PUBLICATIONS
Nothing Compares To You: What Sinead O'Connor Means to Us
Anthology Forthcoming from Simon & Schuster/Atria, including my essay.
Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-interviews, Faux Lectures, Quasi-Letters, Found Texts, and Other Fraudulent Artifacts
Norton. Ed: David Shields
A Book of Uncommon Prayer
Outpost 19. Ed. Matthew Vollmer
Water's Edge
Taylor & O'Neill. Ed: Anastasia Faunce
TESTIMONIALS
“
When I began, excitedly, to find the secret treasures of an unprepossessing part of the Lorraine with Mieke Eerkens...I felt I was touching a part of the world, and of experience, that I hadn't known was there...The travel writer shines a light on something we never thought to look at-- gray, moss-covered churches, and gray, moss-covered cemeteries, and gray, moss-covered monuments, in Mieke Eerkens's beautiful essay-- and then the light comes on in our eyes too, and we can see its hidden beauty.
PICO IYER,
Writer
Praise for All Ships Follow Me:
"A thrilling, brilliantly told, briskly paced adventure story...a book you'll read in one sitting but will be haunted by for years to come." -Kerry Howley
"Provocative and beautiful" - John D'Agata
"Lyric, meditative, and deeply reported, this is an essential book" -Jennifer Percy
"A remarkable and unique portrait of intergenerational family trauma" -Robin Hemley
"Deeply moving and brilliantly written" -Pop Matters
"Honest, unflinching, reflective, and carefully researched" -Book Riot
"A war memoir that reads as hauntingly and movingly as a novel" -Historical Novel Society
“
The experimental piece listed under the title of “Pushing the Boundaries: Experiments in Nonfiction” is by Mieke Eerkens. I love it I love it I love it. It is unique and incredibly well-written and I didn't want it to end.
“
LEESA CROSS-SMITH,
the Review Review
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With the late Denis Johnson.
Photo: Rachel Yoder
With Geoff Dyer, election day 2012. Photo: Thessaly LaForce
BIO
I was born in Los Angeles, California to Dutch parents and have spent my life in hyphenation. I consider myself lucky to have dual citizenship and have a unique understanding of both cultures. Perhaps because of this sense of being a "citizen of the world", I have spent my life exploring and learning in many corners of the planet, from drama school in London (Mountview) to running away with the circus in New York (Cirque du Soleil and Big Apple Circus.) I have lived in Greece and Amsterdam at various times, spent a decade in the San Francisco Bay Area where I got my BA in English, got an MA in English Literature in Leiden, and made the move to Iowa City for a position at the University of Iowa's MFA program in Creative Writing in 2011. I now divide my time between Amsterdam and California.
I believe that language is a boundless medium for creative expression. A passionate observer of the human condition, I believe in using personal narratives to communicate universal truths for all of us.
NEWS & EVENTS
Sun, Jun 07Nationaal ArchiefJun 07, 2020, 1:00 PM – 10:05 PM GMT+2Nationaal Archief, Prins Willem-Alexanderhof 20, 2595 BE Den Haag, NetherlandsPOSTPONED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS! Part of their exhibition, "De oorlog die bleef" ("The war that stayed.")
Sat, Jun 15The University of IowaJun 15, 2019, 7:00 PM – Jun 23, 2019, 11:00 PMThe University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USASign up now for one of two weekend workshops or a week-long intensive with me!
Fri, May 31The Avid ReaderMay 31, 2019, 7:00 PMThe Avid Reader, 617 2nd St, Davis, CA 95616, USAJoin us for a reading and signing, with special guests in attendance for Q&A!
Thu, May 23DIESEL, A BookstoreMay 23, 2019, 6:30 PMDIESEL, A Bookstore, 225 26th St #33, Santa Monica, CA 90402, USAI'll be reading and signing books at 6:30 PM. Join us!
Tue, May 21Vroman's BookstoreMay 21, 2019, 7:00 PMVroman's Bookstore, 695 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101, USABook reading and signing
Fri, Apr 19Book PassageApr 19, 2019, 7:00 PMBook Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA 94925, USAAll Ships Follow Me signing and reading
Thu, Apr 11Prairie Lights Books & CafeApr 11, 2019, 7:00 PMPrairie Lights Books & Cafe, 15 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA 52240, USAReading and book signing
Mon, Apr 08BooksmithApr 08, 2019, 7:30 PMBooksmith, 1644 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117, USAReading and Book Signing
Sun, Mar 311521 10th AveMar 31, 2019, 3:00 PM1521 10th Ave, 1521 10th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122, USAReading and book signing
Fri, Mar 29Oregon Convention Center B116Mar 29, 2019, 10:30 AM – 11:45 AMOregon Convention Center B116 , Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97232, USAPanel: Expats, Migrants, Nomads: Rethinking the Immigrant Narrative in the 21st Century Co-Panelists: Huan Hsu, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Reyna Grande- Thu, Mar 28Oregon Convention CenterMar 28, 2019, 11:00 AM – 11:30 AMOregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97232, USAI'll be signing books at the Macmillan booth in the bookfair at AWP from 11:00-11:30 on Thursday!
Tue, May 07The Last BookstoreMay 07, 2019, 7:30 PMThe Last Bookstore, 453 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90013, USAJoin us as I read and sign books!
CONTACT
MiekeKEerkens [at] Gmail
For publishing inquiries, please contact agent Sarah Levitt at Aevitas Creative Management:
Tel: (212) 765-6900 |http://aevitascreative.com/contact/
To book U.S. speaking engagements/events, please contact Christie Hinrichs at Authors Unbound:
(541) 797-2217 | christie@authorsunbound.com
To book Netherlands speaking engagements/events, please contact De Schrijvers Centrale:
+31 (0)20 623 49 23 | https://www.deschrijverscentrale.nl/auteurs/1400479
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For Adults:
* Narrative Nonfiction
* Memoir & Personal Narrative
* Book Proposals
* Experimenting With Form
For the Younger Writers:
* College Essay Writing
* Writing Camp for Kids