Abdullajev, Shamshad, Uzbekistan
Shamshad Abdullayev (b. 1960) is an Uzbek poet, essayist and journalist. He belongs to the so-called Fergana group combining Islamic, Central Asian and Chinese traditions with the newest Western post-modernism. He received the appreciated Andrey Belyj prize.

Acker, Kathy , USA

Affinati, Eraldo, Italy
Eraldo Affinati (born 1956), Italian journalist and writer.

Ahokas, Jaakko, Finland
Jaakko A. Ahokas, (b. 1923), PhD, is a Romance language and literature researcher and also an essayist and translator. His works include A History of Finnish Literature (1973) and Anthologie de la Prose Finlandaise (1971). He has translated Finnish literature into French and contemporary French poetry into Finnish. He is a faithful visitor and friend of the Mukkula reunion.

Ahmadulina, Bella, Russia
Bella Akhmadulina (b. 1937) graduated in 1960 from the Gorki literature institute and is one of the most personal and famous poets in Russia. Her first collection of poems was published in 1962. She has also translated Georgian poetry into Russian ("Dreams from Georgia", 1979).

Alenius, Marianne , Finland / Denmark
Marianne Alenius is a scholar who lives in Denmark.

Alonso, Vicent, Catalonia
Vicent Alonso (b. 1948) is a Catalan poet and critic. He is Professor of Modern Catalan Literature at the University of Valencia. Alonso's literary production comprises four collections of poems. He also translates French literature into Catalan.

Amantay, Didar, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan's Didar Amantay (b. 1969) has published two extensive collections of prose and essays. He won the Soros-Kazakhstan debut award in 1996. He also writes articles about the history, geopolitics and culture of Kazakhstan for numerous newspapers and periodicals

Andersson, Claes, Finland
Claes Andersson (b. 1937), a Finland-Swedish poet, esteemed jazz-pianist and psychiatrist, has published during the last thirty years some twenty collections of poems or plays, the latest En lycklig mänska ("A Lucky Person") came out in 1996. His social conscience, combined with the poet's precise expression and self-irony, makes him one of the foremost poet voices in Finland. His poetry has been translated into numerous languages. Furthermore, he served as a minister of culture from 1995 until 1998.

Andruchovyts, Yuri, Ukraine
Yuri Andruchovych was born in 1960 in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. He began puglishing in literary journals in 1982. In 1985 he founded the popular literary performance group "Bu-Ba-Bu". Andruchovych's first book appeared in 1985. He has published three books of poetry, three novels and one short story collection.

Asare, Maira, Latvia
Maira Asare is a Latvian writer.

Askildsen, Kjell, Norway
Kjell Askildsen (b. 1929) is an undisputed master of the modern Norwegian short story. He has been translated into several languages, including English, German, Finnish, Swedish, French, Dutch, Italian and Spanish.

Auezov, Murat, Kazakhstan
Murat Auezov is an essayist from Kazakhstan. His subjects have included among others the philosophy of nomadism and post-colonial identity in the present states of the CIS. Auezov has been active in civil movements and he is currently founding a democratic party in Kazakhstan.

Axelsson, Majgull, Sweden
Majgull Axelsson (born 1947) is a Swedish writer and journalist

Baltzar, Veijo, Finland
Veijo Baltzar (b. 1942) is Finland's only Gypsy writer. With his eight novels, he has shed light on the world of the hidden culture of his tribe. He has also written plays, dramatised poems and film scripts. He has won awards on two occasions (1999 and 2000) at the international Amico Rom review of Gypsy art in Lanciano, Italy.

Barnás, Ferenc, Hungary
Ferenc Barnás (b. 1959) is a promising new talent in Hungarian literature. Last year he won the prestigious Sándor Márai prize for his two novels. Barnás has written his doctor's thesis on the world view of Hermann Hesse.

Baron, Marc, France
The Frenchman Marc Baron (b. 1946), who studied philosophy and theology, has published ten collections of poems.

Bateman, Colin, Northern Ireland
Colin Bateman was born in Northern Ireland in 1962 and educated at Bangor Grammar School before joining the County Down Spectator, where he was deputy editor for many years. He left in 1996 to become a full-time writer. In 1990 he received a Journalist's Fellowship to Oxford University for his report from Uganda and won a Northern Ireland Press Award for his weekly satirical column. He was awarded the Betty Trask Prize in 1994.

Bellemare, Gaston, Canada
Gaston Bellemare (born 1942) is the founder of many national and international poetry promoting organizations and also holds many positions of trust.

Belskaja, Alina, Byelorussia
Alina Belskaya is a journalist, translator and activist in the Byelorussian independence movement. She lives in exile in Finland and is studying English and Political History at the University of Helsinki. She translates from English and Finnish into Byelorussian and Russian. Her main interests are languages and the political development of Eastern Europe.

Benni, Stefano, Italy

Bennis, Mohammed, Marocco
Mohammed Bennis (born 1948) from Morocco has published about 20 collections of poetry, essays and studies.

Berg, Bengt, Sweden
The Swedish poet and café owner Bengt Berg (b. 1946) lives in Torsby, Northern Värmland, and has written plays, poetry and scenarios for TV, publishing about 20 books. His last one, Det omöjliga alfabetet ("The Impossible Alphabet") consists of short texts based on the ABC and the numbers.

Berg, Mikhail, Russia
Mikhail Berg (b. 1952), from St Petersburg, is a well-known writer, journalist, controversial essayist and polemist who has published seven novels and more than 400 newspaper articles. Last year, he graduated as a Doctor of Literature at the University of Helsinki.

Bergsson, Gudbergur , Iceland
Since the 1960s, Gudbergur Bergsson (b. 1932) has retained his position as one of Iceland's leading prose writers. His extensive output comprises novels, collections of short stories and poetry. They have been translated into Spanish, English, Italian, German, Danish and Czech.

Biamonti, Francis, Italy
Francesco Biamonti (born 1933) is an Italian writer.

Bisultanov, Apty, Checheny

Bracho, Coral, Mexico
Coral Bracho (born 1951) is a Mexican poet and literary researcher.

Bykou, Vasilj, Georgia
Vasilj Bykou is Byelorus' national author. He is living in Helsinki until the autumn 1999 as a participant of the Safe City Program for writers.

Bykova, Irina, Finland
Irina Bykova is a Belorussian film and theatre critic.

Cabat, Gabriel, Italy

Calasso, Roberto, Italy

Cameron, Peter, USA
Peter Cameron (b. 1960) is a writer from New York.

di Carlo, Carlo, Italy
Carlo di Carlo (b. 1938) is Italian film director who began his career as a film critic. He edited the magazine Film Selezioni in 1959-1963. His first film was a short film La menzogna di Marzabotto ("The Lie of Marzabotto") in 1961.

Carrère, Emmanuel, France
The Paris-born Emmanuel Carrère (b. 1957) is considered one of the best writers of the new French generation. He has published eight works of fiction. They have been translated into some twenty languages, including English, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Norvegian, Danish etc.

Celati, Gianni, Italy
Gianni Celati (born 1937) rose to the top of the modern Italian literature in the 1970s supported and inspired by Italo Calvino.

Collins, Michael, Ireland
The Irish-born writer, Michael Collins (b. 1964) has written two collections of short stories and three novels to international critical acclaim and numerous awards. They have been translated into fifteen languages, including French and Italian. He currently lives in Seattle.

Cope, Wendy, England
Wendy Cope was born in 1945 in Erith, Kent and educated at schools in the same county. She read history at St. Hilda's College, Oxford then went on to do a year's post-graduate teacher training. She is now a freelance writer. Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis, her first collection of poems, was published in 1986 to great critical acclaim. In 1987 she won a Cholmondeley Award for poetry and in 1995 the American Academy of Letters Michael Braude Award for Light Verse.

Csejdy, András, Hungary
András Csejdy, Hungarian prose writer, translator and political-cultural editor, was born in 1964, and lives in Budapest.His first novel Meddóhányó (Black Ice), a chronicle with harsh irony and criticism, is about alienation of young Hungarian generation in the last years of Kádárism. He has published one novel, several short stories and translations.

