Monika Herceg was born in 1990 in Sisak, Croatia. She is a poet, playwright, editor, and organiser of literary and educational programmes. Her debut poetry collection, "Početne koordinate" ("Initial Coordinates"), received the Goran Award for Young Poets in 2017. After its publication in 2018, it won several further awards, including the Kvirin Award, the Fran Galović Award, the Slavić Award, and the international Bridges of Struga Award. She has since published the poetry collections "Lovostaj" ("Closed Season") and "Vrijeme prije jezika" ("The Time Before Language"), as well as the collection of plays "Ubij se, tata" ("Kill Yourself, Dad). Herceg has received numerous awards for poetry, short fiction, and drama. Her play "Gdje se kupuju nježnosti" ("Where Tenderness Is Bought") was awarded and premiered at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, while "Ubij se, tata" ("Kill Yourself, Dad") and "Mama, smijemo li danas umrijeti" ("Mom, Can We Die Today") received Marin Držić Awards. Her works have also been adapted for radio and film. She leads several literary and educational initiatives, including Poetess on Fridays, Literature Reads Science, Science Reads Literature, and the workshop series I Watch, I Read, I Write. Her poems, books, and plays have been translated into more than fifteen languages. For her activist work, she received the Fierce Women Award in 2021. She lives and works in Zagreb and is a mother of two.