SULAIMAN ADDONIA . THE SEERS

The Seers (De Zieners), a gripping novel written in a single paragraph, follows Hannah as she arrives in London with her mother's diary. Within its pages lies a shocking story of a sexual incident in Keren, Eritrea. This bold and urgent novel unravels the psychological and sexual lives of its characters as their identities evolve. It is a story of past and present, intergenerational life histories, colonial traumas, and the true face of Britain's immigration policies—and their impact on young refugees. The Dutch translation was published in the fall of 2024.

"The Seers is an ode to all the years I have spent immersed in the work of authors who broke boundaries. I didn’t plan the book; it came to me in the spring of 2020 when I stood by the Ixelles Ponds in Brussels during lockdown. I wrote the entire novel on my iPhone in about three weeks. It felt like a volcano of words, ideas, and emotions erupting beyond my control." — Sulaiman Addonia

On March 25, Sulaiman Addonia will visit De Centrale in Ghent.

Following a reflection by Angel Patricks Amegbe on Addonia’s work, he will engage in conversation with Annelies Verbeke.
Oriana Ikomo provides the musical intermezzi.

The main language of the event is English; only Annelies Verbeke’s introduction will be in both Dutch and English.

Sulaiman Addonia is an Eritrean-Ethiopian-British writer. His first novel, The Consequences of Love, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and has been published in more than twenty languages. His second novel, Silence Is My Mother Tongue, was longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and shortlisted for the 2021 Lambda Awards.

Addonia lives in Brussels, where he founded a writing academy for refugees. He also organizes the Asmara-Addis Literary Festival, which was named one of the forty best literary festivals in the world in 2022. In 2021, he received the Flemish Golden Afro Artistic Award for Literature, and in 2022, he became a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Annelies Verbeke (Belgium, 1976) primarily writes prose and theater texts. She has written several novels, including Sleep! (2003), Giant (2006), Saving Fish (2009), and Thirty Days (2015), as well as short story collections such as Greener Grass (2007), Assumptions (2012), Hallelujah (2017), and Trains and Rooms (2021).

Angel Patricks Amegbe is a writer, performance poet, and visual storyteller who explores themes of diasporic identity and mental health. She is the founder of Poetry and Tea, a creative gathering for collective expression and well-being.

Her body of work includes three books: The Days of Silence (Masobe, 2021), No Pink in a Rainbow (Masobe, 2024), and a self-published poetry collection, SUNDANCE, which delves into themes of migration, femininity, and self-discovery.

Musical Intermezzi: Oriana Ikomo
Brussels-based singer Oriana Ikomo provides the musical intermezzi with her unique neo-soul and R&B vocals, wrapped in jazz harmonies and electronic rhythms. Her warm voice and dreamy sound create a soothing atmosphere. Oriana, a finalist in De Nieuwe Lichting 2023, has become a well-known name in the Belgian music scene and contributed to the soundtrack of the VRT series Roomies. Her singles ‘YOU’ and ‘Beautiful Sister’ are stunning examples of her delicate vocal talent.

In collaboration with Uitgeverij EPO, Uitgeverij JURGEN MAAS, AMAL & Bookshop Limerick.