Globetrotter and writer
The Belgian/Flemish author Bob Van Laerhoven made his debut as a novelist in 1985. He quickly became known for his ‘un-Flemish’ style: he writes colourful, kaleidoscopic novels in which the fate of the individual is closely related to broad social transformations. His style slowly evolved in his later novels to embrace more personal themes while continuing to branch out into the world at large. International flair has become his trademark.
Avid traveller
Bob Van Laerhoven became a full-time author in 1991. The context of his stories isn’t invented behind his desk, rather it is rooted in personal experience. As a freelance travel writer he explored conflicts and trouble-spots across the globe from the early 1990s to 2003. Echoes of his experiences on the road also trickle through in his novels: Somalia, Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon, Burundi, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Kosovo, Myanmar… to name but a few.
Mass murders
During the Bosnian war, Van Laerhoven spent part of 1992 in the besieged city of Sarajevo. Three years later he was working for MSF - Doctors without frontiers - in the Bosnian city of Tuzla during the NATO bombings. At that moment the refugees arrived from the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica. Van Laerhoven was the first writer from the Low Countries to be given the chance to speak to the refugees. His conversations resulted in a travel book: Srebrenica. Getuigen van massamoord – Srebrenica. Testimony to a Mass Murder. The book denounces the rape and torture of the Muslim population of this Bosnian-Serbian enclave and is based on first-hand testimonies. Van Laerhoven concludes that mass murders took place, an opinion that was questioned at the time but later proven accurate.
Multi-Award-winning and translated author
Now in his early seventies, Bob Van Laerhoven is the author of more than 45 traditionally published books in the Netherlands and Belgium. His cross-over oeuvre between literary and noir/suspense is translated and republished in French, English, German, Spanish, Swedish, Slovenian, Italian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Greek, Chinese, and Amharic (Ethiopia). His work has received consistent acclaim and recognition, including Awards and finalist places.
Four-time finalist of the Belgian Hercule Poirot Prize for Best
Mystery Novel of the Year with the novels "Djinn," "The
Finger of God," "Return to Hiroshima," and "The Firehand
Files."
Winner of the Hercule Poirot Prize for "Baudelaire's
Revenge," which also won the USA Best Book Award 2014 in
the category "mystery/suspense."
The collection of short stories "Dangerous Obsessions" was
hailed as the "best short story collection of 2015" by the San Diego Book
Review.
"Heart Fever," the second collection of short stories, was a
Finalist in the Silver Falchion 2018 Award.
The quality UK book site Murder, Mayhem & More chose
"Return to Hiroshima," one of the ten best international
crime books of 2018.
The novel "Alejandro's Lie" was the Best Thriller Book
Award winner in the category "Political Thriller 2021" on
BestThrillers.com.
The novel was a finalist in The American Writing Awards 2023
The book won a silver medal in The Bookfest Awards 2023
"Alejandro's Lie" became the first runner-up in the "general fiction" Los Angeles Book Festival 2024 category.
"The Shadow Of The Mole" has become a finalist in the Best Thriller Awards 2022, Historical Fiction category, from Best‐Thrillers.com.
The Historical Fiction Company chose "The Shadow Of The Mole" as the winner in the "Historical Literary" category of the 2022 HFC Book Of The Year contest.
The book also won a silver medal in the Reader View "Reviewer's Choice Awards 2022-2023" competition in the
"Historical Fiction" category.
"The Shadow Of The Mole" is a finalist in the "Hemingway 20th-century wartime novels" competition of The Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA).
"Scars Of The Heart" received a New York Book 2024 Festival Honorable Mention in the category Anthologies/Compilations.
"Scars Of The Heart" received a Gold Book Award 2024 from Literary Titan
"Scars Of The Heart" is the Literary Global Book Awards 2024 winner in the category "short story collections."
"Scars Of The Heart" is the winner in the San Francisco Book Festival Award Category "Compilations/Anthologies."
"Scars Of The Heart" is the winner in the 2025 International Impact Book Awards in the category "Short Story Collections."
“La Mentira de Alejandro, » the Spanish translation of “Alejandro’s Lie,” received an Honorable Mention (aka Bronze Award) from the International Paris Book Fest 2025
"The Long Farewell" is the winner of a Gold Book Literary Titan Award 2025
"The Long Farewell" is a finalist in the American Writing Awards 2025 in the category "Historical Fiction."
