Dutch Treats: An Interview with Wouter Boonstra
Journalist Wouter Boonstra reflects on his path into fiction, the origins of his story “Anchored” in Dutch Treats, and how his Amsterdam roots and love of the Wadden Islands shaped his writing.
Dutch Treats: Meet Wouter Boonstra
• Tell our readers a little about yourself.
I’m not a professional fiction writer. I am a professional journalist: I work as an editor for a Dutch magazine about domestic governance. We’re based in Amsterdam, the city where I was born and where I live today. I’ve known Dutch Treats editor Josh Pachter my whole life, because he’s known my parents since before I was born. Since I am a professional writer and live in Amsterdam, Josh invited me to contribute to the Amsterdam Noir anthology he co-edited with René Appel some years ago. I wrote a story but unfortunately finished it too late for it to be included in Amsterdam Noir. Instead, Josh translated it and submitted it to Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, where it was published in 2020. I’m glad to see it reprinted now in Dutch Treats.
• Where did the idea for your story come from?
I’ve learned that stories work best if they take place in an environment that’s familiar to the writer. I set my story in Amsterdam, since it was originally intended for Amsterdam Noir. The main character lives in De Baarsjes, my own neighborhood. Because most of the people who live in Amsterdam are, unlike me, not born there but migrate to the city, I thought it would be a good idea to have him come from somewhere else, and I chose an island I often visit: Terschelling, one of The Netherlands’ Wadden Islands. Because Amsterdam has a lot of canals, I decided to include a connection to water and boats. And of course the main character is troubled. A big city, water, boats, a troubled main character—good elements for a story!
• What are some of your favorite books by American writers, and why do you like them?
One of my favorites is Stephen King’s The Dead Zone, because it explains so clearly how populism works and how dangerous people can rise to power in a democracy.
pull quote from “Anchored”
The heat and hurt dizzied him for a long moment, and he staggered across to his armchair and dropped into it. Sweat poured down his face. He closed his eyes and felt for the minifridge behind him, fished out an icy bottle and pressed it to the burn. When the chill had finally soothed the pain, he twisted off the cap and drank the beer in one long swallow.
Dutch Treats will be available September 1, 2025.
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