my_fellow_skin_mortier
2005 Nominated

My Fellow Skin

artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

As Anton grows up, each tentative step on the path to adulthood brings knowledge, understanding and responsibility. Through the eyes of this impressionable and observant young boy, we witness the loss of innocence as he comes to terms with time’s passing and inevitable death. He finds solace in his friendship with Willem and believes he has found a way to deal with his increasingly uneasy relationship with life. But this bond with Willem introduces a new emotional hurdle for Anton, an awakening love that gives him his own identity and envelops him like a skin.

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Erwin
Mortier

Erwin Mortier was born in Flanders in 1965.
Marcel, his debut novel, won numerous literary
prizes in the Netherlands and Flanders and
acclaim throughout Europe. He works in Ghent
at the Museum of the History of Psychiatry and
also as a journalist

Erwin Mortier was born in Flanders in 1965.
Marcel, his debut novel, won numerous literary
prizes in the Netherlands and Flanders and
acclaim throughout Europe. He works in Ghent
at the Museum of the History of Psychiatry and
also as a journalist

ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Ina
Rilke

Ina Rilke is a Mozambique-born translator who specializes in translating Dutch literature and French literature into English.

Born in Mozambique, she went to school in Porto in Portugal, attending Oporto British School. She studied translation at the University of Amsterdam, where she later taught.

Writers she has translated include Hafid Bouazza, Louis Couperus, Hella Haasse, W. F. Hermans, Arthur Japin, Erwin Mortier, Multatuli, Cees Nooteboom, Connie Palmen, Pierre Péju and Dai Sijie. Rilke has won the Vondel Prize, the Scott Moncrieff Prize and the Flemish Culture Prize. She has also been nominated for the Best Translated Book Award, the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, and the IMPAC Book Award.

Ina Rilke is a Mozambique-born translator who specializes in translating Dutch literature and French literature into English.

Born in Mozambique, she went to school in Porto in Portugal, attending Oporto British School. She studied translation at the University of Amsterdam, where she later taught.

Writers she has translated include Hafid Bouazza, Louis Couperus, Hella Haasse, W. F. Hermans, Arthur Japin, Erwin Mortier, Multatuli, Cees Nooteboom, Connie Palmen, Pierre Péju and Dai Sijie. Rilke has won the Vondel Prize, the Scott Moncrieff Prize and the Flemish Culture Prize. She has also been nominated for the Best Translated Book Award, the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, and the IMPAC Book Award.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Date published
24/01/2025
Country
Belgium
Original Language
Dutch
Author
Publisher
Harvill Press
Translator
Ina Rilke

RELATED FEATURES

News May 21 2026

2026 Dublin Literary Award Winner Revealed

Discover this year's winner!
Video May 16 2026

Brigitte Giraud – Live Fast Q&A

Q&A Session with 2026 Dublin Literary Award shortlisted author Brigitte Giraud, author of Live Fast, exploring the inspirations behind her novel.
Video May 12 2026

Laurent Binet – Perspective(s) Q&A

Check out our Q&A with Laurent Binet, author of shortlisted title Perspective(s), as he discusses the inspirations behind his work and reflects on the role libraries have played in shaping his journey
Video May 8 2026

Ali Smith – Gliff Q&A

Shortlisted author Ali Smith discusses the creative inspirations behind Gliff and reflects on the significance of libraries throughout her reading and writing life in our latest Q&A.

STAY CONNECTED

Stay in touch and sign up to our newsletter to receive all the latest news and updates on the Dublin Literary Award.