Pajtim Statovci (born 1990) is a Finnish novelist. His debut novel, Kissani Jugoslavia, was published in 2014, winning the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize for best debut novel in Finnish for that year, [1] and was published in 2017 as My Cat Yugoslavia in the UK and US. [2] It was made into a play and staged at the Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki in 2018. [3] His second novel, Tiranan sydän, won the Toisinkoinen Literature Prize for 2016, [4] and was published as Crossing in the UK and the US in 2019. [5] Following the 2019 release of his third novel, Bolla, his publisher announced in February 2024 the upcoming September release of his fourth, Lehmä Synnyttää Yöllä [6] (English title: A Cow Gives Birth At Night [7] ).
Statovci was born in Kosovo in 1990 to Albanian parents. [8] In 1992, after the outbreak of war in Yugoslavia, of which Kosovo was a part and where Albanians were persecuted, his family fled to Finland. [9] He studied comparative literature at the University of Helsinki and screenwriting at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. [4]
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Kaari Marjatta Utrio is a Finnish writer. She has written over 35 historical novels and 13 non-fiction books on historical topics. She is a historian, holding the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Helsinki, and has retired from the position of Professor in service of the Finnish State Commission of Fine Arts.
Kjell Westö is a Finnish author and journalist. Westö writes in Swedish. Best known for his epic novels set in Helsinki, he has also written short stories, poetry, essays and newspaper columns.
Matti Yrjänä Joensuu was a Finnish writer of crime fiction. He has been awarded the State's Literature Prize (1982), Vuoden johtolanka prize, and he has been nominated for two Finlandias. He received the Martin Beck Award in 1987.
Sofi-Elina Oksanen is a Finnish writer and playwright. Oksanen has published six novels, of which "Purge" has gained the widest recognition. She has received several international and domestic awards for her literary work. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than two million copies. Oksanen has been called "Finnish-Estonian Charles Dickens" and her work has often been compared to Margaret Atwood's novels. Oksanen is actively involved in public debate in Finland and comments on current issues in her columns and various talk shows.
Haloo Helsinki! is a pop rock band from Finland, founded in 2006. They have released five studio albums, all of which have reached the top ten on the Finnish Albums Chart. From 2007 to 2012, the band were signed to EMI Finland and as their principal collaborators switched to a Sony sub-label, Ratas Music Group, the band followed suit. In 2013, Haloo Helsinki! became the first Finnish artist whose four consecutive singles have peaked at number one on the Chart of commercial Finnish radio stations.
Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize is a Finnish literary award for a debut novel in the Finnish language. It was founded in 1964. From 1964–1994 it operated under the name J. H. Erkko Award. Beginning in 1995 the name changed to Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize. The prize is valued at €15,000.
Urho Armas Somersalmi was a Finnish actor.
Katri Lipson is a Finnish writer and doctor. She studied medicine at Uppsala University, graduating in 1993. Since then, she has worked as a doctor in Finland, Sweden and Kenya. Her debut novel Cosmonaut was shortlisted for the Finlandia Prize in 2008 and won the Helsingin Sanomat Debut Book of the Year Award that same year. Her second novel, The Ice Cream Man, won the EU Prize for Literature in 2013. The novel, which takes place in former Czechoslovakia, was published in Czech in 2014. It has also been published in English and 12 other languages. Lipson's third novel, Detroit, was published in 2016. Lipson's fourth novel, Marienbad(Kaikkein haikein leikki) was published in 2019.
Riikka Pulkkinen is a Finnish author, who has published six novels. Pulkkinen, currently living in Helsinki, was born and raised in Oulu in North Finland. She gained wide international attention with her second novel, True.
My Cat Yugoslavia is the first novel by Pajtim Statovci. The novel explores the lives of a woman in Kosovo and of her son as a refugee in Finland. The book was first published in Finnish in 2014 and in English in 2017. It received the 2014 Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize. It was made into a play and staged at the Finnish National Theater in Helsinki in 2018.
Eeva-Kaarina Aronen was a Finnish author and journalist. Her novels were nominated for the Runeberg Prize and the Finlandia Prize.
Mia Kankimäki is a Finnish writer, and author of two non-fiction books, which blend travelogue, memoir, biography and women's history. Her second book The Women I Think About At Night was published in the US by Simon & Schuster in 2020.
Rakel Liehu is a Finnish poet, dramatist and novelist.
Glory Leppänen was a Finnish actress, theatre and film director, and writer.
Anu Kaipainen was a prolific Finnish writer and literary critic.
Riikka Pelo is a Finnish writer, best known for her novels Taivaankantaja (2006), which was nominated for a Runeberg Prize, and Jokapäiväinen elämämme (2013), for which she won a Finlandia Prize.
Kyllikki Forssell was a leading Finnish stage and film actress, with a career spanning over 60 years from the mid-20th to the early 21st century and film director.
Emmi Jurkka was a Finnish actor and theatre manager, with a career in stage, film and TV spanning over 60 years.
Liisa Linko-Malmio was a Finnish operatic soprano and a voice pedagog.
Kerttu-Kaarina Suosalmi was a Finnish author, best known for depicting the ordinary struggles of the 'everyman'.
Pajtim Statovci