Famous Finnish Writers

Finnish actor, screenwriter, director and author Peter Franzén is best known for playing King Harald Finehair in historical drama television series Vikings. So far Franzén has featured in more than fifty films and television series. He has won Jussi Award for best actor for the film Dog Nail Clipper. He made his directorial debut with the film Above Dark Water.  

Vera Jordanova is a Bulgarian-Finnish model, actress, and cookbook author. She is best known for her portrayal of Axelle Rassimov in the 2007 American horror film Hostel: Part II. Vera Jordanova has also been featured on many popular magazines like Maxim, FHM, and Esquire.

Minna Canth was a Finnish social activist and writer best remembered for her plays, The Pastor's Family and The Worker's Wife. Among her plays, Anna-Liisa has been adapted into films and operas for the most number of times. Minna Canth, who was ahead of her time, addressed issues of women's rights in her work.

Mika Waltari was a Finnish writer best remembered for his novel, The Egyptian. A prolific writer, Waltari also wrote poetry, crime novels, short stories, plays, essays, film scripts, travel stories, and rhymed texts for Asmo Alho's comic strips. A recipient of five State Literature awards, Mika Waltari was honored with the prestigious Pro Finlandia Medal in 1952.

Mikael Agricola was a Finnish Lutheran clergyman. Referred to as the father of literary Finnish, Agricola is credited with founding literary Finnish. Mikael Agricola is also credited with translating the New Testament into Finnish and producing the hymns and prayer book used regularly in Finland's new Lutheran Church. 

Jenni Haukio is a Finnish poet best known as the wife of the popular politician and President Sauli Väinämö Niinistö. Haukio is currently the First Lady of Finland. In 1999, her first poetry collection won Runo-Kaarina, a national debut poet contest.

Ilkka Villi is a Finnish writer and actor. He is best known for his work in the action-adventure video game, Alan Wake; he portrays the title role in the game. A versatile actor, Villi has portrayed a variety of roles in film, television, and theatre. He is also known for playing Niko Uusitalo in the crime drama television series, Bordertown.

Johan Ludvig Runeberg was a Finnish priest and poet. He is credited with writing Vårt land, the unofficial national anthem of Finland, and is regarded as a national poet of the country. As a priest, Runeberg was involved in the modernization of Virsikirja and produced numerous texts for the new edition. Johan Ludvig Runeberg is an aconic figure in Finland. 

Finnish singer-songwriter, actress, and playwright Paula Vesala formed the pop rock band PMMP with Mira Luoti. Vesala gained fame with success of the band that spawned hit albums like Kovemmat kädet and Leskiäidin tyttäret and singles like Oo siellä jossain mun before being disbanded. She later started her solo career and also composed songs for other popular Finnish artists.  .  

Mauno Manninen was a Finnish painter, poet, and theatre director. He is best remembered for founding Intimiteatteri, one of Helsinki's most important theatres from 1949 to 1987. Mauno Manninen is also known as the son of the famous poet Otto Manninen.  

Hannu Rajaniemi is a Finnish-American author who writes in both Finnish and English. He is best known for his science fiction books, such as The Quantum Thief, which was awarded the prestigious Tähtivaeltaja Award in 2012.  Hannu Rajaniemi also served as a founding director of a research organization called ThinkTank Maths.

Born to a Finnish mother and an American father, celebrity chef Sara La Fountain grew up in Helsinki after her parents’ divorce. Now one of the world’s most-loved chefs, she has also hosted her own cookery shows, such as Avec Sara, and penned culinary books such as à la Sara.

Sofi Oksanen is a Finnish playwright and writer. She is best known for her novel, Purge. Oksanen's works have been translated into over 40 languages and sold over two million copies worldwide. Over the course of her career, Sofi Oksanen has been honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Finlandia Prize, Mika Waltari Award, and Kalevi Jäntti Award.

Aleksis Kivi, a national writer of Finland, created modern-literary-language of the nation His only novel Seitsemän veljestä is widely-regarded as first significant novel written in Finnish language. He is counted among the earliest and greatest authors of prose and lyrics in Finnish. Another famous work of Kivi, whose birthday is celebrated as Finnish Literature Day, is the play Heath Cobblers.

