Jan Soeken, born in Bremen in 1980, studied comics and illustration with Anke Feuchtenberger at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. His comics and illustrations have appeared in Zeit Leo, Le Monde diplomatique and Strapazin, among others. In November 2014, avant-verlag published his highly acclaimed, subversive comic debut "Friends". With "Slocum - Schiffbruch auf dem East River", his second book was published in 2021. It tells the story of the disaster of the PS General Slocum. The steamship that caught fire on the East River north of New York in 1904 and finally ran aground. Against the background of this historical event, a black-humored drama unfolds. Jan Soeken lives and works in Hamburg.