Gijs IJlander (1947) studied English and Translation Studies and worked for a few years translating English books to Dutch. He debuted in 1988 with The Barber, after which he became a full-time writer. The Barber was awarded the Geertjan Lubberhuizenprijs and the Anton Wachterprijs in 1988, and he received the Halewijn Literatuurprijs in 1994 and the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs in 1999. In 2008 he wrote No Sea but Water and in 2010, Wild Song. In 2014 we published his new novel Forgive us our Weakness.