Born in 1990, Ellen van Neerven is a writer of Mununjali and Dutch heritage. She belongs to the Yugambeh people of the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim. She won the David Unaipon Award for an Unpublished Indigenous Writer in the 2013 Queensl and Literary Awards for Heat and Light. Ellen's short fiction, poetry and memoir have been published in numerous publications, including McSweeney's, Voiceworks and Mascara Literary Review. She lives in Brisbane.