Dominique Hecq grew up in the French-speaking part of Belgium. She now lives in Melbourne. Her works include a novel, three collections of stories and eight books of poetry. Often experimental, her work explores love, loss, exile and the possibilities of language. Kosmogonies (2019) and After Cage (2019) are her latest books—one bilingual, the other in English. Kaosmos (poetry) and Smacked (short fiction) are slated for publication in 2020. Among other awards such as the Melbourne Fringe Festival Award, the Martha Richardson Medal for Poetry and the New England Poetry Prize, Hecq is a recipient of the 2018 International Best Poets Prize.