Abdelkader Benali’s work is characterized by a respect for literary tradition and for language itself, which he describes as the gateway to human compassion. His hope is that children will learn more about literary history as well as the languages and cultures of ethnic minorities. Benali moved to the Netherlands from Morocco at age four; his debut novel appeared when he was 21. Since then he has published a number of successful novels, written plays, articles and reviews, and worked as a TV-presenter. In 2018 he chaired the jury for the Libris Literatuurprijs, fifteen years after having received the prize for his second novel.