Dutch writers also switching publishers over concerns about private equity owner KKR
After Dutch artists started pulling out of festivals snapped up by the American private equity firm KKR, unrest is now also spreading among authors of the Amsterdam publishing group VBK. KKR also owns the Amsterdam publisher, and several authors have told Follow the Money that they are looking for alternatives.
KKR bought VBK, the largest Dutch publishing group, last year. VBK includes the publishers Alfabet, AMBO, Anthos, Atlas Contact, and Luitingh-Sijthoff, among others. In addition to publishing houses and festivals, KKR also invests in defense companies that supply Israel, a large data center in Israel, and an Israeli website that advertises homes for sale in illegal settlements on the West Bank. KKR’s top management includes prominent members of Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
Writer Malou Holshuijsen announced on Monday that she was leaving Ambo Anthos due to KKR. “It was a difficult decision because I have no other reason to leave, but I cannot stay,” she told FTM. “The only thing I can say about it with the knowledge I have now is that I absolutely do not want my future literary work to contribute to the genocide that Israel is committing, no matter how minimally and indirectly.”
Irene van Staveren, a professor of development economics at Erasmus University, said in her column in Trouw last week that she was leaving Ten Have publishing, which also falls under VBK. She called it “a black page in my book career” that her book ended up in KKR’s portfolio.
Dirk Wanrooij, who publishes at Alfabet, is preparing an appeal with some 35 VBK authors for the publishing group to speak out against KKR and its controversial investments. “The publisher is hiding behind: ‘we have little influence on this,’” he told FTM. “We understand that, but then you have to speak out, like Zwarte Cross did, for example. They called KKR an ‘evil stepmother’ and talked about Gaza. VBK could also do something like that.”
“Gaza is the spark that lit the fuse, but there are more reservations about KKR’s activities,” Wanrooij said. “Many writers have a hard time with this kind of investment company getting involved in the publishing world at all.”
Johan Fretz, who publishes with Atlas Contact, also wants VBK to take a stand. “This is fundamental. You can’t preach one thing, especially as a writer, and then have a cash flow from KKR to yourself with your work, no matter how far away they are,” he told FTM. “It’s about a matter of principle.”
As does Ardiaan van Dis, also with Atlas Contact. “I hope the management makes clear what their position is and distances itself from KKR,” he told FTM. “And I admire the VBK employees who are fighting back vigorously and bravely.”
