Hassan Blasim

Hassan Blasim is an Iraqi-born author who writes in Arabic. Since 2004, he has lived in Finland. After his successful short story collections, he is now publishing his first novel.

Rachel Cusk

Rachel Cusk turns the novel inside out with her “Faye trilogy”, a series of novels where the narrator tells the stories of the people she meets.

Pascal Engman

The Swedish journalist Pascal Engman writes about modern day threats to the Nordic welfare state in his debut novel The Patriots.

Sally Rooney

She has been hailed as a “Salinger for the Snapchat generation”. With her two novels, Conversations with Friends and Normal People, Irish-born Sally Rooney is a literary sensation.

Sjón

The unique mastermind from Iceland, Sjón, has put three of his books in one and is showing us his true colours as a classic storyteller.

Kim Thúy

Kim Thúy is a Vietnamese-born author living in Montreal, Canada. Thúy’s debut novel Ru is read like an autobiography but is written as the fictional tale of migrant experiences.

Monika Fagerholm

She has been one of the most innovative voices in Nordic fiction during the last two decades. This time she will be on stage with Sally Rooney.

Kaisa Haatanen

Kaisa Haatanen meets Malin Lindroth in a discussion about spinsterhood, freedom and social norms in society.

Silvia Hosseini

Sivia Hosseini is a writer, critic and teacher based in Helsinki. Her debut book, an essay collection called Pölyn ylistys (Praise to Dust) was awarded with the Kalevi Jäntti Prize in 2018. She will talk to Kim Thúy at the festival.

Kätlin Kaldmaa

Estonian poet, writer, translator and literary critic Kätlin Kaldmaa is the International Secretary of PEN International. She has lived in various countries, amongst Iceland. She will talk to Sjón.

Laura Saarikoski

Laura Saarikoski will meet author Hassan Blasim in a talk about seeing Finland from a new perspective.

Philip Teir

The director of Helsinki Lit, and an author himself, Philip Teir will meet Rachel Cusk on stage.

Joel Haahtela

Astrid Swan

Astrid Swan is a award-winning Finnish musician, who will publishing her first book in the spring of 2019. She will talk about her book and perform some of her songs.