Pieter Kwant was born in the Netherlands but came to faith in South Africa, where he met and married his wife. After working in South Africa in the theological book trade for fourteen years, Pieter and his family moved back to the Netherlands, where he worked with L’Abri for a year. In 1987 Pieter and his family moved to England. Pieter then worked for four years with Inter-Varsity Press in England before joining Send the Light (STL Inc.) as Managing Director of Paternoster Publishing.
Five years ago, Pieter and his wife’s mutual passion for literature, the arts and mission moved them to begin a literary agency named Piquant. They also run a small publishing company, Piquant Editions, of which Pieter is the Managing Director. At Piquant Editions, the books focus on the integration of theology and the arts (for instance, coupling the paintings of Anneke Kaai with the words of Eugene Peterson in The Psalms and In A Word) as well as the arts, culture, lifestyle and the Christian faith (supremely exemplified by their publication of The Complete Works of H R Rookmaaker in six volumes). Their books on mission vary from the best-selling Heavenly Man and Operation China by Paul Hattaway (a full-colour, seven-hundred-page prayer guide of all the people groups in China) to the slim volume Polygamy discussing the crucial issue of mission in Africa.
As a literary agent, Pieter works in the areas of theology, art and mission, representing theologians John Goldingay and Charles Ringma and missiologists Patrick Johnstone and Paul Hattaway, among others. His largest project to date is the Africa Bible Commentary, a one-volume commentary on the whole Bible written by Africans for Africa, due to be published in 2006.
After initially joining Langham Partnership U.K. and Ireland on a consultatory basis, Pieter was asked to be the International Director with a responsibility for the Literature programmes in May 2002. Pieter now coordinates both the six-book distribution programmes in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese and the four creative (writers and publishers) programmes. Langham Literature currently serves the needs of theological institutions in ninety Majority-World countries.