Two candidates disappear from essay prize shortlist after AI controversy
The organisers now list three nominees for the Joost Zwagerman Essayprijs.
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The shortlist for the Joost Zwagerman Essayprijs was reduced from five to three candidates on 16 October. Michael Vonk and Kaatje Gijbels are absent following reporting by Propria Cures on the use of artificial intelligence in their entries.
The change is visible on the website of the Van Bijleveltstichting, which organises the prize. It now lists three nominees. A day earlier, literary platform Tzum published a list of five names. The two lists therefore make clear that the line-up has changed. Propria Cures reports on the reasons behind this, saying it contacted the jury after receiving questions about two submitted texts.
In Michael Vonk’s case, Propria Cures publishes a response it attributes to Aline de Jonge, the prize’s administrator. It states that the jury would revoke his nomination. In Kaatje Gijbels’s case, the magazine publishes a separate response: she is said to have decided to withdraw her entry herself after consulting the jury chair. These accounts therefore differ over who took the initiative; presenting both cases as voluntary withdrawals goes beyond what this source supports.
Propria Cures bases its criticism partly on an assessment by an AI detector. Its results are not used here as independent evidence of how the essays were produced. The verifiable news is the revised list of candidates, supplemented by the responses published by the magazine on behalf of the organisers. This does not establish which passages were written using which tool, or how much that tool contributed to each individual entry.
The remaining shortlist comprises Joep Christenhusz with ‘Grondgedachten’, Esmee Geerken with ‘Zeepok’ and Daan Mulder with ‘Het gemiddelde woord’. Their names and titles appear both in the original announcement on Tzum and on the organiser’s current website. The texts that have disappeared from the list were initially listed as ‘Donum Lacrimarum’ by Gijbels and ‘De cirkel van de bok’ by Vonk.
According to Thursday’s announcement, the jury initially selected five essays from 213 entries. Tzum names the jury members as Aleid Truijens, Anouk Kootstra, Barber van de Pol, Luuk Vulkers and chair Guido van Hengel. The platform announced that the award ceremony would take place on Wednesday 18 November in Alkmaar. That is the announced award ceremony; Friday’s development concerns the nominations, not a winner already chosen.
The prize is intended to support emerging essayists and is worth €7,500, according to the foundation. The organisers have awarded it annually since 2018 on Joost Zwagerman’s birthday. For this edition, their website now lists three talents. The available reporting does not provide a full picture of the writing process of the two candidates who have disappeared from the list. Further conclusions about their other work or the extent of AI use in the other entries are therefore not justified.
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Fact-check Approved with corrections · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The change from five to three candidates has been confirmed by comparing two public lists. The precise course of events surrounding AI use has been reported only with explicit source attribution.
- confirmed The original shortlist comprised five candidates selected from 213 entries. — The announcement of 15 October gives the number and names. source
- confirmed The current list includes Christenhusz, Geerken and Mulder. — The organisers list these three authors with their essays. source
- confirmed On 16 October, Propria Cures published different explanations for the disappearance of Vonk and Gijbels from the list. — The magazine publishes responses about revocation by the jury and withdrawal following consultation. source
- uncertain The extent of AI’s contribution to both essays has been established. — No independently verified reconstruction of the writing process is available; not included as a fact. source
- confirmed The named jury and the award ceremony on 18 November in Alkmaar have been announced. — These details appear in the original announcement. source
- confirmed The prize is worth €7,500 and has been awarded annually since 2018. — Stated by the organiser, as is the intended audience of emerging essayists. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: Two nominees withdraw over AI use.Now: Two candidates disappear from essay prize shortlist after AI controversy. (The reporting consulted distinguishes between a planned revocation by the jury and a withdrawal by the author.)
Editor's note
The original and current shortlists have been compared. Statements about the reasons for and manner of withdrawal have been attributed to Propria Cures; detector scores and allegations about other work have not been reproduced.Sources
- Joost Zwagerman Essayprijs — Van Bijleveltstichting
- Nieuws: Dit is de shortlist voor de Joost Zwagerman Essayprijs 2026 — Tzum
- Propria Cures onthult: genomineerden Joost Zwagerman Essayprijs schreven met AI — Propria Cures
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „joost zwagerman essayprijs”
- RTL Nieuws — „joost zwagerman essayprijs”
- NOS — „joost zwagerman essayprijs”