Darieussecq, Marie, France
Marie Darieussecq was born in 1969 in Bayonne, France. She is a graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris and teaches in Lille. Her first novel, Pig Tales, is un utterly unconventional novel in which gender, politics, and social hypocrisy all come under satiric scrutiny. Pig Tales was an instant best seller in France and has been translated into several languages.

De Carlo, Andrea, Italy
The Italian writer Andrea De Carlo (b. 1952) has published ten novels and worked in the film industry, with Federico Fellini, among others. His works have been translated into seventeen languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Norwegian, Danish and Russia.

De Luca, Erri, Italy
The Italian Erri De Luca (b. 1950) has written novels and stories and worked as a building worker. He writes articles amongst others for the social magazine MicroMega and contributes to several arts and culture publications as well as dailies. Through a person's experience De Luca describes phenomena that have touched generations and interpersonal relations. He has written stories based on the Old Testament and translated parts of the Bible into Italian.

Domascyna, Róza, Germany
Róza Domascyna is one the most important Sorb writers.

Dorion, Hélène, Canada
Hélène Dorion (b. 1958) is one of the most famous French language poets in Canada. She has published some fifteen poetry books in Quebec, France and Belgium. Her works have translated e.g. into English, German and Spanish. Two Selections of her poems have been published: La vie, ses fragiles passages ("Life, its fragile passages") in France the selection of English translations called The Edges of Light. Dorion also works as a critic and a publisher.

Ducornet, Rikki, USA
Rikki Ducornet (Erica Ducornet, born 1943) is an American writer and illustrator.

Dörrie, Doris, Germany
German-born Doris Dörrie (b. 1955) made her international debut with a film, Männer (1985, Men). She has published seven collections of short prose and her first novel came out last year. Dörrie is currently working as a teacher in the Academy for Television & Film in Munich.

Edelfeldt, Inger, Sweden
The wide and versatile production of the Swedish writer Inger Edelfeldt (b. 1956) comprises over twenty works: novels, children's books and juveniles, collections of short stories, comics and poems. They have been translated into German and French.

Elo, Viola, Finland
Viola Elo is a Finnish writer and teacher living in Helsinki who has written a book for young people, a children's fantasy book and, most recently, a novel entitled Rosa ja sen pikkusisaret (Rosa and her little sisters, 1995). Her short stories have also appeared in a variety of anthologies. Elo has studied Finnish literature, communication (media), pedagogics and social policy.

Elsanov, Islam, Chechenya
Islam Elsanov is a Chechen writer.

Eltit, Diamela, Chile
Chilean novelist Diamela Eltit, (b. 1949) teaches literature and Spanish at Santiago University and has worked as a guest lecturer of literature at Columbia and Stanford universities (USA).

Ernamo, Timo, Finland
Timo Ernamo (b. 1958) is a Finnish publisher, writer, translator and, since 1978, a performing rock'n roll artist. In his youth he was a member of several theatre groups, some of them professional. He has published in Finnish works by Kjell Askildsen, Gudbergur Bergsson, Emmanul Carrère, Karin Fossum, Vigdís Grímsdottir, Einar Már Gudmundsson, Jan Guillou, Erlend Loe, and others.

Ernstreit, Valt, Latvia
Valt Ernstreit is a young Latvian writer living in Riga.

Fagerholm, Monika, Finland
Monika Fagerholm (b. 1961) is a Finland-Swedish writer whose first novel Underbara kvinnor vid vatten (Wonderful Women by the Water) has been translated into ten languages. It was nominated for the Runeberg Prize in Finland and the August Prize in Sweden. Her second novel Diva came out last autumn. She has also written two collections of short prose and stories.

Fischer, Tibor, England
Tibor Fischer (s. 1959) has published short stories and two novels, which are both enlivened by linguistic ingenuity and 'encyclopedianess'.

Flisar, Evald, Slovenia
Evald Flisar (b. 1945) is a Slovenian novelist and playwright who has written six travelogue novels and numerous plays. Many of these have been performed abroad, in some seventeen countries. His most popular novel Carovnikov vajenec (1986, Going Away with the Wild Tiger) is due to appear shortly in Finnish, Norwegian, Spanish and English.

Forgács, Zsuzsa, Hungary
Zsuzsa Forgács is the key figure of the new Hungarian literature. She has aroused attention with her original descriptions of the female imagery and sex life. She has studied history, philosophy and sociology in Budapest and in New York. Since 1980 she has mostly been living in New York. Her first book, the collection of short stories called Talált nó ("Found Women") was published in 1995 and was in the top row of the Hungarian best-sellers for five months, provoking heated debates.

Forsén, Gunilla
Gunilla Forsén is the director of the Baltic Center for Writers and Translators.

Gonzáles Aktories, Susana, Mexico
Susana González Aktories (born 1967), a Mexican literary researcher and semiotician, has taught and carried out research in several universities. Currently she is a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature at Universidad Nacional Autónoma De México and she also coordinates the teaching of music semiology at the National School of Music. She frequently lectures on literature and semiotics around the world. Aktories has published anthologies of Mexican poetry and studies on the relationship between poetry and music.

Grigorjeva, Nadezhda, Russia
Nadezhda Grigorjeva (born 1973) is a researcher, journalist and prosaist from St. Petersburg who writes the fiercest and most violent female prose of today's Russia. In 1998 she graduated from the University of St. Petersburg, where her major was Russian literature. She has in various magazines published free-form prose where large spans of cultural history clash with Russian taboos and norms.

Guat Eng, Chuah, Malaysia
The Malaysian writer, Chuah Guat Eng (b. 1943), worked for more than twenty years in advertising before publishing her debut novel in 1994. She has also written a collection of Malaysian folktales and a play. Guat Eng is currently working on her doctor's thesis on Malaysian literature in English.

Grünzweig, Dorothea, Germany
Dorothea Grünzweig (b. 1952) is a German secondary school teacher and poet who lives in Helsinki. She has studied in Tübingen, Bangor and Oxford. Her first poetry book was awarded by the Stiftung Niedersachsen/Wolfenbüttel.

Gunesekera, Romesh, Sri Lanka/England
Romesh Gunesekera was born in Sri Lanka. He has lived in London since the early 1970's. His poems and short stories have been awarded by several literary prizes. His first novel Reef (1994), an axquisite panorama of domestic life in Colombo thirty years ago was on Booker shortlist 1994. His books have been translated into several languages.

Gutiérrez, Menchu, Spain
Menchu Gutiérrez is a poet and a prosaist born in Madrid in 1957. She has studied visual arts translated Faulkner and Poe, as well as the biography of Isaac Newton. Among Gutiérrez' three books of poetry, the last one received the Ricardo Molina poetry prize. As a novelist Gutiérrez debuted in 1994.

Hannah, Sophie, England
Sophie Hannah was born in Manchester in 1971 and debuted in 1992 with a book for children.

Hassinen, Pirjo, Finland
Pirjo Hassinen (b. 1957) is a Finnish novelist who writes on the relations between women and those between couples. She became popular with both critics and the public right with her first novel.

van Heerden, Etienne, South Africa
Etienne van Heerden (born 1954), a lawyer and literary researcher by training, is one of the most prominent writers in South Africa writing in Afrikaans.

Heinimäki, Jaakko, Finland
Jaakko Heinimäki (b. 1965) is a Finnish vicar and journalist from Helsinki. He has won the resounding praise of readers and critics alike with his five books of essays, in which saints, religion, the seven deadly sins and humour are treated with a perceptive and lighthearted touch.

Heino, Hannimari, Finland
Hannimari Heino (b. 1963) translates Italyn literature into Finnish. She has translated e.g. Gianni Celati and a collection of poems by Giuseppe Ungaretti.

Helgason, Hallgrimur, Iceland
Hallgrímur Helgason (b. 1959) is an Icelandic writer, painter, cartoonist, stand-up-comedian and columnist who has published three novels, a collection of short stories, poems and two plays. His novel 101 Reykjavík has been translated into Danish, Swedish and German.

