Writer and tv maker Tommy Wieringa won the prestigious Libris Literary Prize on Monday evening for his novel Dit zijn de namen (These are the names).

The prize, a cheque for €50,000, was presented to him at the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam.

Dit zijn de namen is about a group of refugees from various backgrounds who find themselves in a city on the Steppes. A police commissioner tries to find out who they are and where they come from.

The jury praised him for his ‘painter-like images, wonderfully formulated sentences and his ability to make his readers reflect on the events’ in the book.

The 45-year-old Wieringa had promised to jump into the Amstel if he won, and duly leapt into the river after the presentation.