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PUBLICATIONS

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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

Books

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

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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

In The Press

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. 

Bio

NEWS & EVENTS

  • Presentation at the National Archive of The Netherlands
    Presentation at the National Archive of The Netherlands
    Sun, Jun 07
    Nationaal Archief
    Jun 07, 2020, 1:00 PM – 10:05 PM GMT+2
    Nationaal Archief, Prins Willem-Alexanderhof 20, 2595 BE Den Haag, Netherlands
    POSTPONED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS! Part of their exhibition, "De oorlog die bleef" ("The war that stayed.")
    Share
  • Iowa Summer Writing Festival
    Iowa Summer Writing Festival
    Sat, Jun 15
    The University of Iowa
    Jun 15, 2019, 7:00 PM – Jun 23, 2019, 11:00 PM
    The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
    Sign up now for one of two weekend workshops or a week-long intensive with me!
    Share
  • Reading/signing at the Avid Reader in Davis, CA
    Reading/signing at the Avid Reader in Davis, CA
    Fri, May 31
    The Avid Reader
    May 31, 2019, 7:00 PM
    The Avid Reader, 617 2nd St, Davis, CA 95616, USA
    Join us for a reading and signing, with special guests in attendance for Q&A!
    Share
  • Reading and Signing Diesel Books, Brentwood
    Reading and Signing Diesel Books, Brentwood
    Thu, May 23
    DIESEL, A Bookstore
    May 23, 2019, 6:30 PM
    DIESEL, A Bookstore, 225 26th St #33, Santa Monica, CA 90402, USA
    I'll be reading and signing books at 6:30 PM. Join us!
    Share
  • Vroman's Pasadena
    Vroman's Pasadena
    Tue, May 21
    Vroman's Bookstore
    May 21, 2019, 7:00 PM
    Vroman's Bookstore, 695 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
    Book reading and signing
    Share
  • Reading and Signing Book Passage, Corte Madera
    Reading and Signing Book Passage, Corte Madera
    Fri, Apr 19
    Book Passage
    Apr 19, 2019, 7:00 PM
    Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA 94925, USA
    All Ships Follow Me signing and reading
    Share
  • Reading at Prairie Lights, Iowa City
    Reading at Prairie Lights, Iowa City
    Thu, Apr 11
    Prairie Lights Books & Cafe
    Apr 11, 2019, 7:00 PM
    Prairie Lights Books & Cafe, 15 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA 52240, USA
    Reading and book signing
    Share
  • Reading at Booksmith, San Francisco
    Reading at Booksmith, San Francisco
    Mon, Apr 08
    Booksmith
    Apr 08, 2019, 7:30 PM
    Booksmith, 1644 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA
    Reading and Book Signing
    Share
  • Reading at Elliott Bay Books, Seattle
    Reading at Elliott Bay Books, Seattle
    Sun, Mar 31
    1521 10th Ave
    Mar 31, 2019, 3:00 PM
    1521 10th Ave, 1521 10th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122, USA
    Reading and book signing
    Share
  • AWP Conference Panel
    AWP Conference Panel
    Fri, Mar 29
    Oregon Convention Center B116
    Mar 29, 2019, 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM
    Oregon Convention Center B116 , Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97232, USA
    Panel: Expats, Migrants, Nomads: Rethinking the Immigrant Narrative in the 21st Century Co-Panelists: Huan Hsu, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Reyna Grande
    Share
  • Book Signing
    Book Signing
    Thu, Mar 28
    Oregon Convention Center
    Mar 28, 2019, 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
    Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97232, USA
    I'll be signing books at the Macmillan booth in the bookfair at AWP from 11:00-11:30 on Thursday!
    Share
  • Reading and Signing at The Last Bookstore, Downtown Los Angeles
    Reading and Signing at The Last Bookstore, Downtown Los Angeles
    Tue, May 07
    The Last Bookstore
    May 07, 2019, 7:30 PM
    The Last Bookstore, 453 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90013, USA
    Join us as I read and sign books!
    Share
News and Events
Contact

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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Head on over to my Writing Workshops website to check out my online writing courses and (when the pandemic is over) in-person retreats! 


For Adults: 
 

* Narrative Nonfiction
* Memoir & Personal Narrative 
* Book Proposals
* Experimenting With Form

For the Younger Writers: 
* College Essay Writing
* Writing Camp for Kids

Workshops
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