Hester Velmans

Hester Velmans is a novelist, editor, and translator of French and Dutch literary fiction. Born in The Netherlands, she grew up in Switzerland and earned a BA in English a Master's in Literature from London University (King's). After years spent working for magazines and an international TV news syndication agency in London and New York, she moved to the country to raise her two children, turning to writing and translating full time. Her translation of Lulu Wang's The Lily Theater was a NY Times Notable Book of the Year, and she was awarded the Vondel Prize for Translation for her rendition of Renate Dorrestein's A Heart of Stone. She has also translated a children’s novel, The Winged Cat by Isabel Hoving, the works of two Belgian authors (Stefan Brijs and Leo Pleysier), and a French novel set in medieval Greenland (The Voyage of the Short Serpent by Bernard du Boucheron). Hester's first book for children, Isabel of the Whales, was a surprise national bestseller. You can visit her website at www.hestervelmans.com.