AMSTERDAM, 03/02/07 - De Volkskrant is to collect the personal stories of Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan. Novellist Arnon Grunberg and journalists from the newspaper will guide the soldiers.

During 'literary training camps,' the soldiers will be encouraged to share their experiences in Afghanistan with a large public via short stories, reports or poetry. De Volkskrant will give the writing workshops in partnership with the defence ministry.

The first workshop will be in June. All pieces sent in will be put in a publicly accessible archive, and a selection published in the newspaper and in a book. The proceeds of the book will go to building up an independent press in the province of Uruzgan.