Judith Fanto’s Narcis Wins the NS Public Prize

Author Judith Fanto won the NS Publieksprijs 2026 on Thursday, November 12, with her historical novel Narcis, capturing nearly a third of the public vote during a broadcast on the television program EenVandaag reported by NOS Nieuws.

Fanto secured 34 percent of the 131,663 votes cast in the 25th edition of the annual book prize, according to figures published by Tzum. Her novel bested five other nominated works by established authors, including Saskia Noort, Adriaan van Dis, Herman Koch, Francine Oomen, and Simone van der Vlugt, as noted by VRT.

The winning book tells the story of a Dutch youth from Haarlem named Manno who spends his childhood in Vienna between the First and Second World Wars, according to NOS Nieuws.

The narrative traces a circle of school friends whose bonds fracture as the rise of the Nazi regime and the German annexation of Austria turn one friend into a perpetrator, doom a homosexual friend in Dachau, and prompt postwar vengeance from a Jewish survivor.

Organized by the Stichting Collectieve Propaganda van het Nederlandse Boek and Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the award grants the winner 7,500 euros, a sculpture crafted by artist Jeroen Henneman, and promotional displays on NS train monitors, as detailed by Brummens Nieuws and Tzum.

Fanto spent five years writing the book following her 2020 debut Viktor, which drew upon her own Jewish family history and sold roughly 50,000 copies, reported by NRC – Nieuws, achtergronden en onderzoeksjournalistiek.

Novelist Judith Fanto Emerges as a Late-Blooming Success

Writing under the pen name Judith Fanto, the author balances her literary pursuits with a career as a medical jurist and healthcare manager under her legal name, Geertje Judith Wermenbol, according to NRC. She describes herself as a late newcomer to the literary landscape after launching her writing career later in life.

Narcis has sold more than 70,000 copies since its publication early last year, maintaining a steady presence on national bestseller lists throughout the current year, NRC reported. Local enthusiasm in her home village of Oeken also drove the campaign, with municipal leaders and local bookstores encouraging residents to cast ballots, according to Brummens Nieuws.

CPNB director Janneke Staarink pointed to the contemporary resonance readers found within the historical text. Readers on the literary platform Hebban said that the interwar novel carries striking parallels to modern geopolitical tensions, raising questions about the limits and value of friendship, NRC stated.

“Deze waardering van de lezers is de uitbundige bekroning van jaren werk in stilte. Heerlijk!”, said Judith Fanto, author, as quoted by NOS Nieuws.

Fierce Competition Among Literary Veterans

The 25th voting cycle drew 131,000 participants who selected from six nominees chosen from top bestsellers published between July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026, according to NRC. While Fanto marked her first nomination, the remaining shortlist featured established literary prize-winners, as noted by VRT.

Adriaan van Dis competed with his memoir-roman Alles voor de reis after winning the literature prize in 2024, while Herman Koch entered with De overbodigen following his 2009 victory, VRT reported. Simone van der Vlugt contended with Kruistocht van een koningin after claiming the prize in 2010.

Saskia Noort secured her eighth nomination with the thriller Adem, and Francine Oomen rounded out the contenders with her adult novel Hoe overleef ik alles wat anders gaat dan gedacht, according to VRT. Last year’s award went to Paulien Cornelisse for De verwarde cavia – Terug op kantoor, a volume that captured over a quarter of the votes before the author’s passing from cancer, NOS Nieuws noted.

Voting Trends and Book Promotions Remain Unquantified

While booksellers and municipal figures in Brummen actively campaigned for Fanto’s victory, the exact digital distribution of votes across different provinces remains unreleased by the CPNB.

Although the CPNB and Nederlandse Spoorwegen manage the exhibition of winning titles across transit networks, the direct commercial correlation between station displays and long-term library borrowing rates has not been quantified in recent institutional reports.