Hiidenheimo, Silja, Finland
Silja Hiidenheimo (s. 1961) is a Finnish editor. She was the editor-in-chief of the Nuori Voima literary journal 1995-1998, and is a founding member of the "Living Poets' Club" in Finland. She has also translated into Finnish books by Kathy Acker, among others.

Hino, Madoka, Japan
The Japanese writer Madoka Hino was born in Tokyo. She studied violin and traditional folk music, and worked several years as a professional musician. Today she is an independent writer and has published biographies of several composers. She has written essays on music, made radio programmes and produced records of classical music. Last year she published the opera novel "Aria from the Realm of the Stars", whose main theme is the ballet based on a Russian tale about a golden cock.

Holappa, Pentti, Finland
Pentti Holappa (b. 1927) is the author of an extensive and multi-faceted oeuvre comprising poems, novels, plays, essays and journalism. His novel Ystävän muotokuva (Portrait of a Friend) was awarded the Finlandia Prize in 1998. It is due to appear shortly in French and German. His poems have been published in Gallimard's esteemed Poésie series. Holappa is also known as a translator of modern French literature into Finnish. In addition to being a writer, he is also a politician, who served as a second minister of culture and education in 1972.

Honda, Hisashi, Japan
The Japanese poet Hisashi Honda (b. 1947) has worked as a publishing editor and today owns a publishing and printing house of his own. He has published ten collections of poems and one collection of essays on poetry. He has been awarded several remarkable literature prizes.

Houellebecq, Michel, France
The French writer Michel Houllebecq (b. 1958) made his literary breakthrough with Les particules élémentaires (1998), which has been translated into no fewer than twenty-five languages. Houellebecq has also published short prose, a collection of essays and poems.

Huerta, David, Mexico
The Mexican David Huerta (b. 1949) is a peculiar case in the history of Mexican poetry. His first collection El jardin de la luz ("The Garden of Light") was regarded as precocious; yet its pictures and language seem rather tamed and assured compared to what was still to come. The year 1976 was to mark the turning point with his following collection. This time, his poems are composed of names, silence, light and the language itself.

Huttunen, Merja, Finland
Merja Huttunen (b. 1955) is a Finnish writer. Her debut Hello Love (1972) was awarded both the J.H. Erkko and Kalevi Jäntti Prizes. Since then she has published two novels and written essays, short stories and poems, published in several cultural publications.

Härkönen, Anna-Leena, Finland
Härkönen has written prose, several plays and television scripts.

Ikonen, Teemu, Finland
Teemu Ikonen is a Finnish literary researcher from Helsinki and editor-in-chief of Nuori Voima magazine.

Ings, Simon, England
Simon Ings (born 1965) is an English writer and is considered a reformer of cyberpunk and William Gibson's successor.

Jaatinen, Eila, Finland
Eila Jaatinen (b. 1952) is a Finnish critic, journalist and writer who has published ten works - books for children and young people, collections of poems, a novel and a collection of causeries - and translated some thirty volumes into Finnish, mostly children's books.

Jeromaa, Liisa, Finland
Liisa Jeromaa (b. 1946) is a Finnish non-fiction writer, teacher and adult educator. She has published books on self-expression and self-improvement.

Júdice, Manuela, Portugal
Manuela Júdice is a portugese leader of a literary institute.

Júdice, Nuno, Portugal
The Portuguese essayist, critic and poet Nuno Júdice was born in 1949 and works today as the professor of comparative literary history at Lisbon university and as the editor in chief of the Tabacaria paper. His works have received several literary prizes and been translated into a number of languages, e.g. in the Poésie series of Gallimard and in Italian.

Jänicke, Raija, Finland
Raija Jänicke (b. 1934) translates literature into Finnish from Swedish and German. She has translated e.g. works by Märta Tikkanen, Irmeli Sandman Lilius, Martin Walser and Herta Müller. For her translations she has been awarded the State Prize and the Mikael Agricola Prize. She is now working on a novel by Emine Sevgi Özdamar.

Järvelä, Jari, Finland
Jari Järvelä (b. 1966) is a finnish writer currently living in Kotka. He has published two collections of short stories and written two radio plays.

Järvenpää-Summanen, Anelma, Finland
Anelma Järvenpää-Summanen (b. 1947) is a Finnish writer and reporter. She has published five novels and three collections of poems, the most recent of which Valitse kohtalosi (Choose your destiny) came out in 2000.

Jääskeläinen, Markus, Finland
Markus Jääskeläinen (b. 1969) is a Finnish poet and translator. He has translated poems by, e.g., William Carlos Williams into Finnish.

Jääskeläinen, Seppo, Finland
Seppo Jääskeläinen (b. 1939) is a Finnish writer living in Lahti. He has also written plays, portraits and histories.

Kadyrov, Dzumadin, Kirgistan
Dzumadin Kadyrov (b.1967) is a young poet from Kirghizia. He has published the poetry collections "Temporary Farewell" (1991) and "Human fallen from the sky", plus a novel. He is an observant, silently contemplative writer who records concealed and deep meanings in situations of an everyday life.

Kaila, Tiina, Finland
Tiina Kaila (b. 1951) is a major Finnish lyricist and prose writer. She has written four collections of poems, three novels and two novels for young people, a book of fairy-tales and adaptations of folktales.

Kanapjanov, Bahytzhan, Kazakhstan
Bakhitzhan Kanapianov was born in 1951 in Kazakhstan and has studied there and in Moscow. He is the author of more than ten books of poetry and prose. He is a member of GreenPeace, he was active in the anti-nuclear movement within the former Soviet Union and during the disarmament phase of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the early 1990s. Kanapianov is the president and publisher of the Silk Road Publishing House in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Kanovits, Grigori, Lithuania/Israel
The Lithuanian Jewish Grigory Kanovits was born in 1929 and lives today in Israel. His writes prose in Russian and plays in Lithuanian. His most famous prose works include Sljozy i molitvy durakov - a rather independent book belonging to his loose tetralogy. This tetralogy describes the life of a Jewish community in a small Lithuanian town from the middle of the 19th century until the revolution.

Kareva, Doris, Estonia
Estonian poet Doris Kareva (b. 1958) has published ten collections of poems. Her poems have been translated into fifteen languages, including English, French, German, Russian, Swedish, Lithuanian and Slovenian. Kareva has rendered into Estonian a large number of essays, poems and plays by English, American and Russian writers.

Katajavuori, Riina, Finland
Riina Katajavuori (b. 1968) is a Finnish poet and journalist living in Helsinki. She has written two collections of poetry which have been highly praised. She also writes essays and criticism for several magazines and newspapers.

Katz, Daniel, Finland
Daniel Katz (b. 1938) is the most colourful writer of narrative fiction writing in Finnish at the moment. He is a fabulist and a jester who is very fond of unexpected turns and twists of the tale. He earned his Bachelors degree at the University of Helsinki. In addition to his novels Daniel Katz is also known for highly original plays for radio and stage.

Kesküla, Kalev, Estonia
Kalev Kesküla is an Estonian writer living in Tallinn.

Kilpi, Tuomas, Finland
Tuomas Kilpi is a Finnish translator.

Kinnunen, Tapani, Finland
Tapani Kinnunen (b. 1962) is a Finnish poet from the town of Turku. Kinnunen's poems have been translated into English, Swedish and Estonian. He is also known as an impressive reciter of his poems, something which he has testified to on more than 400 poetry tours in Finland and abroad.

Kirstinä, Väinö, Finland
Väinö Kirstinä (b. 1936), who was born in Tyrnävä, Northern Finland, is a poet and translator now living in Helsinki. He has published eleven collections of poems since his debut Lakeus ("The Plain") in 1961, plus two selections of essays. He has translated into Finnish e.g. works by Baudelaire, Breton and Malraux.

Klemelä, Kari, Finland
Kari Klemelä (b. 1955) lives in Sauvo and has translated into Finnish, inter alia, works by Edvard Radzinski from Russian and the novels of Maja Novak and Evald Flisar and an collection of poems by Ales Debeljak from Slovenian. Klemelä is a member of the jury of the Hollo award for non-fiction translated into Finnish, and Chairman of the Slovenia Association.

