Hannele Mikaela Taivassalo (b. 1974) is one of the freshest and most exciting literary authors in Finland today. Her unique, feminine voice, the distinct spark in her writing, and the exceptional sensitivity to rhythm in her language make her truly stand out. Taivassalo, who has been awarded several prizes, writes originally in Swedish. Taivassalo has published several novels, worked in theater, written plays, and studied at the Theatre Academy, as well as at the University of Helsinki. Among other prizes, she has been awarded The Runeberg prize for her first novel, Andrej Krapi’s Five Knives (2007), and the Finlandspris (from a Swedish culture fund) in 2017 for her “unique authorship,” her “novels with unexpected twists,” and for “detailed, lyric and impressionistic prose.”

Photograph © Niklas Sandström