Participants LIWRE 2022

Chairs: Marjo Heiskanen and Karo Hämäläinen. Theme talks by e.g. Yolanda Castaño (Spain/Galicia), Christos Ikonomou (Greece), Tabish Khair (Denmark), Hendrik Lindepuu (Estonia), Nadia Mifsud (Malta/France), Lorenza Natarella (Italia), Francis North (Brasilial/UK), Juan Jacinto Muños Rengel (Spain), Joelle Taylor (UK), Goce Smilevski (North Macedonia), Miri Yu (Japan), Inga Zolude (Latvia) and by Finnish authors Marisha Rasi-Koskinen, Sirpa Kyyrönen, Sami Sillanpää and Lars Sund (Sweden/Finland).

Moderators: Marjo Heiskanen and Karo Hämäläinen

International guests: Yolanda Castaño, Mikhail Durnenkov, Christos Ikonomou, Tabish Khair, Hendrik Lindepuu, Nadia Mifsud, Juan Jacinto Muños Rengel, Lorenza Natarella, Francis North, Goce Smilevski, Joelle Taylor, Iryna Tetera, Miri Yu, Inga Žolude

Finnish presenters: Sirpa Kyyrönen, Marisha Rasi-Koskinen, Sami Sillanpää and Lars Sund

Finnish participants: Juhani Brander, Rita Dahl, Akseli Heikkilä, Marjo Heiskanen, Seija Helander, Harri Hertell, Henri Hirvenoja, Anu Holopainen, Jakke Holvas, Laura Honkasalo, Elisa af Hällström, Karo Hämäläinen, Eliisa Isoniemi, Ben Kalland, Sakari Kirjavainen, Arto Kivimäki, Arto Koskinen, Emilia Lehtinen, Antti Leikas, Osmo Lumivuori, Marja Luoma, Timo Malmi, Maria Mustranta, J. Pekka Mäkelä, Kalle Niinikangas, Jaana Nikula, Sanna Nikula, Elisabeth Nordgren, Junichiro Okura, Anastasia Pashkevich, Mika Pekkola, Osmo Pekonen, Jukka-Pekka Pietiäinen, Asta Piiroinen, Ina Ruokolainen, Titia Schuurman, Anni Sumari, Mila Teräs, Ulla Vaarnamo

Interpreters: Päivi Alho-Tousignant, Helena Karunen, Suvi Rapola

Technician: Matti Korttinen/Kongressitekniikka

Photographer: J.Pekka Mäkelä

Hendrik Lindepuu

Hendrik Lindepuu (b. 11 XI 1958) is one of the most outstanding translators, acquainting foreign readers with Polish literature. His translations of more than 70 books have been published in Estonia, and he has also translated 75 theatrical plays. Lindepuu is a true one-man-institution. It is largely thanks to him that contemporary Polish literature is…

Christos Ikonomou .

Christos Ikonomou was born in Athens in 1970. He is the author of several works of fiction. He is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the Greek National Literature Award, the Prix Littéraire des Jeunes Européens, the Chowdhury Prize in Literature and the O. Henry Prize for Short Fiction. His work has appeared in…

Inga Žolude

Inga Žolude is the author of ten books: novels, collections of short stories, and a book for children. Her book Solace for Adam’s Tree was awarded European Union Prize for Literature. Her short story was included in the anthology Best European Fiction 2014. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature, and has been awarded Fulbright…

Tabish Khair

Tabish Khair (1966) is an Indian poet, novelist and critic, who now primarily resides in Denmark, where he is Assoc. Prof. in the Department of English at the University of Aarhus. He is the author of various poetry collections and his most recent novels include How to Fight Islamist Terror from the Missionary Position (Interlink 2014; Corsair…

Goce Smilevski .

