touch screen recording.
Since 2006, Joris Luyendijk has been living in Amsterdam. In the
summer of 2006 and 2007 he carried out interviews for the talk show
Zomergasten (Summer Guests) on VPRO. As of January 2010, he
DUST
will be holding the Leonardo Chair at the University of Tilburg, and
Up and coming singer signed to Rocket Management, originally
teach the masterclass: Journalism for the 21st Century!
from Hartlepool, now lives in London. Her velvet tones come from
growing up listening to jazz singers. She has been described as
“a modern day Jessica Rabbit” and “sounds like honey.” She will
not be doing many performances until late 2012, so this is a rare
chance to see her at one of her earliest gigs.
RAMSEY NASR
Ramsey Nasr was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In addition
to being a prize-winning author of poetry, essays, dramas, he is
KIM WASSEN
a gifted film and theatre actor. In 2009, Ramsey Nasr was voted
Singer and model Kim, studied jazz at the Conservatory in
Poet Laureate of the Netherlands. In 2000, he was the winner of the
Amsterdam and despite her studies she hasn’t lost her passion for
Hugues C. Pernath Prize. In 2006 Nasr was awarded the honorary
singing. She has a residency at London’s Supperclub.
prize ‘Journalist for Peace’ by the Humanistisch Vredesberaad
(Humanistic Peace Council).
JARETH
UK soul sensation has already recorded with Sway, Ty and Professor
Green, 23-year-old Jareth released her debut single last summer.
CHIKA UNIGWE
She launched the single with a clever campaign by releasing a
set of viral videos of her singing out and about in London, and her
Chika Unigwe is a Nigerian born author and she writes in English and
soulful voice is also soon to be paired with Lioness on a new track
Dutch. Her debut novel, De Feniks was published in 2005 by
they’re working on together.
Meulenhoff and Manteau (of Amsterdam and Antwerp) and was
This will be a great opportunity to catch Jareth in a unique intimate
shortlisted for the Vrouw en Kultuur female writer. She is also the
surrounding.
author of two children’s books published by Macmillan London.
07 | LITRO
litro.co.uk | 0203 371 9971
Litro Live! World Series, Presents Double Dutch 28th February 2012
FESTIVAL SITE: HYDE PARK SERPENTINE BAR & KITCHEN
10:00 – 18:00
10:00 – 10:30 DOORS OPEN
A welcome message from Litro
10:30 – 11:00 CAROLINE HAVERS
11:00 – 12:00 IDLER ACADEMY
The Academy’s head of games, actor and writer Ben Moor, will be
organising games of Frisbee Tree Golf, in the park.
(Outside the festival site)
14:00 – 15:00 ROCOCO CHOCOLATES
Swap your ink pen for a chocolate-dipped paintbrush and create
your own edible work of art- across the street at Rococo.
The contemporary Dutch artist talks about her series paintings titled
(Registration is essential, on the day, at the front desk of the main
A walk in the park inspired by the surrounding Serpentine lake and
festival site.)
Hyde Park
5 Motcomb St London, SW1X 8JU
11:00 – 11:40 JORIS LUYENDIJK
The writer and journalist, talks about the changing face of
communication in the digital age
EVENING: KENSINGTON GORE HOTEL
12:00 – 12:40 SIMON KUPER
19:00 – 19:40 CHIKA UNIGWE
Author and sports columnist for the Financial Times, talks on Dutch
Readings from the writer and children’s author, followed by Q&A
Football and the transformation of the Netherlands
13:00 – 13:40 KIM WASSENS
Music from Dutch Jazz singer
14:00 – 14:40 SANNEKE VAN HASSEL
Readings and discussion from emerging Dutch short story writer
15:00 – 15:40 RAMSEY NASR
Poetry from Dutch-Palestinian Poet Laureate, writer and actor: followed
by a conversation with Paul Binding from the Times Literary Supplement
16:00 – 16:40 ABDELKADER BENALI &
DAVID WINNER
Leading Netherlands’ writer in conversation with British author about
marathon running, the myth of the ‘runner’s high’ and more…
17:00 – 17:40 MART SMEETS
Celebrated Dutch broadcaster and former national basketball
19:40 – 20:20 LITRO LIVE! WORLD SERIES DEBATE
Topic (themed on SPORTS AND LITERATURE) will be decided by fans of Litro
Panel: Lead by Litro Editor in Chief, Eric Akoto
Panelist: Simon Kuper, Mart Smeets, David Winner,
Abdelkader Benali and Joris Luyendijk
Each panellist will have 5 minutes to argue their point on a given
topic which will be opened to the floor for the audience to decide
who’s right and who’s wrong.
20:20 – 21:00 DJ
21:00 – 21:40 LIVE MUSIC FROM DUST
22:00 – 22:40 LIVE MUSIC FROM JARETH
22:50 – 23:30 LIVE MUSIC FROM MAD DOG
Close guest DJ
player and voice of the Tour de France in conversation with Litro
Magazine’s Editor in Chief Eric Akoto
LITRO | 08
09 | LITRO
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A series of events at the London School of Economics and Political
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between global cultures, and the art of communication and language
with award-winning authors and academics.
Justin Cartwright
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Michael Rosen
© Micjael Trevillion
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Claire Tomalin
Jonathan Powell
John Lanchester
Full details and ticket information online
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CREDITS
PRODUCER & CURATOR ERIC AKOTO
STAFF
THE IDLER’S ACADEMY, BOOKSTORE
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR SOPHIE LEWIS
TOM HODGKINSON,
WEB DESIGN & EDITOR HANNAH SWINDON
VICTORIA HULL, JESSIE HUTH,
LEAD CREATIVE DESIGNER LUKE BRIGHT
BEN MOOR
MARKETING JULIETTE C. GOLDING
TEAM ROBIN STEVENS
THANKS TO VICTOR SCHIFERLI,
EDITOR IN CHIEF ERIC AKOTO
SASKIA LIÉNARD, FRANCIEN
FESTIVAL TECHNICIAN LEIGH DAVIES
SCHUURSMA, CHANTAL COADY,
JAIME BRADLEY