Belgian writer Stefan Hertmans nominated for Nobel Prize in Literature

Belgian writer Stefan Hertmans is a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and if selected, he would become the first Dutch-language author to win the award and the second Belgian laureate after Maurice Maeterlinck. Hertmans, 75, has a substantial body of work dating to the early 1980s, though French-speaking audiences discovered him late through three novels translated by Isabelle Rosselin, including "Guerre et Térébenthine" (2015), which explores World War I through his grandfather's life, and "Une ascension" (2022), about a Flemish collaborator who became an SS officer. He is also a poet, essayist, playwright, and jazz musician in his youth, and his wife Sigrid Bousset is a noted biographer. His new novel "Dius" (2024) will appear in French in February, and the Nobel announcement is expected Thursday.