Tessa Leuwsha

Tessa Leuwsha, who lives and works in Suriname, South-America, writes fiction and non-fiction for various media and makes documentaries on Dutch colonial history. She connects the big history to an often deeply personal story. Her first novels De Parbo-blues - recently reprinted - and Solo received rave reviews and were nominated for several awards. Her literary family history Fansi's silence, about the life of her grandmother in colonial Suriname, is considered an iconic work within the genre and was also nominated for a literary award. From this book she drew inspiration for her documentary ‘Mother Suriname-Mama Sranan’, which received a Special Mention in the category Best Dutch Documentary at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA). The film screened internationally, was broadcasted on PBS USA, and won the Dutch Chrystal Award. For her latest book ‘Boni’, on Suriname’s 18th -century freedom fighter against Dutch colonial rule by the same name, Leuwsha traveled throughout Suriname, French-Guyana and Ghana to reconstruct his life, using oral history and myths. The book received raving reviews and is nominated in the Netherlands for the best political book 2025.