Allegedly, Dutch writer Maartje Wortel was no longer allowed to finish her Journalism studies because she ‘made up too much.’ However, that didn’t stop her from exploring her wildly imaginative proclamations elsewhere. Eventually graduating from the critically acclaimed Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Maartje obtained a degree in ‘Image and Language.’ Having featured in numerous glossies and newspapers since, her work has received an extensive amount of adulation from the public and critics alike. Belonging to a confident clustered bunch of Dutch contemporaries, she’s released a total of five enthralling novels. Her most recent edition Goudvissen en beton (Goldfish and concrete) is particularly captivating for its physical, almost tangible dimension – where senses and body parts are given an entire language of their own.