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The Writers’ Parliament is the only platform where writers from both the North and South of Belgium engage in public dialogue. The theme of this sixth edition is beauty. Two French-speaking and two Flemish writers respond to the statement by the American author Philip Roth: “Literature isn’t a moral beauty contest.” They reflect on the intersection of ethics and aesthetics, where these aspects meet or conflict. What drives them — or doesn’t — to write beautiful books, stories or sentences? And how do they reconcile that beauty with their other responsibilities and with the suffering in the world? Is beauty a form of resistance and moral compass, or rather a source of comfort and escape? Each writer speaks in their own language, with simultaneous translation provided for mutual understanding.
Nicky Aerts (Klara) and Pascal Claude (La Première) will guide the conversation.
Alara Adilow
Alara Adilow is a Dutch poet of Somali descent, based in Antwerp. Her collection Mythen en stoplichten (2022) won the Herman de Coninck Prize and the C. Buddingh’ Prize, and was shortlisted for the Grote Poëzieprijs in 2023. She was named “Literary Talent of 2024” by de Volkskrant. In 2025, she published her debut novel, Kijk es naar al dat licht.
Hans Depelchin
Writer, presenter, and cultural journalist, Hans Depelchin published his urban novel Weekdier in 2020, followed by his poetry debut Spanriem in 2022. His novel De Rode Koe (2025) has been shortlisted for the De Boon Literary Prize. He also gives talks for Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and regularly writes for Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen.
Mel Moya
Belgian feminist slam artist Mel Moya performs on international stages. Winner of the Paroles Urbaines and Borderlines prizes (2021 – 2022), she reached the finals of the Belgian Slam Championship 2022 and the Jeux Floraux in Toulouse 2024. Her slam, blending urgency and theatricality, has taken her to major cultural venues across Belgium and France. In 2024, she published Mater Dolorosa, adapted for the stage as a poetic duo with cellist Céline Chappuis.
Alix Garin
Comic book author Alix Garin is known for her works Ne m’oublie pas and Impénétrable, in which she explores the complexities of human relationships. Widely translated and frequently awarded, she continues to experiment with storytelling through both writing and visual art, with a single goal: to tell stories.