Marilena Papaioannou
Marilena Papaioannou was born in 1982 in Athens, where she grew up. She studied Molecular Biology and Genetics in Alexandroupolis and wrote her thesis in Geneva. Afterwards, she worked as a researcher in New York, until 2013 when she returned to Greece, where she has been editing and translating biology textbooks, pop science books, and scientific articles. In 2013, she published her first novel, Nikitas Delta (Estia Bookstore Publishing). The book was nominated for the State Award for First-Time Author and the Anagnostis Magazine Award for First-Time Author. She also received the Klepsidra/Enastron Award for Best Young Author from the literary magazine “Klepsidra”, along with Yannis Asteris. In 2016, she published her second book, the novella “Kateveni o Kamouzas stous fournous” (Kamouzas Coming at the Furnace), which was nominated for the Anagnostis Magazine Award for Best Novella in 2017 and the Klepsidra Award for Best Young Author the same year. She is currently looking for a publisher for her third book, the novel “To nou sou ston Meli” (Keep Melis in Mind), while gathering material for her next work.
During the Ulysses’ Shelter residency programme she connected with Welsh writer Eluned Gramich to exchange ideas and inspire each other’s work.