Hans Renders is Professor of History and Theory of Biography, as well as Director of the Biography Institute at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. Internationally well-known, he is jurist for many literary prizes, including the Plutarch Award and Erik Hazelhoff Biography Prize. He (co)author of many publications in the field of (literary)history and biography, including major biographies of the poets Jan Hanlo and Jan Campert, the Dutch resistance fighter. He is currently in cooperation with Sjoerd van Faassen writing the life of the artist Theo van Doesburg, founder of De Stijl.