Sholeh Rezazadeh & Nils Vermeulen

Sholeh Rezazadeh (1989) is a writer and poet. Her debut novel, De hemel is altijd paars (The Sky Is Always Purple), has sold more than 60,000 copies in the Netherlands. The novel won the Bronze Owl Readers’ Choice Award and the Debut Prize of the Society of Dutch Literature, and was longlisted for the Libris Literature Prize. For her second novel, Ik ken een berg die op me wacht (I Know a Mountain Is Waiting for Me), she received a Special Mention from the European Union Prize for Literature. Her poetry collection, Neem ruim zei de zee (Take Plenty, Said the Sea), has been reprinted numerous times, and in 2025 Rezazadeh wrote the official Dutch Book Week Poem. Her work is also translated internationally.

Nils Vermeulen is a Belgian double bassist active across a wide range of adventurous musical practices. He moves between different musical scenes, from free improvisation and jazz to contemporary classical music, performing in a variety of settings, including his own groups Kabas and Jukwaa, a string duo with Elisabeth Klinck, and as a member of Nemo Ensemble. Vermeulen is also affiliated with KASK & Conservatory, where he explores the acoustic possibilities of the double bass.