Arnon Grunberg (b. 1971) is widely considered the most brilliant Dutch writer of his generation. Published in over 20 countries, he has been awarded in the Netherland the Gouden Ezelsoor (Dutch prize for first novel) for Blauwe maandagen (Blue Mondays, 1994), the Libris Literatuurprijs for Tirza (2006), and was twice awarded the Ako literatuurprijs first for Fantoompijn (Phantom Pain, 2000) and again in 2003 for De Asielzoeker (not translated into English). Arnon Grunberg lives in New York but often writes for the Dutch press and has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo. He publishes a daily column in the Dutch newspaper De Volksrant since spring 2010.