Annejet van der Zijl

Annejet van der Zijl (born 6 April 1962) is a well-known and widely read writer in the Netherlands. So far, she has written seven non-fiction books and one fiction book, most of which have become bestsellers. Her work has been awarded the Gouden Ganzenveer (Golden Quill) and the Amsterdam Prize for the Arts. Annejet was born into a family of teachers in Oterleek. After moving to Friesland, she received her high-school education at the Christelijk Gymnasium in Leeuwarden. She started doing a degree in Art History, but ended up getting a degree in Mass Communication at the University of Amsterdam instead. In 1998, Annejet took a Master’s degree in International Journalism in London. After a few internships in England and the Netherlands, she became an editor at HP/De Tijd. Annejet specialized in reconstructions, as well as portraits of famous and unknown people, and of groups of people who went through challenging time periods together, an example being Dutch people leaving for Paris in May 1968. She also wrote about crimes and political events, such as the Amsterdam coronation riots on Dutch Queen’s Day in 1980.