The Depths

After trailing spouse Marah Lenaerts suffers her third miscarriage in as many years, her husband Eden surprises her with a vacation to Malaysia, hoping it will lift her spirits. And it does, as they enjoy trading the bustle of their Shanghai life behind for the idyllic tropical paradise. But while on a diving excursion, they’re taken hostage by a group of terrorists, who take them to a remote island and hold them there for ransom. The longer that time drags on, though, the more doubts Marah begins to have about her captors’ motivations.

Kirk Kjeldsen received an MFA from USC's School of Cinematic Arts. He has taught screenwriting and production at VCU's School of the Arts, the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (dffb), and the Polish National Film School in -ód-. He was a staff and freelance reporter for a number of newspapers and magazines, and his first novel, Tomorrow City, was published by Signal 8 Press in 2013. His novel The Depths was included in the New Jersey Star-Ledger's 10 Best Books of 2018 list and was nominated for the 2019 Library of Virginia Literary Awards, and his novel East was nominated for the Dzanc Prize for Fiction. He also wrote and produced the film Gavagai, which was included in the The New Yorker's and the Los Angeles Times' "Best of 2018" lists. He currently lives in Germany with his wife and children.