Anja Sicking

Anja Sicking was born in The Hague and studied the clarinet at the Royal Conservatory for music and dance. She formed part of various chamber music ensembles and from time to time she played in symphony orchestras.

As time went by, she also started writing stories. Her debut, The Keurisquartet (a quartet named after the modern Dutch composer, Tristan Keuris), was not only awarded an important award for young Dutch writers (the Marten Toonder/Geertjan Lubberhuizenprijs) in 2000, but also nominated for two other literature awards.

Her second novel, The Silent Sin (2005), was also successful. It was translated into German, English and Turkish. The Silent Sin was, among other awards, nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

She took part in several literary festivals, like the Pen World Voices in New York, the Young Writers Festival in Seoul and The Vancouver Writers & Readers Festival. She'll participate in both the International Festival of Authors (IFOA) in Amsterdam and the Authors at Harbourfront Centre reading.