Frederik Willem Daem (b. 1988) is a writer from Brussels, Belgium. He has published stories in, among other literary magazines, Das Magazin, Revisor, The Literary Review, DWB and Oogst, of which he is a cofounder. In the late summer of 2015, Daem made his debut with the short story collection Even the Birds Are Falling, which won the 2016 Debut Prize.
Recent title:
Tekens van leven (Signs of Life), 2020
On Even the Birds Are Falling:
'In intriguing short stories, you dive into a sombre, sometimes alienating world and you’re close to the characters’ hearts. A surprising debut.’ – ELLE
'You simply need to have read a debut like this one’ – CLEEFT
Excerpt from Signs of Life:
For ten minutes he stared into space, sobbing, and although the moment had every semblance of his lowest ebb, at the same time it felt like something he had spent so long waiting for. He embraced the breaking point, as if it were a vindication, as if sorrow had only earned its place when it became visible, and pain only became tangible when he could register the tears, feel them running down his cheeks, taste them, salty on his tongue.