Maarten Roest

"The future of travel literature is in good hands with the likes of such authors," wrote Belgian daily "De Standaard der Letteren" on Maarten Roest's book "At the Foot of the Volcano", a rare portrait of Nicaragua today.

Born in the Netherlands, Roest tried selling roses in Paris and never made it as a ski-instructor in the Alps. Instead, he ended up in Latin America, writing for Dutch newspapers and magazines, before becoming involved in international operations in Iraq and Afghanistan on which he recently published the non-fiction novel "Woordvoerder" (not yet available in English).

He currently lives near Rome with his wife and children, and just started writing his next book on Africa. Meanwhile, he hopes to make a difference by using his skills to tell captivating stories on global issues as climate change and migration.