Simone Atangana Bekono (1991) writes prose and poetry. She graduated in 2016 from Creative Writing ArtEZ with the poetry collection Hoe de eerste vonken zichtbaar waren (How the first sparks became visible), which was published a year later. She was chosen to attend CELA, a training program for writers and translators in six European countries. In 2018 her book won the debut poet award Poëziedebuutprijs Aan Zee. In the fall of 2020, it was released in English entitled How the first sparks became visible by the publications The Emma Press. In September 2020 she also published her first novel entitled Confrontaties (Confrontations). Her poetry is equally sensually lyrical and (politically) committed.