A Writer's Guide to Leiden and The Hague
Leiden University Libraries keeps its manuscripts and early printed books in a second-floor reading room on the Witte Singel, and Brill and Leiden University Press both publish from the city. In The Hague the KB, the National Library of the Netherlands, shares its building with the Literatuurmuseum. Writers Unlimited and Crossing Border bring writers from around the world to The Hague. Novelists and poets work in the same reading rooms as visiting faculty.
Libraries · Bookstores · Places to Write · Places to Eat · Writing Community · Presses · Journals · Awards and Grants · Printing and Binding · When the Manuscript Is Ready
Libraries
Bring photo ID. Leiden's University Library issues guest cards in person, and the Peace Palace Library wants a booked reading-room slot before every visit.
BplusC is Leiden's public library, and its Nieuwstraat branch has work and study places with free Wi-Fi. There is a café inside. Rooms can be hired. A book club meets here for readers in their twenties.
The University Library has more than 1,100 study places. Special Collections, from manuscripts and archives to maps and photographs, are read in the second-floor reading room; request items through the catalogue before you come. Visitors 16 and over can get a guest card in person with photo ID, though during exam periods most study places are reserved for Leiden students.
The Hague's central public library is on the Spui. You can take an individual work place or a seat at the reading table. Copying and printing are available. The library runs a young city poet program and brings in authors for visits.
Members 17 and over can request books and periodicals for the KB's reading rooms, and people without a Dutch address can join to use the physical collection. For a study visit, the reception desk issues a free reading-room pass; requesting items from the collection takes a membership. Register online or at the desk with ID and proof of address.
The Peace Palace Library specializes in international law and works from the Academy Building of the Peace Palace. You need a library membership, and every visit needs a booked reading-room slot. Bring photo ID and your card through the security gate. Desks have network sockets. It is open weekdays.
Independent Bookstores
For English-language books, start at the Mayflower in Leiden or The American Book Center in The Hague.
The Mayflower calls itself the only completely international bookshop in Leiden. It sells new and second-hand books, mostly in English. Lectures and poetry readings take place here, and a book club meets monthly. A second Mayflower shop is in The Hague at Lange Poten 35.
The American Book Center sells English-language books and describes itself as fiercely independent and family-owned. It is about a 10-minute walk from Den Haag Centraal. Only the ground floor is accessible. It has sister stores in Amsterdam and Leidschendam, and the shop's central calendar lists its events.
De Vries Van Stockum is an independent family bookshop in the Passage arcade, with a broad general range. The English Bookstore shares the shop. Authors come in regularly to talk about new books and sign them.
Page Not Found is a non-profit bookshop and cultural space for artists' books and small-press publishing. Artists' writings and fanzines fill the shelves. Its book presentations and talks are free, and it publishes artists' books of its own. It is open Wednesday to Sunday.
Paagman is an independent family bookseller. Its shop on the Frederik Hendriklaan sells new and second-hand books, and you can get coffee and cake there. Authors and musicians come in for events. A second Paagman shop in The Hague is on Lange Poten near the Binnenhof.
Places to Write
For a long session, look for the back rooms. 30ml has a small quiet room, and Barista Cafe keeps an attic workspace.
Anne&Max serves specialty coffee and lunch beside the Koornbrug, and it has a sunny terrace. Between late morning and mid-afternoon, laptop users sit at the designated work tables.
30ml is a canal-side café on the Botermarkt that serves breakfast and lunch. The small quiet room at the back suits focused work. In summer there is a large terrace.
Barista Cafe occupies a monumental building in the city center, with a terrace in the old courtyard. Go up to the attic for its dedicated workspace. It is open daily.
Lola is a coffee bar and bike shop on the Noordeinde. Upstairs is quieter. For a long work session, the winter-garden back room is the most private spot, though outlets are limited.
The Hague Tech is a coworking building with flexible desks and private offices. Members get 24/7 access and Wi-Fi. Freelancers are among the people it serves.