Kohonen, Laila, Finland
Laila Kohonen (b. 1934) was born in Savitaipale. She became a primary school teacher in 1956 and has written several novels.

Koivisto, Sesse, Finland
Sesse Koivisto (b. 1932) is a writer who lives in Lahti and has written seventeen books about the animal kingdom (in collaboration with Ilkka Koivisto), children's books, travel books and seven novels. Her works have been translated into Swedish, Danish, Estonian, German, English, Japanese and Chinese.

Koivukari, Tapio, Finland
Tapio Koivukari (b. 1959) is a Finnish writer and translator of Icelandic literature into Finnish. He has published two novels and two collections of short stories in Finnish, but he writes his poems in Icelandic.

Koponen, Ilkka, Finland
Ilkka Koponen (b. 1973) was born in Kuopio. He has published a book of poetry.

Korsström, Tuva, Finland
Tuva Korsström (b. 1946) works as a journalist and critic for the Finland-Swedish Hufvudstadsbladet newspaper and regularly contributes to the Swedish Dagens Nyheter cultural pages. Her interview book Berättelsernas återkomst. På spaning efter den europeiska romanen ("The Return of the Stories. In Quest of the European Novel") came out in 1994 and her essay book Tidsresor. Rapporter om förändringar ("Timetravelling. Covering Changes") in 1997.

Koskela, Tauno, Finland
Tauno Koskela (b. 1916) was born and lives in Rauma. He received a degree in pedagogy in 1936, and has taught didactics at the University of Turku. He has published several books which are strongly marked by his use of the distinctive western Finnish dialect of Rauma.

Koskelainen, Jukka, Finland
Jukka Koskelainen (b. 1961) has published a book of poetry, and his second collection is forthcoming in the fall. He also writes criticism and essays for several magazines and newspapers. He was an associate editor-in-chief of the Literary journal Nuori Voima in 1991-1994 and has translated works by Octavio Paz and Paul Celan.

Koski, Markku, Finland
Markku Koski (b. 1945) is a Lahti-based essayist and journalist, researcher of popular culture.

Kossylbekov, Didar Amantaevich, Kazakhstan
The Kazakhstan writer Didar Amantaevich Kossylbekov (print name Didar Amantay, b. 1969) has published novels, short stories and essays. He also writes articles on the history, geopolitics and culture of Kazakhstan for a number of newspapers and magazines.

Krasznahorkai, László, Hungary With his five novels, László Krasznahorkai (b. 1954) has won considerable acclaim not only in his native land of Hungary but also in Germany. His works have also been translated into English, French and Spanish. The writer has made a number of films with Hungary's most renowned avant-garde director Béla Tarr.

Krauss, Angela, Germany
The prosaist Angela Krauss was born in 1950 in Chemnitz. In 1972, she started her studies in Berlin. Since 1981 she is a free-lance writer and lives today in Leipzig. She was awarded in 1988 the most esteemed Ingeborg Bachmann prize, in 1995 the Lessing-Förder prize and in 1996 the Berliner Literatur prize.

Kurzweil, Allen, USA
Allen Kurzweil was born in New York City in 1960. He graduated from Yale and was a Fullbright Fellow in Rome. His jobs have included assisting the foreign desks of two Italian newspapers, shepherding American high-school students on tours of Europe and teaching fiction at Yale. His first novel, A Case of Curiosities, was published in 1992 and won the Premio Grinzane Cavour in Italy. In 1994 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Lampola, Kristiina, Finland
Kristiina Lampola (b. 1943), from Lahti, is a Finnish lecturer, translator and holds an M.A. in Theology. She has also studied the science of religion, philosophy and psychology. She has translated works by Amos Oz and David Grossmann from Hebrew into Finnish.

Lappalainen, Otto, Finland
Otto Lappalainen (b. 1954) is a Finnish literary critic, translator and journalist.

Lappalainen, Timo, Finland
Timo Lappalainen (b. 1959) is a Finnish poet living in Vantaa whose second collection of poems Poetic Licence came out this spring. His poems have also been published abroad: in Alaska, Belgium and Estonia.

Lardot, Raisa, Finland
Raisa Lardot (b. 1938) was born in Karelia and lives in Kauniainen. She is a well-known Finnish writer of autobiographical fiction. She is the author of eight books, and her ninth, a novel called Andy ja Vera ("Andy and Vera") is forthcoming this fall.

Laukkarinen, Liisa, Finland
Liisa Laukkarinen (b. 1944) is a Finnish poet, who has published twelve poetry collections, two novels and other fiction. She has also translated into Finnish Elias Canetti's aphorisms. Her own works have been translated into German, English, Russian, Swedish, Bulgarian and Estonian.

Lehtolainen, Leena, Finland
Leena Lehtolainen (b. 1964) is a Finnish writer and literary critic. She started as a poet and has since published several crime novels.

Lehtonen, Kimmo, Finland
Kimmo Lehtonen (b. 1967) has contributed to Tähtivaeltaja magazine as a science fiction expert and critic since 1991. He works as a communications analyst for the city of Helsinki. His debut novel Timpuktun hetket ("Moments of Timbuktu") came out in 1997.

Lenoir, Hélène, France
The French writer Hélène Lenoir (b. 1955) has published short stories and three novels. Her latest novel, Son nom d'avant (1998), was a success among critics and readers alike in both France and Germany. She has lived and worked in Germany since 1980.

Liiv, Toomas, Estonia
Toomas Liiv is an Estonian writer.

Loe, Erlend, Norway
Erlend Loe (born 1969), a Norwegian writer, has acted, made short films and music videos, worked as a literary critic and translator, a teacher and in a psychiatric hospital.

Lopatka, Jakub, Finland
Jakub Lopatka is a Belorussian journalist and writer, living in exile in Finland.

Luova, Kirsti, Finland
Kirsti Luova is a television translator living in Lappila. She has been translating English and French documentaries and text samples on writers and poets into Finnish since 1977.

Macura, Vladimir, Czech
Vladimir Macura was born 1945 in Ostrava. In 1963-1968 he studied Czech and English literature at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague. Since 1969 he has been employed at the Institute of Czech Literature. He has published several prose books and has translated some 20 books from Estonian into Czech.

Maizel, Evgeni, Russia
Evgeni Maizel (born 1973) from St. Petersburg published 'J. Maizel - the Birth of a Post Human Being', which contains texts of fiction written during 1994-97, last year. Maizel has also written series of poems, stories, aphorisms and newspaper articles. He currently works for 'On the Ground', a socio-cultural journal. He wishes that his non-activism, illustrated in his writing in a profound, reflective and non-commercial manner, be taken as a sign of his nonconformist lifestyle. Maizel was born in Leningrad and graduated from the University of Gerzen, where he majored in Russian philology and culture.

Makine, Andreï, France
Andreï Makine, the Russian-born writer living in France became famous with his fourth book "The French Testament". It received the most highly appreciated French literary prizes: Goncourt, Médicis and Goncourt des lycéens prizes in the same year 1995. Makine was born in 1957 in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, studied in Moscow linguistics and literature, and became Doctor of Philosophy. Nine years ago he moved to France. "The French Testament" has been translated into some 20 languages.

Malinovski, Nina, Denmark
Nina Malinovski (b. 1951) comes from Denmark and has published six poem collections since 1981.

Maraini, Dacia, Italy
Dacia Maraini (b. 1936) is an Italian writer, poet and journalist. Her books deal with the problems of womanhood; she describes the social essence of different epochs through women's destinies. The novel La lunga vita di Marianna Ucría ("The Long Life of Marianna Ucría") is a metaphor of a writing woman: the heroine, who has lost his ability to speak due to the violence she suffered, creates herself a new identity by writing - at the same time this writing, the text, is her only means of communication with the rest of the world.

de Melo, João, Portugal
Joao de Melo was born in the Azores in 1949. His praised work often takes place in the near history of Portugal. In addition, de Melo has written three collections of essays and edited two anthologies. He was awarded among others the following prizes: The Great Prize of the Portuguese Association of Writers for Novels and Short Stories, the Fernando Namora prize, the Eça de Queiroz prize, the Christoffer Columbus prize and the prize of the Antena 1 radio station.

