About the Author

Marivi Soliven is a Filipina Author currently living in California. She organizes dynamic writing workshops that highlight the works of women of color. On top of her events, Soliven works as a Tagalog interpreter. The job that also inspired her to write The Mango Bride. Her background in writing is extensive; she has taught her workshops at the University of the Philippines, the Ayala museum, and the University of California in San Diego. Before publishing The Mango Bride in 2013, Soliven had already established herself as a strong and successful writer. Stories and essays from her 15 books have appeared in anthologies and creative writing texts in Manila.  In 1991, Soliven was awarded Medals for Children’s fiction, she received the award again in 1992.

Soliven began writing The Mango Bride  during NaNoWriMo in 2008. From there, she began to share her work with peers from her writing groups. She participated in workshops at the San Diego Writers, Inc. Following that she was the Grand Prize Winner of The Palanca Award for The Novel, which is the Canada equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize. After winning the prestigious accolade, Soliven was accepted into the Hedgebrook Writing Residency in 2012. There she was able to work on her novel with complete focus and then turn it in to Penguin to be publish in 2013. Her experience working as a Tagalog interpreter inspired her to write and share the stories of the women she had brief but impressionable encounters.