Eli Shmueli was born in Jerusalem in
1977 and still lives there today. He has a BA in psychobiology and an MA in
neurobiology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also studied
metaphysics and psychology, all while working at construction sites,
psychiatric institutions, and as a porter, among other jobs. Over the years, he
has worked at numerous low-paying jobs, usually via employment agencies. They
exposed him to the human frailty and weakness which have become the focus of
his writing.
Shmueli is also a human rights worker at B'Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
MarginsMan, Shmueli's
first novel, is based on his experiences as a typist of zip codes at a postal
distribution center. It received the Ministry of Culture Prize for Debut Novel
(2015) and won Shmueli the National Library of Israel's 2016/2017 scholarship to encourage young Israeli writers. Shmueli also writes poetry and publishes political commentary in the
daily Haaretz and in Palestinian-Israeli magazines.