Menkes-Ivry, Vivienne, France
Vivienne Menkes-Ivry is a French journalist, translator and writer.

Metowa, Merka, sorbi
Merka Metowa (German Mieth, born 1959) is one of the newer names in Sorb literature in Lausitz, Germany.

Momplé, Lília, Mosambique
Lília Momplé (b.1935) is one of the leading figures of writers' union in Mozambique; she has represented her country everywhere in the world. She studied German literature and passed a social worker exam in Lisbon. Her debut short story collection Ninguèm mataou Suhura ("Nobody killed Suhura") was published in 1988. Her novel Neighbours attracted international notice. Lately she wrote a collection of short stories called Os olhos da cobra verde ("The eyes of the green cobra", 1997). She took part in the Iowa international Writing Program and has lectured at many US universities about Mozambique literature.

Morys, Twm, Wales
Twm Morys (born 1961) is one of the most important modern poets and essayists writing in Cymric.

Muldoon, Paul, Northern Ireland
Paul Muldoon was born in 1951 in County Armagh, Nothern Ireland, and educated in Armagh and at the Queen's University of Belfast. From 1973 to 1986 he worked in Belfast as a radio and television producer for the British Broadcasting Corporation. Since 1987 he has lived in the United States, where he has taught at Berkeley, Columbia, and the University of Massachusetts: he now teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University. Paul Muldoon's main collections of poetry are New Weather, Mules, Why Brownlee left, Quoof, Meeting the British and The Annals of Chile. Paul Muldoon was given an American Academy of Arts and Letters award in literature for 1996.

Muravin, Gennady, Estonia
Gennadi Muravin is an Estonian writer, journalist and translator. He has translated into Russian some hundred Estonian and some ten Finnish volumes, e.g. a selection of works by the Finnish Nobel laureate F.E. Sillanpää. In addition, he has written two books, radio plays and a script for a documentary.

Müller, Nicole, Switzerland
Nicole Müller (b. 1962) is a Swiss prosaist.

Mörö, Mari, Finland
Mari Mörö (b. 1963) is a Finnish writer living in Mikkeli. Her first novel, Kiltin yön lahjat ("Gifts of the Good Night"), which came out last year, was received favourably by both readers and critics. It was a candidate for three literary prizes, the Finlandia, Olvi, and Savonia Prizes, and was finally awarded the Runeberg Prize. She debuted in 1992 with a collection of short stories called Siivet ("Wings"). She has also published five books for children and young people and she regularly writes radio plays, columns and articles.

Navakas, Kestutis, Lithuania
Lithuanian Kestutis Navakas (b. 1964) is a poet, literary critic, translator, member of the Kaunas development forum, and founder and current director of the "Seven solitudes" book club.

Neklyayev, Vladimir, Byelorussia
Chairman of the Byelorussian Union of Writers, Vladimir Neklyayev currently lives in Helsinki as a Safe City Program writer. He is one of the motive forces behind the opposition to President Lukashenka. The creator of more than 500 much-loved songs and poems, he has written numerous articles on the situation in Byelorussia and its language and culture.

Nelimarkka-Seeck, Riitta, Finland
Riitta Nelimarkka-Seeck graduated as an arts teacher in 1972. She is known particularly for her awarded animated films.

Nevanlinna, Tuomas, Finland
Tuomas Nevanlinna (b. 1960) is a Finnish essayist, translator, columnist of the Helsingin Sanomat's weekly supplement and director of Kriittinen korkeakoulu., an independent institute for philosophy and arts. He has written a novel with Kari Kontio and translated into Finnish books by Lewis Carroll, Wendy Cope, Roald Dahl, Derek Walcott, and others.

Ngoyen, Mae, Vietnam / Finland
Mae Ngoyen is a Vietnamese writer who lives in Finland.

Nieminen, Kai, Finland
Kai Nieminen is a Finnish poet and translator. He has made Japanese culture accessible to Finnish readers with his fluent translations of Osamu Dazai, Yunichiro Tanizaki and others.

Nöel, Bernard, France
The famous French contemporary poet Bernard Noël was born in 1930. He has studied journalism and sociology. His first collection of poems was published in 1955; his poems have also been published in the renowned Poésie series of Gallimard. His themes include death, silence and corporality as well as the captivity of the self. He has also been widely noticed for his prose. He also writes under the pseudonym d'Orlac.

Nopola, Sinikka, Finland
Sinikka Nopola (b. 1953) is a popular and award-winning children's author who lives in Helsinki. Nopola has also written short stories, causeries for Helsingin Sanomat's monthly supplement, plays for radio and television scripts.

Nurmunradov, Shir-Ali, Turkmenistan
Shir-Ali Nurmunradov, a poet from Turkmenistan, has been in prison in his country and in 1995 was arrested in Moscow, from where an attempt was made to return him to Turkmenistan. He currently lives as a refugee in Stockholm.

Onichimowska, Anna, Poland
Anna Onichimowska has graduated in 1975 from University of Warsaw. She has worked as a children's book editor in 1975-1991. In 1990 she cofounded Children's World Foundation where she now works as a managing director. She has published 14 books of poetry and prose. In 1980 she was awarded The Prize of the Polish Publisher's Association.

Ojala, Ossi, Finland
Ossi Ojala (b. 1933) is a Finnish Writer.

Okura, Junichiro, Japan / Finland
Junichiro Okura is a Japanese translator and writer who lives in Helsinki.

Otonkoski, Lauri, Finland
Lauri Otonkoski (b. 1959) is a Finnish musician, a poet and a journalist. He studied the flute at the Sibelius Academy of Music and wrote musical reviews for Helsingin Sanomat, the major newspaper in Finland. His first collection of poetry was published in 1992. In 1995 he received the Nuori Suomi ("Young Finland") award given to promising young artists.

Paasonen, Markku, Finland
Markku Paasonen (b. 1967) is a Finnish poet and essayist. His debut poem collection Aurinkopunos ("Solar Twist") was published in 1997. He has contributed to the Nuori Voima literary journal and was the co-editor of the MOTMOT 1997, Annals of the "Living Poets' Club", together with Tommi Parkko.

Paavolainen, Nina, Finland
Nina Paavolainen (b. 1964) is a Finnish journalist, translator and director of the Nuori Voima literary society. She has recently translated the novel Les fenêtres murées ("Windows Walled Up") written by the Rumanian author Alexander Vona, published in 1996. She worked as Foreign Relations Secretary of the Lahti International Writers' Reunion in 1993-1995 and, last year, as the Secretary General of the International PEN Congress in Helsinki.

Padrón, Justo Jorge, Spain
Justo Jorge Padrón has written 16 collections of poetry and 20 essay and translation works.

Palmgren, Reidar, Finland
Reidar Palmgren (b. 1966) is a Finnish actor living in Tampere whose debut novel Jalat edellä (Feet first) came out spring 2001. Palmgren has been seen in numerous theatre roles on television and all over Finland.

Palmu, Heikki, Finland
Heikki Palmu (b. 1946) is a Finnish writer who lives in Turku. He received the Eino Leino Prize in 1970 for his work Harmaa päiväkirja. Kuvia Suomen puolustuslaitoksesta (Grey diary. Pictures of the Finnish defence establishment, 1969). Palmu has worked as subeditor of the Ydin magazine and editor-in-chief of Etsijä and as a permanent writer and columnist to various newspapers.

Parkkinen, Sami, Finland
Helsinki writer Sami Parkkinen (b. 1962) debuted with the collection of short stories Loordi (Lord) in1987. It was praised for its absurd humour and easy-going approach. Since then, he has written four novels and a collection of short stories, one book for children and plays and adaptations. His latest novel Teo (2000) was entered for the Finlandia Prize. It was extolled for its warmth and gentle humour. Parkkinen has studied Finnish literature and drama at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Helsinki.

Parkko, Tommi, Finland
Tommi Parkko is a Finnish poet and publisher. His first book of poetry came out in 1996.

