Marlen Elliot Harrison has long been obsessed with storytelling, ancient cultures, and perfumery. As such, it makes perfect sense that his first book explores the fictional life of one of the world’s first-known perfumers. An instructor in the fields of English and Education who specializes in autoethnographic writing, Marlen is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The AutoEthnographer, a literary & arts magazine. Marlen’s research and short stories have appeared in a diverse array of publications such as Writing on the Edge, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, and Qualitative Research in Psychology. Additionally, as a journalist, Marlen was the managing editor of the international fragrance website, Fragrantica, as well as contributor to publications such as Playboy, Business Insider, The Wall Street Journal, ESL Magazine, The New York Times, Basenotes, and Men’s Health. Marlen is concurrently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing and MA in Public History from Southern New Hampshire University where he also teaches in the online MA English program. Having lived in Japan, UK, Malta, and Finland, he now lives in Florida with his husband and dog.

Learn more about The Perfumer of Ashur’s main character, Tapputi, here. Read about The Tapputi Project here. Learn more about the Assyrians here. Get to know the author here. View the KAR 220 tablet with Tappūtī’s pefume recipe for a king here.