Hope to see you at the next FOTODOK Book Club in Tivoli Vredenburg Utrecht. The FOTODOK Book Club is the platform for the stories behind photo books. In this live talk show, together with Giya Makondo-Wills, I interview the story makers – photographers, designers and publishers.

Sebastián Bruno will speak about his books The Dynamic and Ta-Ra. In How shall we greet the sun, Thana Faroq explores the personal stories and complex emotional lives of a small group of young female refugees living in the Netherlands, including Thana herself. Peter Pflügler takes us on an intimate journey through the labyrinth of a family secret in Now is not the right time. Finally, Tanya Habjouqa will be present by video link to talk about her book Occupied Pleasures (2012/2013).

Yes we did it again! Together with co-host Giya Makondo-Wills and FOTODOK, we have managed to put together a wonderful program for the upcoming FOTODOK Book Talks in TivoliVredenburg Utrecht. Renowned Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas will talk about her Carnival Strippers (Steidl, 2022), first published in 1976 and now in its third printing already sold out! Very possibly we still might have a remaining copy for sale. Zahra Reijs will talk about her first photo book Dear Future (self-published, 2023), full of colorful portraits of Generation Z and Belgian photographer Vincen Beeckman will talk about La Devinière (delpire & co, 2022), a book he made together with residents of a psychotherapy center. Our new booksellers De Utrechtse Boekenbar will come and talk about their favorite photobooks and we are proud to launch the latest edition of the amazing Trigger Magazine. And all in just an hour and a half on Thursday, Feb. 9, from 8-9:30 pm. Get your tickets now!

Hope to see you at the next FOTODOK Book Talks with our new co-host in Tivoli Vredenburg Utrecht. Our guests and books on Wednesday December 8, 2022, starting at 8 pm, are Youqine Lefèvre with The Land of Promises, Laia Abril with On Rape, Friso Keuris with TiTo, we talk with the new Dutch ‘Fotograaf des Vaderlands’ Marwan Magroun about his favourite photo books and much more in just an hour and a half!

Hope to see you at the next FOTODOK Book Club that I am presenting together with Sterre Sprengers in Tivoli Vredenburg Utrecht. Our guests and books on Wednesday October 12, 2022 are Prins de Vos with Boys do Cry, Valentina Piccinni and Jean-Marc Caimi with Fastidiosa, Ed Kashi with Abandoned moments, a love letter to photography and Gabriella Angotti-Jones with I Just Wanna Surf.

On 12 April, the next edition of the FOTODOK Book Club will take place in TivoliVredenburg. The Russian invasion in Ukraine dominates the programme for this evening. British photographer Mark Neville will be present in connection with his new book Stop Tanks With Books. Four days before the start of the war in Ukraine, 750 copies of the book were delivered to politicians, diplomats, celebrities, international media, and negotiators, all those, in short, who we feel have it in their power to support Ukraine’s continuing fight for independence. Magnum photographer Jérôme Sessini will be present - live or via Skype from Ukraine - to talk about his book Inner Disorder: Ukraine 2014 - 2017, which was published last year. And Nicole Segers about Blood and Honey, a book she made together with writer Irene van der Linde. And there is more. Book your ticket (in TivoliVredenburg or online screening) via this link.

On Monday 21 February, the next edition of live talkshow FOTODOK Book Club will take place in TivoliVredenburg Utrecht, presented by Sterre Sprengers and me. We have curated a fantastic line-up for the evening. Mohamed Bourouissa comes by train from Paris to talk about his great project Périphérique, which was recently newly released by Loose Joints. Jan Banning presents his new The Verdict. Eva Roefs talks about Studio Trompettersteeg, Henk Wildschut about Afstand and more to be announced! According to current calculations - due to Corona restrictions - about 100 people will be allowed to join us IRL, so be quick to book your ticket.

