Mariken Heitman (1983) is a writer, biologist and horticulturist. She has published short stories, essays and columns on various platforms and newspapers such as De Volkskrant and ILFU. Her debut novel De wateraap (The Water Monkey) was published in 2019 and was nominated for the Jan Wolkers Prize, the Bronze Owl and the Anton Wachter Prize. Her novel Wormmaan (Worm Moon) was awarded the Libris Literature Prize in 2022. Her new novel De mierenkaravaan (The Ant Caravan) was published in 2024. In addition to writing, she sometimes gives horticultural classes to adults.

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