Goce Smilevski was born in 1975 in Skopje, Macedonia. His novels have diverse thematic range: from contemporary life to Medieval time. They are translated into over 30 languages, He was awarded European Union Prize for Literature, Premio Per La Cultura Mediterranea and Central European Initiative Award for Literature. Two of his novels are translated into…

Nadia Mifsud

Born in Malta in 1976, Nadia Mifsud moved to France in 1998. She currently lives in Lyon, where she writes, teaches and sometimes translates. To date, she has published three books of poetry, one novel and a collection of short stories. Mifsud’s poems have been awarded various prizes in Malta, including the National Book Prize in 2016…

Francis North .

Francis North is a London-based, Finnish-Brazilian spoken-word poet, writing mainly in English. Most recently they came out with a book titled “Entropy”, in collaboration with Anna Blom which contains a single long poem by North and a visual journey created by Blom. The book tells the story of a prophet’s rise and fall, concerned with…

Lars Sund

Lars Sund (born 1953 Pietarsaari/Jakobstad, Finland) is the author of eight novels and three other books. His first book is a volume of poetry, published in The novel Colorado Avenue (1991) won several literary prices and has been made into a film. Sund writes in Swedish and is currently living in Uppsala in Sweden with his Swedish…

Juhani Brander

Juhani Brander (b. 1978) has published prose and poetry and worked as a culture critic. In 2014 he was awarded a “Kritiikin punnus” for his collection of essays called Miehen kuolema (The Death of a Man), a book that gave rise to a lot of discussion. In 2021, Brander published a novel called Silta yli…

Yolanda Castaño .

Poet, essayist, editor and curator Yolanda Castaño is director of the International Writer’s residence Residencia Literaria 1863 in A Coruña, Galicia. She has published six poetry collections in Galician and Spanish and her poems have been translated into more than 30 different languages. She is the Winner of the National Critics Award, the Espiral Maior…

Rita Dahl

Rita Dahl is a writer, translator, and teacher. She has published 20 volumes, ten of which are fiction, and ten are non-fiction. The subjects of her non-fiction books range from finlandized freedom of speech to five different countries and cultures, politics and poetics, and threats of globalization. Dahl has translated five books, among them a…

Mikhail Durnenkov

Mikhail Durnenkov is a playwright and screenwriter, based in Moscow. He began writing for theatre in 2000, and has been working professionally in this field since 2003. He is a member of the “New Drama” movement of contemporary Russian playwrights. Mikhail is the author of screenplays and award-winning plays. His plays have been translated and…

Akseli Heikkilä

Akseli Heikkilä (b.1984) hails from Tornionjoki Valley, the village of Kukkola, and lives currently in Helsinki. He has studied writing at Kriittinen korkeakoulu. His debut novel Veteen syntyneet (Born into Water, 2019) was shortlisted for the Lappi and Tiiliskivi prizes. His second novel, Hiljainen vieras (The Quiet Quest) was published in May 2022.

Marjo Heiskanen, moderator

Marjo Heiskanen has written the novels Idiootin valinta (The Choice of an Idiot, 2009) and Mustat koskettimet (The Black Keys, 2017), collections of poems Äänes (2010) and Omaa sukua (2022), a biography Kollaan kenttäpapin tarina (The Story of the Chaplain of Kollaa, 2012), and a non-fiction book about climate change called Yhteen hiileen (2020). She…

Seija Helander

Seija Helander (formerly Vilén) writes prose and poetry. She has published two novels, a collection of essays, a cookery book, cards of poetry, a poetry collection, and books for children. In addition to writing, Helander works as a nurse in a reception centre for asylum seekers.

