Foto Joke Hermsen von © Tessa Posthuma de Boer
Joke J. Hermsen (1961) is a Dutch novelist and philosopher. She studied art and philosophy in Paris and now lives and works in Amsterdam. Her debut novel in 1998, Het dameoffer (The Lady Sacrifice), tells about a suffocating mother-daughter relationship. It was followed by the historical novel Tweeduister, De profielschets and De liefde dus (So it’s Love). The latter was nominated for the Libris Prize in 2009 and extremely well received by the press. Her latest novel, Blindgangers (Walking wounded) was nominated for the Libris Literature Prize.
She is also the author of an essay collection, Heimwee naar de mens, which was shortlisted for the best philosophical work in 2003. In 2008, her entire oeuvre was awarded the Halewijn Prize.
In 2012, her philosophical tract for a broad readership Stil de tijd (Time on Our Side) was awarded with the Jan Hanlo Best Essay Book of the Year Award and sold over 65.000 copies. Her essay Kairos. En nieuwe bevlogenheid (Kairos A New Engangement) (2015) was shortlisted for the Socrates – Best Philosophy Book of the Year Prize.
