Kathleen Vereecken (born 1962) is a Belgian writer and freelance journalist.
She made her debut in 1993 with Het raadsel in het fluisterbos (The riddle in the whispering woods, 1993), but readers had to wait until 1997 for her first historical novel for young adults. Alle kleuren grijs (All colours grey), based on her great-grandmother’s life, was promptly nominated for the Golden Owl. Later on she wrote the gripping Lara & Rebecca, about the friendship between a white girl and a slave girl. With Ik denk dat het liefde was (I Think It Was Love) – a novel about the supposed son of famous philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau – Vereecken won the Boekenleeuw (Book Lion) and several other rewards. The novel was translated in French, German and Italian. In Zijdeman (Silkman), also based on a family history, she focuses on the children of a missing silk merchant in Paris. The novel is currently adapted for screen (animation) with Vereecken as a co-script writer.
In 2016 her first novel for adults was published: Haar (Hair), a story that deals with the major issues surrounding love and betrayal. And the minor ones as well, such as: why are women so fond of ritualistically ushering out their youth? And why do they cut their hair short?
Alles komt goed, altijd (Everything will be alright, always), the moving story of a girl during World War I, is considered one of the best dutch language children’s books from the last year. It has been awarded the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs (The Netherlands) and the Boekenleeuw (Flanders). Translations in German and Russian will be available soon.
From Bookshelf Essentials, a publication of Flanders Literature:
Her historical novels connect little histories to big history, seamlessly combining plenty of historical information with incredibly well-crafted psychological portraits. Vereecken paints a very convincing and almost sensorial portrait of the age, embedded in a meticulous structure that keeps the reader engaged.
Vereecken’s work has been translated into French, German, Italian, Chinese, Korean and other languages.