Pashew, Abdulla, Finland
Abdulla Pashew (b. 1947) is a poet from Kurdistan, who has lived as a political refugee in Finland for four years. He participated in the Foundation Congress of the Kurdish Writers' Union in Baghdad in 1970. Pashew has published seven books of poetry, of which the first is from 1967, but since the 1990s, he has read all his poems on cassettes. His complete works in Kurdish will be published in Stockholm this year, when a large selection of his poems will also be available in Swedish.

Patterson, Glenn, Northern Ireland
Glenn Patterson (b. 1961) explores Ireland's political situation in his works.

Paxal, Tom, Finland
Tom Paxal (b. 1947) is a Finnish-Swedish writer who has written books for both children and grown ups, plays for radio and stage and screenplays for short films.

Pham Thi Hoai, Vietnam / Germany
Pham Thi Hoai (born 1960) wrote her first novel The Crystal Messenger in 1991 and it was banned in Vietnam because of its liberalism, but it was quickly translated into six languages.

Phillips Jayne Anne, USA
Jayne Anne Phillips (b. 1952) is one of the brightest stars of American literature. Her production - two collections of short stories and three novels - has been translated into twelve languages. Phillips first participated in the Lahti International Writers' Reunion as early as in 1983.

Piiroinen, Asta, Finland
Asta Piiroinen was born in Joensuu, Finland, and is now living in Sweden. She is a writer, journalist, translator and critic, whose debut collection of short stories Kestomadonna ja naistensyöjä ("Durable Madonna and the Woman-eater") was published in 1994. She has also translated the novel Theres by the Swedish writer, Steve Sem Sandberg, into Finnish.

Pimenoff, Veronica, Finland
Veronica Pimenoff (b. 1949) is a rare representative of the Finnish ideological novel, a relentless investigator of social and moral issues. By education, Pimenoff is an anthropologist, doctor, psychiatrist and Doctor of Philosophy. She has been Senior Physician at the Central Hospital of Northern Karelia since 1991.

Popov, Evgeni, Russia
Evgeni Popov (born 1946) is one of the best known representatives of the new Russian literature, a satirist and a critic of contemporary phenomena.

Popov, Valery, Russia

Porttikivi, Janne, Finland
Janne Porttikivi (b. 1966) is a Finnish essayist living in Helsinki. He has been editor-in-chief of Nuori Voima magazine since 1997.

Pystynen, Tiina, Finland
Tiina Pystynen draws poems.

Raittila, Hannu, Finland
Hannu Raittila (b. 1956) is a Finnish writer living in Mikkeli, who has written four powerful collections of short stories (since 1993). His first novel, Ei minulta mitään puutu (1998, "I lack nothing") was a candidate for the Finlandia Prize and was awarded the Olvi Prize for literature. Raittila has also written a large number of television scripts, plays for stage and for radio, which have been translated into Swedish, German and English.

Rane, Irja, Finland
Irja Rane (b. 1946) is a Finnish writer. Her books for children have been translated into German. In 1996 when her novel Naurava neitsyt ("The Laughing Virgin") received the Finlandia Prize, the major literary award in Finland, it was hailed as a "classic of the future".

Raups, Edvins, Latvia
Edvins Raups is a Latvian writer.

Rayner, Richard, England
Richard Rayner (b. 1955) is a British-born journalist, nowadays resident in Los Angeles. His third and most recent novel The Cloud Sketcher (2000) places itself partly in Finland. It will appear also in Finnish, German, French, Japanese, Polish, Spanish, Creek and Czech.

Remes, Maija-Leena, Finland
Maija-Leena Remes (b. 1950) has translated into Finnish a wide range of English and French literature. She is currently working on Simone Beauvoir's essay on Brigitte Bardot and John Le Carré's novel Single & Single.

Richter, Sylvie, Czech
Sylvie Richter, a writer and a translator, was born in Brno, Czech. In 1971, her destiny lead her through the university of Prague to Rome, where she studied French and Russian.

Riikonen, Eero, Finland
Eero Riikonen (b. 1953) is a qualified psychiatrist and Doctor of Medicine and works as Development Manager at the Rehabilitation Foundation in Helsinki. Not only is he a debut writer but he is also an active researcher, writer of several academic works and planner and initiator of a variety of health and social welfare projects.

Rimminen, Mikko, Finland
Mikko Rimminen (b. 1975) is a Finnish poet. Rimminen is studying Finnish literature at the University of Helsinki.

Roinila, Tarja, Finland
Tarja Roinila (b. 1964) is a translator who has rendered into Finnish the work of Juan Rulfo, Rafael Albert, Bernardo Atxaga, Federico Andahazi and several other Spanish language writers. She was the editor-in-chief of the Nuori Voima literary journal 1994-1997, and is the founding member of the "Living Poets' Club" in Finland.

Rolin, Jean, France
Jean Rolin (b.1949) is a French writer and journalist who used to belong to a an extreme leftist group at the turn of the 70's.

Ruusulehto, Ulla, Finland
Ulla Ruusulehto (b. 1935) is a Finnish translator living in Nykarleby who renders Finnish literature into Swedish. She has produced Swedish translations of books by, e.g., Eeva Joenpelto, Pentti Saarikoski, Kaari Utrio, Veijo Meri and President Mauno Koivisto. From 1972 to 1994, she was Senior Lecturer in Finnish at Helsinki's Svenska Handelsläroverket.

Sada, Daniel, Mexico
The Mexican writer and journalist Daniel Sada (b. 1953) has published several collections of short stories, novels and poems, which have been translated into English, German, Portuguese, French and Dutch. His fourth novel is regarded as one of the most ambitious pieces of Mexican fiction of recent years.

Salokorpi, Kyösti, Finland
Kyösti Salokorpi (b. 1971) is studying literature at the University of Helsinki. Salokorpi is a vocalist in the Ihmepoika (Wonderboy) band.

Sampson, Fiona, England
The English poet and writer Fiona Sampson (b. 1963) has pioneered writing in health care in the UK. She has written a number of studies on the subject and two collections of poems. Sampson also translates into English works by the Estonian writer Jaan Kaplinski.

Sandberg, Steve Sem, Sweden
Steve Sem Sandberg (b. 1958) is a literature editor and critic of the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.

Sandoval, Renato, Peru
Renato Sandoval (b. 1957), Peruvian poet, essayist and translator, is working on his doctoral thesis on Romance philology for Helsinki University. He has published four poem collections, his latest being Nostos from 1996. He translates a wide range of literature, Salvador Quasimodo, Goethe, Novalis, Hölderlin, Paavo Haavikko and Edith Södergran, to mention only a few names. Sandoval worked as the professor of Nordic literature at Lima Catholic University (1995-1999), and has also worked as the editor-in-chief of many literary and cultural magazines.

Sariola, Esa, Finland
Esa Sariola (b. 1951) is a Helsinki writer and psychologist who has published six novels, a collection of short stories and several plays for radio and stage. Sariola's works have been translated into nine languages. He has also written non-fiction books on schizophrenia together with Professor Markku Ojanen. Sariola is the Chairman of the Eino Leino Literary Society and a member of the Executive Committee of the Lahti International Writers' Reunion.

Selja, Sirkka, Finland
Sirkka Selja is one of the best known poets in Finland. Her poems find their subject matter from close range: chance occurrences, friends, animals, family and dreams. She has published 15 collections of poetry.

Seppä, Antti, Finland
Antti Seppä is a Finnish journalist and essayist.

Setharin, Penn, Kambodza / Japan
Penn Setharin lives in Tokyo and has worked there as a teacher of Khmer language and Asian literature, as a restaurant-keeper, translator, interpreter and refugees' assistant.

Shetty, Manohar, India
The Indian poet, Manohar Shetty (b. 1953) has been a journalist for more than twenty years now. Shetty, who lives in Goa, has published three collections of poems. His poems and short stories have also been published in several Indian and foreign periodicals and in major anthologies.

Sherida, Guillermo, Mexico
Guillermo Sheridan (b. 1950) from Mexico is head of the Octavio Paz Foundation. As a scholar of modern Mexican poetry, he has published several studies and essays on 20th century Mexican writers and literary trends. In 1989, Sheridan was awarded the prestigious Villaurutia Prize for his biography of Ramón López Velarde. He is also author of the novel, El dedo de oro ("Gold Finger", 1996) and a number of film scripts. Sheridan contributes to several Mexican and international literary and cultural magazines and teaches literature in the Faculty of Philosophy at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM).

