Bio

Machteld Siegmann (1972), a Dutch language and culture specialist, made her debut with the novel The Days of
Trouble, which won her several awards and nominations, including the 2020 Bronze Owl Award. Watchman for the
Morning is her second novel. Het third book, a short story collection named Aloha, is released in January 2024. ​

Aloha (2024)

A single meeting can turn your life upside down. Especially those unexpected  encounters that turn out differently than you might imagine. Many of the stories in Aloha are about meetings that merit a second glance: an elderly ferryman who waits for his final passenger so he can declare his love, an artist who forgets the opening of her exhibition because something monumental has taken place, a snake leads a double life, and a divorced father comes face to face with himself on a camping trip with his daughters. And thank goodness for that! The world is more dangerous but also more magical than we ever imagined.

Readers excerpt (EN)
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Leseprobe (DE)

​Wachter op de morgen (Watchman for the morning) 2022

After a truck crashes into his house, seventy-two-year-old Tak goes to live with his granddaughter Aria for a while. Aria is a young, unmarried artist who lives in the city and is eight months pregnant. Sooner than expected, just before Christmas, her contractions begin. As she is going into labor, Tak leaves and meets the downstairs neighbour, who encourages him to tell his life  story. What follows is a wonderful and compelling tale about Tak’s life. Starting with his childhood during the Great Depression he goes on to talk about his mother’s death, the Second World War, his relationships and his now estranged daughter Marina. What will the morning bring? Waiting for the Morning is a novel about our inner compass, about judgement versus acceptance and the longing for reconciliation.

​Readers excerpt
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De kaalvreter (The Days of Trouble) 2019

A farming family is confronted with the sudden mental breakdown of mother Leie when she returns from her foster mother's funeral. Through the eyes of her husband Dirk and her two sons, Anton (15) and Meeus (11), we see the family struggling with this crisis, along with their efforts to understand and help Leie. The narrative reaches a climax when Leie leaves the house dressed in her old wedding gown, taking nothing with her but an empty suitcase.  

The Days of Trouble won the Bronzen Uil jury and readers' prizes, a Dutch-Flemish award for the best literary debut, as well as the CLO-Byblos prize for the best literary work in which religion plays a meaningful role. In addition, the book was shortlisted in 2020 for the Dutch booksellers' prize, and was on the longlist for the Hebban readers' award.  The success of The Days of Trouble prompted the Dutch Foundation for Literature to award Siegmann a grant to write a second novel. 

Readers excerpt (EN)
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Leseprobe (DE)

Recommandation of Lotte Hammond, German translator (DE)

Contact

For information on translation rights, please contact:
Susanne Rudloff
+31 (0) 20 524 54 27
[email protected]

If you would like to write to Machteld Siegmann, please fill out this form.