The Amsterdam Literary Festival (ALF) is an annual event, held each May, which aims to put the charming Dutch capital on the world literary map – especially in the lead-up to 2008 when Amsterdam is UNESCO World Book Capital.

Not only do authors and speakers from outside the Netherlands attend this festival but, equally importantly, its aim is to showcase the work of diverse writers and poets from its thriving international writers' scene.

The festival is already renowned for its out-of-the-box, unstuffy attitude and the quirky events it organises for readers. But there is always plenty to engage the writers: a panel on how to get published or workshops on subjects such as poetry, screenwriting and how to write a novel.

Past guests at ALF have included the BBC's Kate Adie OBE, award-winning novelist Sarah Waters and one of the UK's most exciting writers, David Mitchell. Its third edition in 2007 promises to be the best yet.

Its website, created by Graham Gorton can be found at: http://www.amsterdamliteraryfestival.com.

History

The idea for the Amsterdam Literary Festival (ALF) was conceived over high tea at Amsterdam's Bakkerswinkel at the end of 2004 by Festival Director Pip Farquharson and partner-in-crime Jennifer Dempsey, both published authors, who were working as arts journalists in the city (in between stuffing their faces with scones and cream and drinking champagne). Earlier that year, they had started organising talks with (mostly) British authors – under the moniker BritLit – as they felt there was a lack of such events in the Dutch capital. Their first Britlit event was held in April 2004 with the BBC's Kate Adie OBE.

ALF 2005

The first edition of the international Amsterdam Literary Festival (ALF) was a small yet defining affair, held in the heart of the historic centre over the weekend of 18-21 May 2005. Guests included Independent on Sunday columnist Rohan Candappa, author of The Curious Incident of the WMD in Iraq; BBC Radio 4 presenter and columnist for The Times, Libby Purves; prolific Hodder & Stoughton author Sarah Harrison; and a new talent in fiction from London, Valerie Mason-John, who gave a marvellous introduction to her acclaimed debut novel, Borrowed Body.

Visitors to the festival not only enjoyed a range of author talks and book-signings but also workshops on subjects ranging from slam poetry and journalistic reporting to plot development and how to write a blockbuster. There were also a number of fun events such as a high-tea salon, literary walking tour-cum-workshop and the infamous Books, Boats & Booze Cruise...

The 2005 (and 2006) edition were organised with invaluable input from Megan Garr of wordsinhere, an international collective of local writers in Amsterdam who are also the folks behind international literary magazine Versal.

ALF 2006

The 2006 edition, held from 19-21 May 2006, drew high-profile guests including award-winning novelist Sarah Waters and returning speakers: David Mitchell and Kate Adie. Sebastian Peake, the son of Mervyn Peake, gave a riveting, illustrated talk on the work of his late father, author of the Gormenghast trilogy and illustrator of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Like the 2005 edition, local authors – many of them known around the world – were very much in focus. They included events with Rodney Bolt (History Play: The Lives and After-life of Christopher Marlowe, Lorenzo da Ponte: The Adventures of Mozart's Librettist in the Old and New Worlds), Ken Wilkie (The Van Gogh File, Rambling with Rembrandt), Carol Ann Lee (Anne Frank's Story, The Hidden Life of Otto Frank, Begraven als een koning), Judith Weingarten (The Chronicle of Zenobia – The Rebel Queen) and Niala Maharaj (Like Heaven).

ALF 2007

For the 2007 edition of ALF, the existing festival organisers – Pip Farquharson, Helen Mason and Kate Burwell – joined forces with members of LPA (Literaire Podia Amsterdam), a network of diverse literary organisations in the city.

The decision to merge was made not only create to a larger, more diverse festival for the public but also to strengthen relations between English-speakers, the Dutch and other nationalities – as well as booksellers and publishers – in the city.

This collaboration has resulted in a strong, core team of organisers who share both a passion for literature and creating engaging and innovative public events.

ALF 2007 will be held from Tuesday 15 May to Sunday 20 May. Guests confirmed so far are Sandi Toksvig, Elif Shafak, Stella Duffy, Kate Mosse, Monica Ali, Kader Abdollah, John Hegley and Pete Jordan.

ALF's partners in 2007 are:
Amsterdam Writing Workshops, Borderline Books, Castrum Peregrini, Crime Jazz, De Kan, EasyLaughs, Fonds voor de Letteren, Goethe-Institut, Lucebertfestival, Maison Descartes, OBA, Perdu, Rijksmuseum, Rozentheater, School der Poëzie, SLAA, Stichting Schrijven, Van Gogh Museum, Woof!, wordsinhere

ALF SERIES

Additionally, the organisers of ALF are behind a series of talks held throughout the year in Amsterdam. Past guests have included: Melvyn Bragg, Jeanette Winterson, Deborah Moggach, John Berendt and Rebecca Walker (daughter of Alice Walker).