Sigurdardottir, Steinun, Islanti

Siltanen, Juha, Finland
Juha Siltanen (b. 1959) is a Finnish playwright, essayist, translator and theatre director. He has written several plays for radio, television and the stage for which he has received both international and domestic awards. He also works in the field of music theatre and radiophony and has translated plays from English, Swedish and German. His works have been translated into Swedish, English and French.

Simecka, Martin, Slovakia
Martin Simecka was born in 1957 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Before 1989 he had published his work only by unofficial publishers. In 1989 his novel The year of the Frog was published officially in Czechoslovakia, it has also been translated into English, Dutch, Hungarian and French. The year of the Frog was awarded by Los Angeles Times Book Award.

Sinervo, Helena, Finland
Helena Sinervo, born in Tampere, has published two books of poetry. Her debut, Lukemattomiin ("Into the uncountable") was well received by the leading critics, and her second book, Sininen Anglia ("The Blue Anglia") was shortlisted the Runeberg Prize. The third one, Pimeän parit "The Pairs of Dark") comes out in September 1997. Helena Sinervo also collaborates, as an essayist, translator, and critic, with several newspapers and literary magazines, and her translations from English and French include works of many important writers, such as Julia Kristeva, Maurice Blanchot and Elizabeth Bishop.

Sirkel, Mati, Estonia
Mati Sirkel (b. 1949) is the Chairman of the Union of Estonian Writers. He has worked as a literary researcher and has produced Estonian translations of German literature in particular.

Siti, Walter, Italy
Walter Siti (born 1947) was born in Modena and lives in Rome. He is a professor of modern Italian literature at L'Aquila University.

Sjögren, Vivi-Ann, Finland
Vivi-Ann Sjögren (b. 1938) is a Finland-Swedish writer and actress. She has written several books about travel, food and getting to know the everyday aspects of another culture.

Skidan, Aleksandr, Russia
Aleksandr Skidan was born in 1965 and lives in St. Petersburg. He is a poet, translator and an essayist and one of the most interesting experimental writers in modern Russian literature. His first poetry collection Delirium appeared in 1993.

Sorestad, Glen, Canada
The Canadian poet and publisher Glen Sorestad (b. 1937) has written eleven collections of poems and edited a number of anthologies of poems and short stories. He has lived most of his life in Saskatchewan, where he is currently Poet Laureate.

Soucy, Gaétan, Canada
The Canadian author Gaétan Soucy (b. 1958) has writen three novels. His latest novel La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes was nominated for the prestigious Prix Renaudot in France, and was translated into more than ten languages.

Stenberg, Eira, Finland
Eira Stenberg (b. 1943), who lives in Helsinki, has written award-winning collections of poems and four novels. Stenberg's poems have been translated into numerous languages, including Spanish, Swedish, Italian, German, Icelandic, French and English. Stenberg has also written plays for television and radio, fairy-tales, a children's opera and children's play, and the lyrics of songs.

Stochholm, Nicolaj, Denmark
The Danish poet Nicolaj Stochholm (b. 1967) has published four collections of poetry. The first three of them form a trilogy which came out last year in a single-volume edition. Stochholm's poems have been translated into English, Swedish and German. He currently lives in Copenhagen.

Subirana, Jaume, Katalonia
Jaume Subirana (born 1963) has published three collections of poetry and a collection of short stories in Catalan. For Final de Festa, a collection of poetry, he received the Carles Riba Prize in 1988. Subirana has worked as a scriptwriter, journalist, translator and literary critic (under the pseudonym Joan Orja). He has wanted to bring poetry close to the reader by organizing poetry events and editing anthologies of modern Catalonian poetry and together with the poet Carles Torner an anthology of angel poems. He is currently preparing a doctoral thesis on a Catalonian poet Josep Carner and he works at the University of Oberta de Catalunya. Subirana is a member of the Catalan PEN Center exectuvive committee.

Sumari, Anni, Finland
Anni Sumari (b. 1965) has written seven books of short stories and poetry and a travelogue about a writers' train that toured Europe in 2000. Her poems have also been translated into Russian, German, French, English, Spanish and Lithuanian. She has rendered into Finnish a collection of Samuel Beckett's short stories (2000).

Summanen, Matti, Finland
Matti Summanen (b. 1937) is a Finnish writer and critic, whose novels deal with the effects of war, conflicts of recent history and collisions between generations. His themes which arise from individual psychology have been compared to the problem setting of some American Jewish prose writers.

Susi, Valeri, Finland
Valeri Susi is an Ingerland writer who came from Siberia to Finland as a repatriate and whose debut novel will be published shortly in Russian.

Suzuki, Sunao, Japan
Japanese poet Sunao Suzuki (b. 1930) has published two anthologies of verse, a collection of essays and a book on birds. His verse, essays and articles have also appeared in various newspapers and magazines. He has earned his living as a teacher, and even after retirement taken up voluntary work with disabled children. He is a great friend of nature, of birds in particular.

Sverstyuk, Yevhen, Ukraine
Yevhen Sverstyuk (b.1928) hails from the Volyn area of the Ukraine. He is an essayist who writes on national, philosophical and religious themes in Ukrainian. Owing to his religious convictions, he was not allowed to publish anything in the Soviet era and was sent to a prison camp from 1972-1984. He is a member of the Urkrainian Autocephalous Church, which is persecuted by Moscow, and editor of the church magazine Nasha vira (Our faith). He is also Chairman of the Urkrainian PEN.

Säntti, Maria, Finland
Maria Säntti is a journalist and director of the Nuori Voima literary society. In addition to the Nuori Voima literary journal she writes to Helsingin Sanomat and Image (an urban Finnish magazine).

Talvio-Jaatinen, Pirkko, Finland
Pirkko Talvio-Jaatinen (b. 1943) has translated into Finnish some two hundred books, mainly fiction, including works by Peter Hoeg, Vita Anderssen, Ib Michael, Kerstin Ekman, P.C. Jersild and Amos Oz. Talvio has written sixteen books for children and young people and travel books. Her works have been translated into Swedish and Danish.

Tanninen, Reija, Finland
Reija Tanninen (b. 1964) is a Finnish translator. She has translated poems by Odisseas Elitis, Kostas Kariotakis, Manolis Anagnostakis and Yannis Yfantis.

Teva, Tarja, Finland
Tarja Teva is a Finnish translator living in Tampere and Chairman of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters. She has translated a large body of Scandinavian literature into Finnish, e.g., works by Kjell Askildsen, Tove Nilsen, Linn Ullmann, Thorvald Steen, Carola Hansson and Karin Fossum.

Tiirinen, Mika, Finland
Mika Tiirinen translates literature into Finnish from English.

Tkatshenko, Aleksandr, Russia
Aleksandr Tkatshenko comes from the Crimea. He is part of the Russian poetry awakening of the 60's, where astonishing metaphorism combines with strong civil attitude. His works have been translated into English by Robert Bly and John Ashbery among others. Tkashenko has worked as a professional football player. As the president of the Russian PEN Centre he also plays as a violent centre forward, attacking without scruples any measure of repression.

Toikka, Pirjo, Finland
Pirjo Toikka is a Finnish playwright and scriptwriter. She has written numerous plays, adaptations for the stage, plays for radio, television series and film scripts.

Tolstaja, Natalya, Russia
Natalya Tolstaya (born 1943) is an assistant professor of the Swedish language and literature at the University of St. Petersburg - she has translated a lot of Swedish lyric poetry into Russian.

Tolstaja, Tatyana, Russia
Tatyana Tolstaya's (born 1951 in Leningrad) first collection of short stories On the Golden Porch (1987) was quickly translated into twelve languages. Her second collection of short stories Sleepwalker in the Fog (1992) has also been translated into six languages. In the short stories, Tatyana outlines with gentle irony ordinary people's rich world of imagination amidst reality without illusions. Tolstaya has studied Russian and classic literature at the University of Leningrad and she currently lives in Moscow. She often lectures at American universities and regularly writes articles for European and American magazines.

