In 2014, Dalilla Hermans writes: A Letter to Cooper and the World, an open letter to her eldest son and to the world on racism, equal opportunities, identity, and how it is to grow up in “a sea of white as a little brown cloud”. It goes viral. Since then Hermans has made it her mission to create a space where racism and discrimination can be discussed and addressed.

She has worked as an editor at Charlie and is currently working on the interview series The Race Files. In 2017, Hermans wrote a book about her life path that was released by Manteau in May 2017 inspired by her letter with the same title. That same year she reached the finals in The World’s Smartest Person, a popular Dutch and Flemish quiz show on tv, and was the most googled person in Belgium.

In 2018 her children’s book Brown Girl Magic was published, and she contributed to “Zwart”. She wrote her first fiction book Black Out in 2019. In 2020 Dalilla’s first theater play her(e) premiered at NTgent and her book The last thing I want to say about Racism was released. Together with Ebissé Rouw, she edited the collection of stories: ‘Afrolit’. Dalilla is a regular columnist at De Standaard and guest lecturer at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

But what is on Dalila’s bookshelves? Which books does she read to her children? What does she consider her first ‘serious’ piece of writing and why? Which works have offered comfort in times of distress and which books have inspired action? During the Life Library of Dalilla Hermans we take a deep dive into the works that inspire and intrigue this Bruges-based author and creative.

This one-hour interview will be led by writer and journalist Naeeda Aurangzeb.