Places to Eat
Café Caat holds poetry evenings and open mics, so check the Stadsgehoorzaal calendar before you go.
Café Laken is the café of Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden's museum for art and history. It serves lunch and snacks Tuesday to Sunday.
Café Caat is the foyer café beside the Grote Zaal of the Stadsgehoorzaal. Local scientists give lectures here, and there are live podcasts and debates. Poetry evenings and open mic nights also turn up on its calendar.
The Kunstmuseum has two places to eat. The Grand Café is in the museum's Garden Gallery and opens Tuesday to Sunday. Gember, beside Fotomuseum Den Haag and KM21, serves the general public, and in summer its terrace looks over the lily ponds.
The art-house cinema's café is open from morning to midnight, with a menu by Karsten & Kuiper. The Filmhuis also runs Connect, a talks program on stories and ideas in the city.
Writing Community
Literary Organizations
In Leiden for the academic year? Look for the university's guest writer at public events.
Writers Unlimited is The Hague's international literature festival, with writers and performers from around the world. It also runs Welbeschouwd, workshops on literary criticism and reviewing held at the Literatuurmuseum. Its podcast, Book of my Life, is in Dutch.
Crossing Border is a non-profit literature organization that brings audiences together with writers from around the world. Its multi-day festival pairs literature with pop music and other art forms. Between festivals, literary events go on at Borderkitchen, its own venue at Kerkstraat 13.
The Literatuurmuseum, also known as the Kinderboekenmuseum, is housed in the building of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek. It mounts exhibitions on literature and illustration and keeps a searchable archive. The museum also organizes the Haagse Literatuurprijzen.
The Haagse Kunstkring is an association of professional artists and art lovers that gives writers and poets a stage. Lectures and book presentations are part of its program, and it has a section for Letteren, Theater en Film.
Each year a writer holds Leiden University's guest-writer post. The writer teaches Leiden students and talks with students and staff about the craft of writing. Public events include the annual Albert Verwey lecture.
For Faculty and Researchers
If your project uses Leiden's special collections, start with the Scaliger Institute's fellowships.
The Scaliger Institute is the special collections research center of Leiden University Libraries, and it welcomes scholars in any field from anywhere in the world. Named fellowships, the Brill Fellowship among them, support work in the special collections. The Scaliger Fellowship gives visiting scholars a workspace and facilities.
LUCAS, one of seven institutes in Leiden's Faculty of Humanities, studies literature and the arts in their social contexts from classical antiquity to the present. It runs public lectures and a PhD program. Researchers can get guidance there on applying for external funding.
IIAS is an autonomous research platform for Asian studies within Leiden University. Its fellowships support individual projects in the humanities or social sciences on Asia. The Gonda Fund offers fellowships and grants for Indology.
The KB's Researcher-in-Residence program is a part-time residency for early-career researchers, humanities scholars among them, who are seconded by a Dutch university or research institute. Residents work on site with the library's digitized collections and its web archive, supported by research software engineers and collection specialists. The tools and datasets they build are published on KB Lab.
Presses in Leiden and The Hague
Brill publishes academic books and journals, with law alongside the humanities and social sciences. It is part of the family-owned De Gruyter Brill, whose main offices are in Leiden and Berlin. Preparing a manuscript for Brill
Leiden University Press publishes academic books and textbooks for scholars and students. Its lists reach from Asian studies and the Middle East to Dutch history and archaeology.
T.M.C. Asser Press was founded by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut in The Hague and publishes in English and Dutch on international and European law. Its list runs from monographs to yearbooks, and its subjects include human rights and sports law. Springer distributes its English-language titles.
Journals Edited in Leiden
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We will ensure that the final draft you receive from us is completely ready to publish or submit. We work with you until it is ready or refund your payment in full.
Read each journal's author guidelines and a recent issue before you shape an article for it.
