He made his debut with a poetry collection Aan een open raam (At An Open Window, 2000, nominated for the C. Buddingh’ debut of the year award), which was followed by Verdwenen obers (Vanished Waiters, 2005) and Toespraak in een struik (A Speech In The Bushes, 2008, nominated for the Hugues C. Pernath Prize). His controlled form provides a platform for cheerfully sad thoughts, surreal images and apt turns of phrase. In 2012 his first novel appeared, Dromen van Schalkwijk (Dreams of Schalkwijk), an atmospheric coming-of-age novel set in the 1980s. Schiferli has edited several anthologies and has worked as a journalist, critic, and photographer.