Meike Ziervogel was born and grew up in northern Germany and came to London in 1986 to study Arabic language and literature. In 2008 she founded Peirene Press, an award-winning independent publishing house. She is the editor of the Peirene Now! series of commissioned fiction that addresses topical polical subjects through story telling.
Meike has written five novels.
Her debut novel MAGDA was shortlisted for the Guardian's Not the Booker prize and nominated as a book of the year 2013 by the Irish Times, Observer and Guardian readers. The book was released in Polish translation in January 2015 and reached No 6 in the Polish national bestseller list in the same month. MAGDA has also appeared in German, Italian and Catalan translation. Her fourth novel, THE PHOTOGRAPHER, was recommended by the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2018. Her latest novel, FLOTSAM, was published in April 2019. She is currently working on her next book.
In January 2020 Meike set up Alsama Project, a not-for-profit organisation that educates refugee children and empowers refugee women in areas of conflict in the Middle East.
Follow Meike on twitter for her forthcoming readings & events https://twitter.com/MeikeZiervogel