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Bart Moeyaert

バート・ムーヤート

Bart Moeyaert

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1964-06-09 （Bruges, Belgium）
Nationality
Belgian
Languages
Dutch

Career

Occupations
Writer, Poet, Screenwriter, Playwright, Lyricist
Active Years
1983-
Nominations
Hans Christian Andersen Award (shortlist)

Awards

Prijs van de Kinder- en Jeugdjury voor het boek in Vlaanderen
1984
Work: Duet met valse noten
Result: won
Boekenleeuw
1992
Work: Kus me
Result: won
Prize of the Province of Antwerp
1993
Work: Kus me
Result: won
Prize of the Province of West Flanders
1993
Work: Kus me
Result: won
Boekenleeuw
1996
Work: Blote handen
Result: won
Zilveren Griffel
1996
Work: Blote handen
Result: won
German Youth Literature Prize
1998
Work: Blote handen
Result: won
Woutertje Pieterse Prize
2001
Work: Broere
Result: won
Gouden Uil (Golden Book-Owl)
2001
Work: Luna van de boom (shared with Gerda Dendooven and Filip Bral)
Result: won
Nienke van Hichtum Prize
2006
Work: Dani Bennoni
Result: won
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
2019
Organization: Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA)
Result: won
Zilveren Griffel
2019
Work: Tegenwoordig heet iedereen Sorry
Result: won
Prize of the Flemish Community for Youth Literature
1998
Work: Blote handen
Result: won

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Duet met valse noten

1983 Children's/YA literature

Debut work — an early young-adult/children's book marking his literary debut.

coming of agefamilyself-discovery

Suzanne Dantine

1989 Children's/young adult fiction

A work Moeyaert regards as his true debut as an author; later reworked into Wespennest.

personal growthfamily relationships

Wespennest

1997 Fiction

A reworking of Suzanne Dantine; significant for showing the development of his earlier material.

memoryfamily

Blote handen

1995 Children's/YA literature

A young-adult book that won multiple national and international awards and brought him wider recognition.

conflictgrowthcomplex relationships

Broere

2000 Autobiographical short stories / Children's literature

A collection of short stories about his family and childhood; praised for blending autobiographical elements with irony.

familychildhoodhumor

Dani Bennoni

2005 Children's literature

A children's book recognized with the Nienke van Hichtum Prize (for 2005).

childhoodgrowing up

Tegenwoordig heet iedereen Sorry

2019 Children's literature / short stories

A recent work that won the Zilveren Griffel in 2019.

contemporary societyinterpersonal relationships

Bibliography

  • Duet met valse noten (1983)
  • Suzanne Dantine (1989)
  • Blote handen (1995)
  • Broere (2000/2001)
  • Dani Bennoni (2005)
  • Tegenwoordig heet iedereen Sorry (2019)

Adaptations

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, musical prosenarration that often incorporates autobiographical elements
Recurring Motifs
familymemorychildhoodcomplex human relationships

Legacy

Bart Moeyaert is a leading Flemish author of children's literature and poetry, praised for his concise, musical language and nuanced portrayals of relationships. His work has been widely translated and he received the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2019.

Archives

  • Permeke Library (some poems publicly displayed)
  • Vlaamse Opera (public displays of poems)

In Popular Culture

  • Contributed to urban culture in Antwerp with public displays of his poems in libraries and opera houses

Quotes

  • Praised for his "compressed and musical literary language" and his ability to "put complex relationships under the loupe" without "drawing easy lines between good and evil."
    Source: Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award jury citation (2019)

Trivia

  • Born as the youngest of seven brothers; his godfather was King Baudouin of Belgium (Boudewijn appears in his full name).
  • Named after the character Bartje (by Anne de Vries) and King Baudouin.
  • Poems are displayed publicly (Permeke Library, Vlaamse Opera).
  • Works across genres: children's books, poetry, screenplays, lyrics and plays.