A second look

Antwerp’s famous bookstore awards its annual prize for under-rated books

In the shadow of Antwerp’s famous cathedral stands a bookstore that is popular not only for its location in a beautiful listed building but for its reputation as an intellectual safe haven in an industry being taken over by romance fiction and celebrity chefs.

In the shadow of Antwerp's famous cathedral stands a bookstore that is popular not only for its location in a beautiful listed building but for its reputation as an intellectual safe haven in an industry being taken over by romance fiction and celebrity chefs. Independent book stores are dying one by one, but the Groene Waterman has survived for more than 40 years, with its laid back atmosphere and personal service to navigate its excellent local and international stock of literature, philosophy, history and socially relevant topics.

It's also a destination for its programming: Literary debates, author readings, theme nights and book club meetings all take place in its atmospheric mediaeval basement. Named by Flemish literary magazine Gierik as the best literary bookstore in Flanders, the Groene Waterman is an Antwerp landmark, a reminder of the pleasures of book buying and exploring.

The Groene Waterman also has an annual prize, being debated this very moment, awarded to the author of a work they feel has been overlooked and underrated. (A literary prize generates local press and an increase in sales.) The list of international nominees is also a way to point customers towards the hidden treasures in the wealth of books that were published in Dutch last year. This year's nominations are an eclectic mix of fiction and non-fiction either published or translated into Dutch in 2010; they cover topics from cultural history in Flanders to family sagas in Palestine.

Stijn Tormans Verhalen en reportages (Stories and Reports): a collection of articles written by the Knack journalist, who knows how to coax fascinating stories from ordinary people
Alessandro Baricco De barbaren (The Barbarians): another collection of articles, this time by the popular Italian columnist and author
Elias Khoury Poort van de zon (Gate of the Sun): novel by the Lebanese author about a peasant doctor relating stories to keep his dying friend engaged and alive
Hans Fallada - Alleen in Berlijn (Alone in Berlin): new edition of the 1947 novel about a couple's Nazi resistance by the violently troubled, late German author
Jonathan Lyons - Het huis der wijsheid (House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilisation): the American journalist's surprisingly riveting story of Baghdad's first Royal Library
Inge Bertels, Bert de Munck and Herman van Goethem - Antwerpen, Biografie van een Stad (Antwerp: Biography of a City): everything you ever wanted to know about the port city, divided by theme

The jury is made up of Groene Waterman staff, VRT journalist Ann de Bie and filmmaker and journalist Marc Didden. You can also cast your own vote until 3 February at www.lezersforum.be. Authors Tormans, Khoury, Lyons and Bertels will be in attendance at the awards ceremony this Friday, when Antwerp's culture alderman, Philip Heylen, will bestow the award, a design by Flemish artist Lebuïn D'Haese. The free public ceremony includes readings, interviews and live music and is followed by a reception.