For years, he wrote for Intermediair, and he worked as a journalist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad in the period of 1988 to 1995.
[11] Renders received a doctorate for his biography of Jan Hanlo, Zo meen ik dat ook jij bent.
In 2000, Renders published Braak, a book about the renowned literary magazine of the Vijftigers, which featured authors such as Remco Campert and Lucebert.
His biography of Jan Campert, Wie weet slaag ik in de dood was released in 2004.
[14] In order to achieve serious academic attention, Renders argues, scholars of biography studies should "present a more consistent and broadly based research methodology and theoretical framework.