Gerda Blees made her debut with the short story collection Aan doodgaan dachten wij niet. The stories garnered critical praise and won the C.C.S. Crone Stipend. In 2008 she published her poetry debut Dwaallichten, which was nominated for the C. Buddingh’ Prize. We Are Light, her debut novel, was nominated for the Libris Literature Prize and won both the Booksellers’ Award and the EU Literature Prize. Translation rights have been sold widely abroad.