Lotte de Vos wins Nieuwe Types Prize for best graduation project

On Friday evening 24 June, Lotte de Vos won the prize for the best graduation project for a Dutch or Flemish writing programme. It was the second time that this prize, judged by an independent jury, was awarded. The presentation is part of the Nieuwe Types literature festival.

Over the past few months, students of the study programmes Word Art (Antwerp Conservatory), Image and Language (Rietveld Academy Amsterdam), Writing for Performance (HKU Utrecht) and Creative Writing (ArtEZ Arnhem) were invited to submit their graduation projects, ranging from prose to poetry and from screenplays to scripts. An independent jury consisting of Thomas Verbogt, Arjan Peters (de Volkskrant), Willem Bongers Dek (deBuren) and Willem Sjoerd van Vliet (de Gids) rated the texts anonymously. They chose the work by Lotte de Vos, Creative Writing student at ArtEZ Arnhem. She wins a money prize sponsored by CB, a publication in literary magazine De Gids, assistance with compiling a chapbook from the Wintertuin literary production house and an appearance at the Wintertuin festival.

The jury wrote of her work: "The winner wrote a cycle or rather a string of poems which are short and intriguing but are also marked by a sometimes absurd sense of humour" and "With normal words and without excessive use of adjectives, the author is able to conjure up an entirely original universe which for all its concreteness yet remains mysterious."

The second edition of the Nieuwe Types literary festival was held in Arnhem city centre from 23 to 25 June. Over three days, Nieuwe Types investigates the state of the story and offers a glimpse of the future of literature. The festival showcases new writers, new stories and new narrative forms.