Afghan Author Forugh Karimi Wins 2026 Dutch Booksellers Award

Forugh Karimi, an Afghan-Dutch author based in the Netherlands, has been awarded the 2026 Dutch Booksellers Award for her novel In My Eyes I Carry the Clouds.

The annual prize is selected by a panel of independent Dutch booksellers and is presented to a work they believe deserves a broader readership. Within the Dutch literary landscape, the award is considered a significant endorsement, often leading to increased national attention for the winning title.

The novel tells the story of a female psychiatrist who fled Kabul as a teenager and resettled in the Netherlands. Years later, while established in her professional life, she is confronted with unresolved memories of migration and loss. The narrative explores themes of displacement, identity, trauma, and the enduring imprint of political upheaval on personal lives.

Born in Kabul in 1971, Karimi migrated to the Netherlands in 1996. Alongside her literary career, she works as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist. In My Eyes I Carry the Clouds has been noted for its restrained prose and nuanced portrayal of exile and memory.