On Wednesday, 13 October in Tivoli Vredenburg, together with Sterre Sprengers, I will present the next FOTODOK Book Club (finally again with live audience!). Guests that evening are Bertien van Manen, Mafalda Rakos and Raimond Wouda. If you don’t have the opportunity to be present in TivoliVredenburg, you can also follow the talkshow online. Tickets for (both in the hall and online) can be ordered through the website of FOTODOK.

After again several postponements due to the Corona pandemic, the next edition of the FOTODOK Book Club will take place on Wednesday, May 12 from 8 - 9:30 pm in TivoliVredenburg Utrecht. This episode can be viewed online only, anywhere in the world and from the comfort of your couch. You can purchase an access ticket for 5 euro via the link below. Language is English.

After several postponements due to the Corona pandemic, the 22nd edition of the FOTODOK Book Club will take place next Thursday, December 3 from 8 - 9:30 pm in TivoliVredenburg Utrecht. Only 30 persons are allowed to be physically present (annual subscribers only). But.., this edition can also be viewed live online, anywhere in the world and from the comfort of your couch. You can purchase an access ticket for 5 euro via the link below. Language is English

Some brilliant books have appeared in the Netherlands in recent months. That is why we have titled this edition The Dutch Edition (ok, also a bit for corona reasons:). The spotlights will be on Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Award nominee Hoarder Order by Thomas Kuijpers, Tree and Soil by Antoinette de Jong & Robert Knoth and the brand new Horse by Heleen Peters. Also in this brimming evening Marvel Harris’ first book Inner Journey, a column by Delphine Bedel, Louisiana van Onna designed a book with photos by Ed van der Elsken and of course favourite books of 2020!

And the three guests/books for the upcoming FOTODOK Book Club on 5 February 2020 are: Jack Latham with Parliaments of Owls, Marine Caneve with Are they rocks or clouds? and Paolo Woods with State.

Jack Latham can not be missed during this edition, as I had chosen his book as the best photo book of 2019. Marina Caneve’s book also ranked high on the same list. She graduated in 2018 with the eponymous project in dummy form that immediately won prizes. The final book came out more than a year later. And although Paolo Woods’ book is a bit older, I’ve wanted him in the FOTODOK Book Club already for a long time because of his unconventional ideas regarding reaching audiences. Last but not least, also Koen Suidgeest is coming to explain how he sold more than 6000 copies of his first photo book Why I Cry On Airplanes.

On Thursday October 3, 2019, the 19th edition of the FOTODOK Book Club will take place in Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht. In this edition the focus is mainly on the African continent. I am very proud that one of Central Africa’s leading contemporary artists, photographer Samuel Fosso, is with us to talk about his upcoming publication Autoportrait, that’s going to be published by Steidl. Photographer Lebohang Tlali will talk about the project that originated after he discovered the photobook Welcome in South Africa (1991) in which Dutch photographer Ad van Denderen and writer Margalith Kleijwegt documented the last days of apartheid. Our own Utrecht Ilvy Njiokiktjien talks about her book Born Free about young people who were born after the end of apartheid in South Africa. And Ben Krewinkel will tell something about Africa in the Photobook. We also have Theo Derksen as our guest with his new book Disneyfication and Csilla Klenyánszki, whose book Pillars of Home is nominated for the prestigious Aperture Paris Photo First Book Award. So much in an hour and a half live talk show!

There we go again! On February 1,2018 at 8 pm, the thirteenth edition of the FOTODOK Book Club takes place with wonderful guests AND we have moved again! In order to make the Book Club more accessible - also for visitors from outside Utrecht - we have decided to move to Tivoli/Vredenburg, a stone’s throw away from Utrecht Central Station. (Feels like a kind of coming home to me as I worked there for ten years as a bartender / host to finance my Photography studies and the start of my professional career.)

The books in this edition of the Book Club are about the aftermath of a conflict: The Egyptian Revolution in 2011 (As It May Be by Bieke Depoorter), The Bosnian War in the early nineties (Lost Takes by Tobias Bijl) and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Stone by Ad van Denderen). Of course, all books are available for viewing or buying and authors are there to sign your new acquisitions.