The Leiden Journal of International Law is an open access journal for critical work on the theory and practice of international law, including international criminal law and the work of international courts and tribunals. Co-editor-in-chief Joseph Powderly and the managing editor are at Leiden University. Preparing an article for the Leiden Journal of International Law
Global Governance publishes research articles, practitioner pieces, and book reviews on international cooperation and multilateral affairs, including peace and security, sustainable development, human rights, climate and environmental governance, and global health. It is hosted by Leiden University and published by De Gruyter Brill in partnership with the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS), and it was founded in 1995. Preparing an article for Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations
Founded in 1953, the Netherlands International Law Review publishes scholarship on public and private international law. Its editorial office is run by T.M.C. Asser Press in The Hague, which publishes the journal in cooperation with the T.M.C. Asser Instituut, with distribution by Springer. Preparing an article for Netherlands International Law Review
Awards, Grants, and Fellowships
For Dutch Writers
The Hague's development grant goes to makers who live and work in the city, so check residence before anything else.
The Jan Campert-Stichting awards The Hague's literary prizes on behalf of the Municipality of The Hague, and the Literatuurmuseum organizes the presentation. The Constantijn Huygens-prijs honors an entire oeuvre and the Jan Campert-prijs goes to poetry. Further prizes cover prose and books for young readers.
The Municipality of The Hague gives this development grant to individual professional makers, writers among them, who live and work in the city. It funds a personal development plan, such as courses or coaching, carried out with partners from the Haaglanden or Leiden cultural region.
The Nederlands Letterenfonds, the national literature fund, gives grants to writers and translators of Dutch and Frisian literature. It also supports publishers and festivals and promotes Dutch literature abroad.
The Zuid-Holland branch of the Cultuurfonds supports cultural projects of regional importance in the province, festivals and exhibitions among them. Most applicants are foundations and associations. One of its named funds supports books about The Hague and its surroundings, and individuals can apply to that one.
For Students and Researchers
Students can find scholarships and campus writing prizes on our sister site, Editors For Students.
Leiden University students will find grants and writing resources gathered on this page.
This page collects grants and writing resources for students at Delft University of Technology.
Printing and Binding
Off the Grid Editing offers book printing and binding at competitive rates. We handle layout, cover design, and print-ready files once your manuscript is edited. See our book publishing and printing services. Local printers and binders in Leiden and The Hague are listed below.
Grafische Werkplaats Den Haag is an open print workshop run by a foundation. Its techniques run from screen printing and etching to risograph and cyanotype, and there is a darkroom. Workshops go from first introductions to multi-day courses. To work on your own, reserve a table or press with a punch card or a subscription; a technical adviser is present on staffed days.
Stencilwerck is an artist-run print room for risograph and stencil duplicator. It prints limited-edition artists' books and zines for clients and publishes Stencilwerck Editions. Its riso workshops are taught at Grafische Werkplaats Den Haag.
When the Manuscript Is Ready
Off the Grid Editing has edited books and scholarship since 2002.
Publishing Scholarship
For a monograph, an edited collection, or a revised dissertation headed to a university press: dissertation to book editing, our guides to academic press requirements, English language editing for researchers, and journal article editing.
Publishing Fiction, Memoir, and Poetry
For a novel, a story collection, a memoir, or a book of poems: fiction and creative nonfiction editing, memoir and biography editing, developmental editing, and our guides to trade and literary publishers.
Every manuscript can also go through copy editing, line editing, or proofreading. The book editing services page compares all four levels.
- Crafting a Book Proposal That Academic Publishers Cannot Ignore
- De-Dissertationizing Your Prose: Stripping Away Academic Language for a Broader Audience
- Condensing 200 Pages Into 25: Strategies for Extracting a Journal Article from a Dissertation
- Writing for the Peer Reviewer: Anticipating and Addressing Methodological Criticisms
- The Art of the Substantive Footnote: When to Elaborate and When to Prune
Compiled by James Peterson Brown, PhD, Off the Grid Editing. Places and links checked November 2026.
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