David Van Reybrouck

David Van Reybrouck is a non-fiction author, playwright and poet whose work focuses on colonialism, democracy, and populism. He is considered ‘one of the leading intellectuals in Europe’ (Der Tagesspiegel) and ‘one of the most brilliant European intellectuals of the moment’ (Le Soir).

His book ‘Congo: The Epic History of a People’, won 20 prizes, sold over 500,000 copies and has been translated into a dozen languages. It was described as a ‘masterpiece’ by the Independent and ‘magnificent’ by The New York Times.

He is also one of the most highly regarded literary and political writers of his generation, whose essay ‘Against Elections’ was translated in more than 20 languages and has led to trials in participatory democracy throughout The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and elsewhere.

His plays ‘Mission’ and ‘Para’ have been performed across Europe. ‘Zinc’, his latest novel, won the European Book Prize 2017.