Franca Treur

Franca Treur (born 1979)[1] is a Dutch writer and a freelance journalist for NRC Handelsblad and nrc.next.

Franca Treur
Born23 June 1979
near Meliskerke, the Netherlands
OccupationAuthor, journalist
NationalityDutch
EducationDutch language, literary science
Alma materLeiden University
GenreLiterary fiction
SubjectReligion
Notable worksDorsvloer vol confetti (2009)
Website
francatreur.nl

Biography

Youth and education

Treur grew up in a strict Reformed Christian farming family in her Zeelandic birthplace of Meliskerke. After secondary school at the Calvijn College,[2] she went on to study psychology at Leiden University. Later she switched to Dutch language and literary science. In Leiden, she became a member of the Reformed student association Panoplia. According to a newspaper interview,[3] during her studies she discovered the similarities between stories from Ancient Near Eastern cultures and those related in the Bible, which convinced her that such stories were merely invented to console human beings. Moreover, she says that she had never felt the existence of God, and therefore abandoned her faith, informing the board of Panoplia about it on 11 September 2001.[4]

Literary career

In 2006, Treur won an essay competition, themed 'Macht en onmacht' ('Power and powerlessness') commissioned by Contrast Magazine and nrc.next, with her piece Maak iets van je leven! Maar wat? ("Make something out of your life! But what?").[5]

In October 2009, her first book Dorsvloer vol confetti ("Threshing Floor Laden With Confetti") was published. It is a psychological novel about a girl that grows up in Zeeland in a deeply religious farming family in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although her youth served as a crucial role of inspiration, the novel is not an autobiography.[3] The book sold over 150,000 copies. Because of the topic and her background, her style is often compared to writers such as Jan Siebelink and Maarten 't Hart, who, like her, have broken away from the strict Reformed milieu in which they were raised.[6]

In 2010, Franca Treur won the Selexyz Debut Prize.[7] Dorsvloer vol confetti was nominated several times,[8] including for the AKO Literatuurprijs (longlist) and the NS Publieksprijs.[9] At the end of 2010, Column Film announced that it had bought the film rights for Dorsvloer vol confetti.[10] It was shown in cinemas in 2014.[11][12]

In 2014, she participated in the International Writing Program's Fall Residency at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.[13]

Works

Novels
  • Dorsvloer vol confetti ("Threshing Floor Laden With Confetti"), 2009
  • De woongroep ("The Commune"), 2014
  • Ik zou maar nergens op rekenen ("I Wouldn't Count on Anything"), Zeelandic boekenweekgeschenk 2015
  • X&Y (stories), 2016

Essay bundle

Film adaption
  • Dorsvloer vol Confetti ("Threshing Floor Laden With Confetti"), 2014

References
  1. Mats Beek (2016). "Franca Treur". Schrijversinfo.nl. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  2. Leo Kosten (10 February 2010). "'Te veel aandacht voor Franca Treur'". Reformatorisch Dagblad. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. Rudy Ligtenberg (4 November 2009). "Altijd een buitenstaander". Reformatorisch Dagblad. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  4. See also what Treur wrote about this period on her website in 'Tirade 450'.
  5. Franca Treur (30 November 2006). "Winnaar essaywedstrijd – Maak iets van je leven! Maar wat?". NRC Handelsblad. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  6. Padu Boerstra; Dries Muus; Saskia Pleijsier (19 December 2009). "'Het is beter zonder geloof, veel beter'". Vrij Nederland. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  7. ANP (6 September 2010). "Franca Treur wint Selexyz Debuutprijs". NU.nl. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  8. "Franca Treur weer genomineerd". Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  9. ANP (5 September 2010). "Nominaties NS Publieksprijs bekend". Het Parool. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  10. "Filmrechten boek Franca Treur verkocht". Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  11. Belinda van de Graaf (12 September 2014). "Fris en jong talent sprankelt in brave boekverfilming". Trouw. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  12. Gerrit-Jan Kleinjan (12 September 2014). "En nergens buldert de dominee". Trouw. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  13. "2014 Resident Participants | The International Writing Program". iwp.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
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