Oscar van den Boogaard (b. 1964 / Suriname, lives in Brussels and Berlin), writer. He studied law and the French language and literature in Montpellier, Amsterdam and Brussels. Having worked in a lawyer's office for a short time, he opted to become a full-time writer. His publications include 'Dentz' (1990), 'Fremdkörper' (1991), 'Bruno's optimisme' (1993), 'De heerlijkheid van Julia' (1995), 'Liefdesdood' (1999) and 'Een bed vol schuim' (2002). Oscar van den Boogaard writes a weekly column in De Standaard (DSM). He has already been nominated for numerous literary prizes including De Gouden Uil [The Golden Owl] (twice), the ECI Book Prize and the Libris Literature Prize. In 1993, with his then partner Jan Mot, he opened an art gallery in Brussels. In 1997 he bought the tattoo entitled 'GUILTY' (in mirror-image) from the Scottish artist Douglas Gorden, which he had applied to his left shoulder. The photo of this work was recently purchased by the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Van den Boogaard is currently working on two plays for Toneelgroep Amsterdam and RO Theater, as well as the film version of his novel 'Een bed vol schuim' with the actors Steven van Watermeulen and Sarah De Roo and the artist Manon De Boer.