Harri Hertell

Harri Hertell is a Helsinki-based Finnish poet, cultural manager, DJ, and organizer of poetry events. He has published seven books of poetry, a non-fiction book about stage poetry, and four spoken word -recordings. His first poetry book for children will be published in 2022. His poems have been translated into several languages, and he has…

Henri Hirvenoja

Henri Hirvenoja is known for his thematic poetry. His first book was ”Gare du Midi: Poetry about the European Union” based on his own experiences working at EU institutions. His 4th book ”Diminuendo: poems about grief” was also a success both commercially and among critics. The 5th book ”Crescendo” had poems for every festive occasion…

Anu Holopainen

Anu Holopainen is a Finnish author of mainly speculative fiction for children, youth and adults. Her first novel Kristallien valtakunta (Kingdom of Crystals) was published in 1996, and since then she has published over 20 novels and short stories. Her dystopian YA novel Molemmin jaloin (With Both Feet) was a candidate for Finlandia Junior Prize…

Jakke Holvas

Jakke Holvas (b.1968) is a journalist at the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE). He hosts the program Kulttuuriykkönen for Yle Radio 1

Karo Hämäläinen, moderator

Karo Hämäläinen (b. 1976) has written both fiction and non-fiction for adults, young adults and children. He is the editor of literary magazine Parnasso, and member of the board of trustees of the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Photo: Harri Hinkka

Eliisa Isoniemi

Eliisa Isoniemi (b. 1960) is a graphic designer and visual artist. She has designed book covers for numerous publishing houses and illustrated books.

Sakari Kirjavainen

Sakari Kirjavainen (b. 1960) is a director and a novelist. He has written novels, articles, short stories and scripts, and participated in editing non-fiction books. He has directed films, TV-series and monologues. He was elected Film Director of the Year in 2012, and he has worked at Aalto University (Executive in Residence). He is currently…

Juan Jacinto Muñoz Rengel .

Juan Jacinto Muñoz Rengel is a Spanish writer. Born in Malaga in 1974, he is the author of the essay A History of Lying (Polity Press, 2022), and the novels Luulosairas palkkamurhaaja (Moebius, 2020), La capacidad de amar del Sr. Königsberg (The Capacity for Love of Mr Königsberg), El gran imaginador (The Great Imaginator) and El…

Lorenza Natarella .

Lorenza Natarella (34) lives in Milan and Padua. Since 2011, when she co-founded the Studio Armadillo, she has worked as a writer and an illustrator. She has worked for several publishers and advertising agencies making illustrations, planning and editing. She has written and illustrated journalistic content and stories for literary supplements and revues such as…

Ina Ruokolainen .

Ina Ruokolainen (b.1959) is a journalist, non-fiction writer, literary critic and a teacher of writing. The topics of her books range from cooking with mushrooms and local bicycling to various art forms such as design, the visual arts and theatre. Her most recent work, Kolmen naisen kirjeitä – rakkaudesta, surusta ja luopumisesta (Letters from Three…

Titia Schuurman .

Titia Schuurman (b. 1966) is a literary and document translator living in Helsinki. She works with French, English and Dutch. She has translated into Finnish books by A. S. Byatt, Stephen Fry, Tabish Khair, Claudie Gallay and Tommy Wieringa, among others.

Sami Sillanpää .

Sami Sillanpää (b. 1974) is a journalist and a non-fiction writer. His latest book Keskellä virtaa Kongo (Congo Runs Through It) chronicles a 2000 kilometre boat journey on the Congo River. Sillanpää has been awarded the State Award for Public Information for his book Kiinalainen rakkaustarina (A Chinese Love Story) describing the life of two…

Joelle Taylor .

Joelle Taylor is the author of 4 collections of poetry. Her most recent collection C+NTO & Othered Poems (Westbourne Press) won the 2021 T.S Eliot Prize and was the subject of a Radio 4 arts documentary Butch. She founded the national youth poetry slams SLAMbassadors through the Poetry Society in 2001, remaining its Artistic Director…

Miri Yu .

Yu Miri is one of Japan’s most critically acclaimed writers. She has published numerous short stories, plays, screenplays and essays as well as novels. In 1997 she won the Akutagawa Prize, Japan’s top literary honour, for her novella Family Cinema. She debuted in English in 2002 with Gold Rush, a controversial novel about corruption of…