Tokombaev, Sherboto, Kirghizia
Sherboto Tokombaev (b. 1974) is a Kirghiz poet who has published two verse works in Russian and studied journalism at the Univesity of Bishkek. He also translates Chinese literature into Russian and has a penchant for the classical philosophy of the Orient.

Tsanev, Stefan, Bulgaria
Stefan Tsanev (b. 1936) is one of Bulgaria's most noteworthy writers; an esteemed and productive lyricist, writer, playwright and journalist. His most recent play Pir po vreme na demokratzija ("Feast During Democracy") was performed in Sofia in March this year for the hundredth time.

Turkka, Juha, Finland
Juha Turkka (b. 1970) was born in Joensuu. He is one of the most interesting Finnish playwrights and directors who staged his debut play this year. He has previously co-written and co-directed several plays with his father, well-known novelist, playwright and director Jouko Turkka.

Vainonen, Jyrki, Finland
Jyrki Vainonen (b. 1963) has translated into Finnish e.g. two selections of poems by Seamus Heaney, a choice of essays by Zygmund Baumann Postmodernin lumo ("The Spell of the Postmodern") and Jonathan Swift. He is preparing his theses on Jonathan Swift. His debut collection of short stories is to come out next autumn.

Valtiala, Nalle, Finland
Nalle Valtiala (b. 1938) is a Finnish-Swedish writer who was born in Helsinki and lives in Kauniainen, where he teaches secondary school. He has published several novels and collections of short stories and essays, and has also written for radio and stage.

Vasiljeva, Svetlan, Russia
Svetlana Vasiljeva (born 1950) is a Russian playwright and a short story writer. Her newest work "There are peculiar approaches..." represents autobiographical prose.

Viiding (Vee), Elo, Estonia
Elo Vee (b. 1974) is a Estonian poet whose first collection Telg ("The Tent") was published in 1990. Her other collections: Laeka lähedus (1994), Ingelheim (1995) and Volavalgel ("In The Light of Debt", 1995).

Viinikainen, Antero, Finland
Antero Viinikainen (b. 1941) is a Helsinki-based Finnish writer. He has become widely known by his two novels, Joen kylä ("The Village of the River", 1995) and Aleksis Kivi ja Serbian prinsessa ("Aleksis Kivi and the Royal Princess of Serbia",1996), which was nominated for the Finlandia Prize. His third novel will come out in September.

Vinonen, Robert, Finland
Robert Vinonen is an Ingerland poet who, like Valeri Susi's, is a repatriate now living in Finland. He was a long-time teacher at the Writers' Institute in Moscow.

Virolainen, Merja, Finland
Merja Virolainen (b. 1962) is a Finnish poet living in Helsinki, who has written collections of poems. She has translated into Finnish poems by Emily Dickenson, Hildegard of Bingen, John Keats, and others. She has also written a book about shamanism and witchcraft, worked as an editor, essayist, critic, teacher of creative writing and as a visual designer e.g. in a circus and a puppet theatre. She won her M.A. degree in 1998, majoring in philosophy.

Virtanen, Jukka, Finland
Jukka Virtanen (b. 1933), who was born in Jämsänkoski, Finland, is a writer and director for theatre, radio, television and film. He has written numerous plays, shows, radio plays, scenarios and lyrics for songs. He has made no less than a thousand TV programmes since 1957. Additionally, he has translated several musicals into Finnish, e.g. Cats, Rose and, together with Kristina Drews, Les Misérables and Sweet Sharity.

Vishniou, Zmitsier, Byelorussia
Zmitsier Vishniou (b. 1973) is a Byelorussian poet, painter and journalist. He is one of the driving forces behind the literary-artistic group known as Boom-Bam-Lit. His literary output comprises seven collections of poems.

Veidemann, Rein, Estonia
Rein Veidemann (born 1946) is an Estonian literary researcher, critic, essayist and newspaper reporter. He has worked as a researcher and journal editor, e.g. as the editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Vikerkaar. He has published several collections of articles and essays on Estonian literature and theoretical studies on literary criticism. Lately he has written a lot about the Estonian society and political life. His writings have also come out in Russian, German, Finnish, Swedish, etc. Veidemann actively participated in the reform movement of the Estonian society and was one of the founders of "Peoples Front".

Villoro, Juan, Mexico
Juan Villoro (b. 1956) is the author of nine books: three short-story collections, two novels, a travelogue, a non-fiction collection and two books for children. He has been a visiting professor at Yale University and is currently a professor at the National University. He is also a editor a cultural supplement of the newspaper La Jornada and has translated works by Truman Capote, Graham Greene, Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter.

Vladislavic, Ivan, South Africa
Ivan Vladislavic (born 1957 in Pretoria) has worked for the past ten years as a freelance editor, translator, writer and journalist in Johannesburg.

Väyrynen, Taru, Finland
Taru Väyrynen (b. 1944) is a very popular and productive writer of books for children and young adults.

Wahlgren, Jussi, Finland
Jussi Wahlgren is a Finnish playwright who has written twenty-or-so plays, television series and documentaries. His plays have been translated into English, German, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, Flemish, Bulgarian and French. They have been performed at Finnish theatres and also in Dallas, New York, Petroskoi, St Petersburg, London, the Edinburgh Festival and at Aranda in Spain.

Wilhelmsson, Putte, Finland
Putte Wilhelmsson is a Turku-based Finnish literary critic, essayist and journalist. He writes to some of the largest and best-known publications in Finland, including Helsingin Sanomat and Suomen Kuvalehti.

Wulff, Thomas, Finland
Thomas Wulff (b. 1953) is a Finland-Swedish writer, a member of the Poet & Performance-Group Kain and Director of the Finland-Swedish Writers' Association. He published his first book in 1973 and has since written several books of poetry, prose and a few plays.

Yfantis, Yannis, Greece
Yannis Yfantis is a Greek poet living in Thessaloniki. He was born in 1949 in a village called Raina in the Eolian province. Ifantis debuted in 1977 and he is often quoted in Greece as a poet of the generation of the 70's. He is interested in ancient Greek mythology and philosophy as well as in Homer's epics. He has also translated into modern Greek ancient literature (e.g. Heracleitos and Sappho), and T.S. Elliot, Juan de la Cruz, William Blake, Saint-John Perse and the Czech poet Holub. Yfantis' poetry has been translated into English, Italian, Spanish, French, Russian and Rumanian.

Yildam, Annaguli, Iran /Norway
Annaguli Yildam (b.1958) is a Turkmenian poet from Iran. He has been persecuted both by the shah and the Islamic republic. After his death sentence was pronounced in 1981, he took to flight and has lived since 1986 as a refugee in Lillehammar, Norway. Besides his three poem collections, he has also written three novels.

Young, Patricia, Canada
Patricia Young was born in 1954 in Victoria, British Columbia where she also currently lives. She has been awarded several literary prizes and her poems have appeared in many anthologies and literary magazines. Young teaches poetry and creative writing at the University of Victoria.

Young, Terence, Canada
Terence Young (born 1953) is a new voice in Canadian literature. His first collection of poetry, Letters to an Absent Wife will appear this spring. Already he has won renown with his poems and short stories that have appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies. He has among other things received the respected Stephen Leacock Poetry Prize. Young works as a teacher of French, English and creative writing.

Zakirov, Hamdam, Uzbekistan
Poet Hamdam Zakirov (b. 1966) belongs to Uzbekistan's Fergana school, which combines the Islamic, Central-Asian and Chinese traditions with the latest Western Postmodernism. He has published a book of verse entitled Fergana (1996).

Zilahy, Péter, Hungary
Hungarian writer, publisher and photographer Péter Zilahy (b. 1970) has published poems, short stories and the work Az utolsó ablakzsiráf (1998, The Last Window Giraffe), which has been translated into eleven languages. It has also been made into a multimedia CD-ROM in English, German, Hungarian and Serbian.

Zink, Rui, Portugal
Rui Zink (b. 1961) is a Portuguese writer and playwright who has written novels, short stories, essays and plays, some twenty works in all. His works have been translated into German and English.