On Saturday, November 9, 2024, I delivered a lecture about my book ANANSI in a community centre in Leiden. The lecture was given to aged Surinamese people.
Surrounded by Surinamese beauties!
In addition I contributed to the celebrations of the Surinamese Independence Day (Srefidensi Dei) in Haarlem, November 25th.
13-4-2024
On April 13, 2024, there was a town excursion followed by lectures entitled Unknown stories of Beverwijk. I gave a lecture on the connections between the rich mansions of Beverwijk and the slave trade. Click on the flyer above to enlarge.
On April 6, 2024, an exposition was opened about the heritage of the Surinamese Maroons in the Kennemerland Museum, Beverwijk, Netherlands. Click on the flyer above to enlarge. During the opening I gave a lecture on the best preserved African enclave in South America: the Surinamese Maroons.
On Saturday 9 March I gave a lecture, arranged by Songs of Freedom Leiden, telling of the origin of the Anansi tales and of my book ANANSI. See flyer above. The lecture was announced on local radio. (Songs of Freedom).
17-12-2023
On December 17, I spoke of wisdom, storytelling and reading during a meeting about Surinamese poetry and prose, which I had been invited to by my good friend Mariska de Jong, a Surinamese lady from Haarlem. Part of the meeting was a traditional water ritual, which has a great symbolic meaning to the Surinamese, as their ancestors were carried across the water from their birthplace. Read more in my blog.
The English edition of ANANSI is now available from Amazon as a Kindle e-book and as a paperback.
18-6-2023
On June 12, the Dutch edition of ANANSI was published.
The English edition is now available as a Kindle e-book. The final print proof of the paperback version of ANANSI is on order to check the layout - the book will be available as a paperback soon. Here is the cover:
The previous print proof was reviewed and corrected recently:
27-5-2023
On May 27, I received 150 copies of the Dutch edition of ANANSI:
22-4-2023
The Dutch edition of my fourth book ANANSI is being prepared for publication in June 2023. The English edition was independently reviewed and will be published shortly after the Dutch version.
The video trailer for ANANSI can be viewed below. More information in the BOOKS page.
19-1-2023
I recently gave a lecture in a community centre in my home town of Leiden, for an audience about 15 people strong. More about this in my blog.
The manuscript of my fourth book ANANSI in Dutch is on its way to the publisher - the English translation is now being reviewed.
More about ANANSI in the Fiction page of this website
preliminary cover design for ANANSI
20-8-2022
Recently, on a visit to the UK, I presented my good friend Chris O'Donoghue, author of the Sonny Russell series of thrillers, with a copy of Two Fathoms Deep. He took the book to the beach for reading and made this photo:
30-6-2022
The English translation TWO FATHOMS DEEP of my third book (Drie meter zand in Dutch) is now available as a
paperback from Amazon. I received the first proof prints on June 3, and made several changes to the text and the cover design, some on the advice of my agent. The book will eventually be made available on other Amazon marketplaces, and to booksellers in the UK and the USA.
This is the finalised cover of the new book:
4-6-2022
The English translation TWO FATHOMS DEEP of my third book (Drie meter zand in Dutch) will shortly be published as a paperback on Amazon. I received the first printing proofs on June 3, and they look very good, only a few improvements being needed. I found a few more typos in the text, and the rear of the cover needs a few adjustments. Otherwise the book is well printed and finished. I will announce it in due course.
Here are a few photos of the Dutch version and the English proof print, which naturally is marked 'not for resale':
2-6-2022
A friend told me that the Dutch version of TWO FATHOMS DEEP received a four-star review in the Vrij Nederland Thriller & Detective guide, published by a leading Amsterdam newspaper:
30-5-2022
Over the weekend I attended the 50th anniversary of a sailing club I have been a member of for decades. The festivities included a sailing regatta, in which my boat acted as a start/finish boat, and I was armed with a huge air horn. On the Saturday evening I presented my books to the club, which was well received, and I even sold a few copies.
Manokwari as the start/finish boat, yours truly (in sunglasses) observing the finish line, and the contest in progress:
The book presentation:
25-04-2022
Publication date of my third novel Drie Meter Zand (available in English as Two Fathoms Deep) was 25 April 2022.
30-03-2022
Around the first of May, my third novel Drie Meter Zand (available in English as Two Fathoms Deep) will be published in Dutch, in paperback format.
Paperback versions of my books in English (at present available in digital form) are in preparation - my next project following publication of the Dutch book. I made a video trailer for the English version, which is available from Amazon/Kindle.
20-11-2021
On November 18, 2021, I sent the Dutch manuscript of my third novel Drie Meter Zand (published in English as Two Fathoms Deep) to my publisher. Publication is planned in June 2022.
20-09-2021
On September 20, 2021, I was interviewed by my literary agent, Hanneke van de Water, about my books:
Effective from June 15, I have removed all my previously published books from Kindle (Amazon/Kindle Direct Publishing) due to an unresolved dispute with KDP over unpaid royalties. I will therefore seek another publication channel as soon as possible.
12-05-2021
My novel TWO FATHOMS DEEP was published on 13 May, in English, in electronic book format on Amazon (Kindle).
26-04-2021
My novel THE CARGO was published on 26 April, in English, in electronic book format on Amazon (Kindle).
13-03-2021
My novel THE BATAVIAN was published on 13 March, in English, in electronic book format on Amazon (Kindle).
04-02-2021
My novels THE BATAVIAN and THE CARGO will soon published in English, in electronic book format. A definite announcement will be made in due course. Previews can be downloaded from THIS page.
05-10-2020
My new book 'Het Transport' (The Cargo) was published in Dutch on October 5th. An English manuscript is available to publishers. Read more HERE .
30-09-2020
English language video trailers published on Youtube for The Cargo and The Batavian. Read more HERE .
20-01-2020
Following the success of De Batavier, I discussed the publication of my second novel, the final title of which (Het Transport) roughly translates as 'The Cargo' *, with my publisher.
* Formerly known as The Directive
A second impression of De Batavier was ordered from the printers on October 14. Of the first impression a limited number of copies are still available from booksellers.
26-8-2019
By now several book reviews of De Batavier (The Batavian in Dutch) have been published. These are listed on the blog: http://tedpoletbooks.blogspot.com/. Even though the last two book presentations weren't well attended due to the holiday season, and the last one being thwarted by very hot weather and a large festival in town, there is excellent news. My publisher has received a big order for 115 copies of De Batavier, from
NBD Biblion, the main procuring agency for Public Libraries in Holland. By now about 85% of the first impression has therefore been sold within five months of its publication.
24-4-2019
I have been interviewed by a local newspaper, Leidsch Dagblad. Publication was on April 24th (click for image).
13-4-2019
Another presentation of De Batavier took place on April 13, 2019, at De Kler booksellers, Breestraat, Leiden.
29-3-2019
De Batavier was published on 16 March 2019 and formally launched on 23 March 2019, in the presence of dozens of people.
17-1-2019
Formal launch of De Batavier: 23 March 2019.
Lecture and book signing, De Kler Booksellers, Leiden, 13 April, see agenda on homepage.
