Author
Annemieke Waite writes historical fiction exploring exile, migration, belonging and the ways in which people rebuild their lives.
Born in Hong Kong, she grew up across South Africa, Ireland and the Netherlands, and is now based in the United Kingdom. Having lived across different countries and cultures from an early age, she has a particular interest in questions of identity, belonging and what it means to call somewhere home.
Her writing focuses on people in transition: those negotiating loss, forming new connections and finding ways to begin again in unfamiliar places.
Her debut novel, As the Tree Falls, draws on more than ten years of research into early modern Anabaptist communities and the history of the 1711 exile from Switzerland. The novel won the Page Turner Writing Award 2025 and was longlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize 2025.
Publication date announced
As the Tree Falls will be published by The Book Guild on 28 January 2027.
Set in the early eighteenth century and inspired by the true story of the 1711 exile of Switzerland’s Anabaptists, the novel follows a journey across Europe and, ultimately, to Pennsylvania, exploring exile, belonging and the search for a place to call home.
More details about the book launch and forthcoming events will be announced nearer publication.