Welcome
on my website. If you, like me, love beautiful stories from the past, you've come to the right place. What I love to do most is digging up forgotten history. Who was the giant of Amsterdam? What happened in Katendrecht, the only forbidden neighborhood for the Germans during WWII? What is the moving story behind the Tuschinskis? I get to the bottom of it and then bring it to life as truthfully as possible. And once the story has flown into the world on wings of paper (and I'm holding my breath), I am always so happy when it is well received, not only by readers, but also by other creative people, who do their thing with it. For example , Uit liefde, meneer Tuschinski was successfully adapted for theater by Erris van Ginkel, and this same book was given an honorable place in a mural by artist JanIsDeMan. Well, what more could you want as a writer? Fortunately, the treasure chest of forgotten stories is far from empty, so I'll continue for a while. And oh yes, in the meantime I have picked up a new passion: writing comedies for the stage. In this place I will keep you roughly informed about my projects, and if you want to know more, follow me on socials or book me for a lecture.
Enjoy reading and who knows, see you soon.
Kind regards,
Tanya
News
May 16, 2023
'Tijd voor Max'
Poscast on audiobook
De reus van Amsterdam
May 17, 2023 at
Time for Max
May 4, 2023
reprise of 'Tuschinski'
in Amsterdam
Books
Bio
I was born on December 11, 1969 in the heart of Haarlem, according to my grandmother 'with a pencil in my hand'. I did indeed like drawing, but also writing. I made my first 'book' at the age of eight in a Hema notepad. At primary school I liked to draw comics and wrote for the school newspaper. Much later, during my studies in Romance Languages and Cultures at the RUG, I joined the editorial staff of De Studentenkrant . After graduating, I was given the opportunity to provide a cultural section for the magazine En France , after which I started writing and editing for magazines such as Marie Claire, Intermediair, Top Santé, Linda, Flair and Flow . In 2005 I lived in England with my husband and children, and there, triggered by the murder of Theo van Gogh, I started working on my first novel: Wallada's Gasten .
The book was published in 2008 by Sirene. I thought that would be the end of it, but years later I was gripped by the dramatic life story of Johannes, my great-great-grandfather, which I elaborated in The Man Who Left Everything Behind . To my great fortune, the manuscript was accepted by Ambo|Anthos and included in their historical series. This was followed by Uit liefde, meneer Tuschinski , a novel about the cinema magnate Abraham Tuschinski and Rosa's oorlog , about an impossible love during the Second World War, published by the same publisher. The well-reviewed De reus van Amsterdam , about the adventurous life of Albert Kramer, the tallest Dutchman ever, was recently published. The pencil has long since been replaced by a computer, but I will continue writing as long as I can :-)
Agenda
Festive unveiling of life-size effigy of Albert Kramer ,
the giant of Amsterdam, at the western entrance of Sarphatipark June 15, 2025 at 3:00 PM. Afterwards drinks and signing session in Café Krull.
Interview about The Giant of Amsterdam during the Writers Festival
Steenwijk Library, Thu Mar 7, 2024, 8:00 PM
Lecture on The Giant of Amsterdam in the Amsterdam City Archives
Wednesday, May 31, 2023, from 3:00 PM
Festive book presentation of The Giant of Amsterdam
Linnaeus Bookstore, Middenweg 29, Amsterdam
Friday May 19, 2023, from 6:30 PM
The giant of Amsterdam in Lunch lekker by Omroep Max, Radio 5
Wednesday, May 17, 2023, from 12:10
The giant of Amsterdam in Time for Max, NPO 1
Tuesday May 16, from 5:10 PM
The giant of Amsterdam in the Lunchroom of Radio Noord Holland
Monday May 15, from 12:45
The giant of Amsterdam in Nails with heads BNNVARA, Radio 2
Saturday May 13, from 12:00
Contact
For requests for interviews, lectures, etc.:
Publisher Ambo|Anthos , Weesperstraat 105, 1018 VN Amsterdam,
tel. +31205245411 , email: info@amboanthos.nl
For questions to Tanya Commandeur: tanya@kpnplanet.nl
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