The Lahti International Writers’ Reunion will bring an impressive lineup of international and Finnish literary figures to Lahti on 12–13 June 2026. Held every two years, the conference will focus this time on the northern dimension.
“We have invited writers especially from the Baltic Sea cultural sphere, whose shared history is crystallizing — amid the turbulence of today’s volatile global political situation — also in the realm of culture,” says event manager Juhani Lindholm.
Among the international authors who have confirmed their attendance are Latvian poet Inga Pizāne; Estonian poet and prose writer Kai Aareleid; Lithuanian poet Marius Burokas; Russian prose writer Viktor Yerofeyev, who now lives in Berlin; German crime novelist Simone Buchholtz; and Polish poet Małgorzata Lebda, whose debut novel Łakome will be published in spring 2026 in a Finnish translation by Tapani Kärkkäinen. Also participating is Swedish writer and journalist Elaf Ali, born in Baghdad, who recounts with harrowing openness her experiences of honor-based violence in her book Vem har sagt något om kärlek, to be published in Finnish this summer.
Finnish invitees include Mia Franck, who has written about war children and most recently about her own family history, and Åland-born Martin Högstrand, whose fifth novel Sommarens nätter var våra was published last year. Silja Järventausta has received numerous award nominations and prizes, and her work Vuorosana pihapiirissä was published a year ago. E. L. Karhu is a playwright and dramaturg active in Germany and Finland; her debut novel Veljelleni has also been adapted for the stage. Riina Tanskanen is a writer, visual artist, and social thinker, known for the Instagram art account Tympeät tytöt and the book series of the same name.
This year’s theme of the Writers’ Reunion is Words for a Reason.
“A writer does not live outside the world but takes part in its unfolding for reasons in which their inner aspirations, hopes, and fears meet the demands of the external world. What is the reason for writing? Our guest authors will explore this question at this year’s event,” says Lindholm.
The Lahti International Writers’ Reunion is a free, two-day, interpreted event for the public, featuring keynote talks and discussions, as well as side events including an international poetry evening, a prose matinee, and an open mic event. The conference will be held for the 32nd time.
Over more than 60 years, participants have included significant and compelling literary figures, ten of whom have received the Nobel Prize in Literature during their careers. Among them are Miguel Ángel Asturias, Claude Simon, Camilo José Cela, Günter Grass, V. S. Naipaul, J. M. Coetzee, Herta Müller, Mario Vargas Llosa, J. M. G. Le Clézio, and the most recent laureate, László Krasznahorkai.
Mediatiedote suomeksi:
https://www.liwre.fi/tiedotteet/kirjailijakokous-tuo-itameren-kirjailijat-ensi-kesana-lahteen/
Pressmeddelandet på svenska:
https://www.liwre.fi/tiedotteet/forfattarseminariet-tar-forfattare-fran-omradena-kring-ostersjon-till-lahtis-i-sommar/
Press release in English:
https://www.liwre.fi/en/press-releases/writers-conference-brings-baltic-authors-to-lahti-next-summer/