Kathleen Vereecken (born 14 December 1962) is a Belgian writer of novels, children's literature and non-fiction. She has won several awards for her work, including the Boekenleeuw (2010 and 2019) and

Woutertje Pieterse Prijs The Woutertje Pieterse Prijs (; Dutch language, Dutch for Woutertje Pieterse Prize) is an annual Dutch literary award for the best Children's literature, children's book of the preceding year. History The award was first given in 1988. The ...

(2019).

Early life

Vereecken was born in 1962 as one of four daughters. She worked as a journalist for various women's magazines as well as the newspaper ''

De Standaard (, ) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish Party, and in opposition to the Sociali ...

''.

Career

Vereecken published her first book ''Het raadsel in het fluisterbos'' in 1993, a story that she submitted to a children's literature competition. Both her books ''Alle kleuren grijs'' (1997) and ''Kleine Cecilia'' (1999) were nominated for the

Gouden Uil The Golden Book-Owl (De Gouden Boekenuil) is a Belgian prize for original Dutch language literature. Originally it was named Golden Owl (De Gouden Uil). It has been awarded annually since 1995. Development It has changed categories several time ...

award. Many of her books have a historic theme such as ''Lara & Rebecca'' (2006), which takes places on a nineteenth century plantation in Louisiana, and ''Ik denk dat het liefde was'' (2009) and '' Zijdeman'' (2013) which both take place in 18th century Paris. Vereecken has also written various non-fiction books, such as ''Het broeikaseffect'' (2007) about

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

and ''Obama - De weg naar verandering'' (2009) about the life of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. In 2010, she won the Boekenleeuw for her book ''Ik denk dat het liefde was''. She also won the

Kleine Cervantes Kleine is a German and Dutch surname meaning "small". Notable people with the surname include: * Andrea Kleine (born 1970), American writer, choreographer, and performance artist * Christian Kleine (born 1974), German musician and DJ * Cindy Kleine ...

, the children's literature award of the city of

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, for this book in 2011. In 2019, she won both the

and the Boekenleeuw together with illustrator Charlotte Peys for their book ''Alles komt goed, altijd'', a story about a girl during World War I. Vereecken's books have been illustrated by various illustrators, including Anne Westerduin and Piet De Moor.

Awards

* 2010: Boekenleeuw, ''Ik denk dat het liefde was'' * 2011:

, ''Ik denk dat het liefde was'' * 2019:

, ''Alles komt goed, altijd'' (with Charlotte Peys) * 2019: Boekenleeuw, ''Alles komt goed, altijd'' (with Charlotte Peys)

Publications

* 1993: ''Het raadsel in het fluisterbos'' * 1994: ''Gewoon vrienden'' * 1995: ''Morgen word ik heks'' * 1997: ''Alle kleuren grijs'' * 1999: ''Kleine Cecilia'' * 2001: ''Wreed schoon'' * 2002: ''Kunnen heksen heksen?'' * 2006: ''Lara & Rebecca'' * 2006: ''Kippenvel op je huid en vlinders in je buik'' * 2007: ''Het broeikaseffect'' * 2008: ''Minnaressen'' * 2009: ''Obama - De weg naar verandering'' * 2009: ''Ik denk dat het liefde was'' * 2011: ''Schaduwmoeder - Je kind afstaan voor adoptie'' * 2013: ''Zijdeman'' * 2014: ''Ik heet Jan en ik ben niets bijzonders'' (with Eva Mouton) * 2016: ''Haar'' * 2018: ''Alles komt goed, altijd''

References

External links

*
Kathleen Vereecken
(in Dutch), Digital Library for Dutch Literature
Kathleen Vereecken
flandersliterature.be
Kathleen Vereecken
(in Dutch), jeugdliteratuur.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Vereecken, Kathleen 1962 births Living people Flemish women writers Belgian children's writers Belgian women children's writers 20th-century Belgian women writers 21st-century Belgian women writers Woutertje Pieterse Prize winners Boekenleeuw winners