Giant pride
Yesterday was the big day! Street artist Marnet Schoemaker and I brought Albert Kramer, the giant of Amsterdam, back to his birth place: De Pijp in Amsterdam. And what a party it was! With an ice cream cart, fortune tellers and a cheerful atmosphere the whole event almost got circus-like vibes.
Thank you very much for all the interest and warm responses!
Curious what it looks like in real life? Albert (and his little show partner Seppi) can now be admired at the West entrance of the Sarphatipark. Definitely stop by if you are in the area!
P.S. And yes, we even got exposure in the press: AD Amsterdam and De Stentor both devoted a large piece to it :-)
May 15, 2025
The giant gets a place in De Pijp!
'How special would it be to put a photo of Albert Kramer on a wall or roller shutter. Life-size of course, so that people can really experience that he was rightly called the giant of Amsterdam!' Artist Marnet Schoemaker emailed me this six months ago, completely captivated by the idea of immortalizing Albert Kramer, the hero in The Giant of Amsterdam , in his own birthplace De Pijp. Of course I was immediately in the mode of cooperation and Sunday 15 June 2025 is already the day: Albert will get a permanent spot at the west entrance of the Sarphatipark. Everyone is cordially invited to the festive unveiling at 15:00, where both Marnet and I will say a few words. Afterwards we will toast in Café Krull, and I will sign copies of The Giant of Amsterdam.
Will you be there too?
June 12, 2023
What does a giant sound like?
Just back from recording a podcast about The Giant of Amsterdam , at Thinium Audio Productions. I had a nice conversation with actor Louis van Beek, who narrated the book beautifully (which didn't surprise me, because he had already done that for Uit liefde, meneer Tuschinski ) It was about spoilers, thick German accents, characters with a mind of their own and well... what does a giant actually sound like? Curious? Listen to the conversation on your favorite podcast platform. The audiobook can be found on Storytell.
May 19, 2023
The book presentation
In Linnaeus bookstore it became a book presentation as I had wished for myself: informal and not too grand, so that I had time to talk to (almost) everyone after my speech. And how special it was to finally meet Ab, the 'nephew' of Albert Kramer and to hand him the symbolic first copy! There was also an envoy present from the Klub Lange Mensen, once founded by Kramer. I handed him the second copy. Furthermore, it was above all very pleasant, and the glass was raised several times to the giant of Amsterdam, who again good-naturedly underwent all the attention.
May 17, 2023
MAXimum effect
A quick report on the broadcast of Tijd voor Max , after all, I don't attend a talk show every day. When the time was almost there, it surprised me that I was still quite at ease. Maybe that was because I had been to Max years ago, maybe also because of the hospitable team and the relaxed atmosphere behind the scenes. Anyway, once I was nicely made up and I had rolled out the screen with Albert together with an editor, I was led to my place at the table. Everything seemed fine, until just before the broadcast Albert suddenly fell straight backwards into the decor! 😱 He was quickly put back up, but only then did I realize that I had forgotten to fold out the legs under the screen, silly me. Other than that, I think everything went well; during the conversation I was so in the flow that I forgot for a moment that I was in a studio. Fortunately, after the broadcast, it turned out that there was nothing wrong with the giant. He patiently allowed us all to take selfies with him. Those crazy 21st century people, I almost heard him think 😉
You can watch the broadcast here
May 13, 2023
The giant in full
One morning, a few days before the media circus around The Giant of Amsterdam broke loose, I had an idea: how cool would it be if I would visit the studios with a giant photo of Albert Kramer in real size (2m42)? Luckily, my publisher was also immediately enthusiastic: in no time at all - I think somewhere in a German factory - a gigantic roll-up was made. The café of Spijkers met koppen was the first place I dragged Albert to (with the help of my husband). It was funny to see how people reacted to him: a few immediately stood in front of him to measure themselves against the tallest Dutchman ever. The broadcast was a rollercoaster that I enjoyed from start to finish. You can watch and listen to it here .
May 4, 2023
A Libelle Bookazine for Rosa's war!
Hurray: Rosa's war has been published today, following up on Uit liefde, meneer Tuschinski , as Libelle Bookazine! That means a new chance for this book, which was published during the corona period and thus, like many other books, got stuck between the closing doors of the bookstores... Go, Rosa!
March 10, 2023
I was allowed to wear my glasses
mules back on!
Well folks, it was worth the dress stress and snow storm, you know. Lots of dancing, chatting, dancing, drinking and dancing again. I can't say much more about it of course, because what happens at the Boekenbal stays at the Boekenbal ;-)
From left to right: With ball mates Suzanna Jansen, Ilse Ruijters and Jacobine van den Hoek
May 4, 2022
Tuschinski at
Theatre after the Dam
The fact that Tuschinski, the stage adaptation of Uit liefde, meneer Tuschinski, repeatedly drew full houses and received a wonderful review in De Theaterkrant , was of course already a huge boost. The fact that it was then reprised on 4 May as part of Theater na de Dam, I found it a downright honour. Watch the wonderful trailer that theatre group Toetssteen made to promote the play here .