Frans Eemil Sillanpää was a Finnish writer best remembered for his 1931 novel, The Maid Silja. One of the most popular Finnish writers of all time, Frans Eemil Sillanpää became the first writer from Finland to be honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize for literature in 1939.

Jorn Donner was a Finnish writer, film producer, director, actor, and politician. He is best remembered for producing the 1982 period drama film Fanny and Alexander, which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, making Jorn Donner the first and only Finn to date to receive an Oscar. He is also known for his novel Father and Son.

One of the best-known Finnish post-war authors, Väinö Linna soared to fame with his iconic third novel, Tuntematon sotilas, or The Unknown Soldier. Equipped with little education, he initially worked as a lumberjack and a farm help, and also fought in the army, before stepping into his literary career.

Arto Paasilinna was a Finnish writer and comic novelist. Counted among Finland's most successful novelists, Paasilinna's works have been translated into 27 languages and sold more than seven million copies worldwide. Arto Paasilinna is credited with contributing to the increased readership rate in Finland. His best known novel The Year of the Hare has been adapted twice into feature films.

Apart from being a journalist, Eino Leino also redefined Finnish poetry by including folk elements. His works include literary criticism in newspapers such as Päivälehti and Helsingin Sanomat. Most of his works were inspired by the epic Kalevala, while he also a pioneer of national romanticism in Finland’s literary world.

Edith Södergran was a Finnish poet whose poetry has influenced numerous lyrical poets all over the world. Counted among the greatest Swedish-language poets of modernism, Södergran's work continues to influence Swedish-language musical lyrics and poetry. Edith Södergran did not live long enough to experience the appreciation of her poetry as she died at the age of 31 due to tuberculosis.

Finnish writer, poet, historian, and journalist Zachris Topelius is best remembered for writing Finnish historical novels in Swedish language, which were later translated into Finnish. His notable works include the fairy tales The Tomten in Åbo Castle and Sampo Lappelill., and the poem Sov du lilla videung. Topelius served as professor and later as rector of the University of Helsinki.

Hella Wuolijoki was a Finnish writer who wrote under the pen name of Juhani Tervapää. She is best remembered for her Niskavuori series. Some of her works, like the 1937 play Juurakon Hulda, were adapted into feature films; her play was adapted into a 1947 film titled The Farmer's Daughter.

Juhani Aho was a Finnish journalist and author who received 12 nominations for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature over the course of his illustrious career. Apart from writing novels, Juhani Aho also wrote numerous short stories. Aho is also credited with co-founding Päivälehti, the predecessor of Helsingin Sanomat.

Swedish-speaking Finnish journalist Mark Levengood has had a flourishing career in Sweden. Known for his books such as Solblekt av livet and Hjärtat får inga rynkor. A well-known TV personality, too, he has hosted shows such as Melodifestivalen. He is married to gay novelist Jonas Gardell.

Best known for his iconic Moomin comic strip, Finnish author and cartoonist Lars Jansson worked on the strip for 14 years. The son of a sculptor father and an illustrator mother, he became a published author at age 16. His work later led to the development of the Japanese Moomin animated series.

Finnish architect, environmental-artist and architectural theorist Marco Casagrande gained critical attention producing architectonic installations with Finnish architect and artist Sami Rintala from 1998 to 2003 under their partnership Casagrande & Rintala, for venues of contemporary architecture and art across the globe. One of the most notable works of Casagrande & Rintala, which dissolved in 2003, is the Land(e)scape in Savonlinna  

Volter Kilpi was a Finnish author best remembered for his 1933 two-volume novel Alastalon salissa, which is often counted among the best written novels in the Finnish language. Volter Kilpi is widely regarded as one of the finest exponents of the modern experimental novels.

Paavo Haavikko is regarded as one of Finland’s best-known authors. The son of a bookbinder, he began his literary career as a poet and later spearheaded Finland’s modernist movement. He soared to fame with his iconic poem Talvipalatsi, or The Winter Palace, and also penned plays, novels, and short stories.

Uuno Kailas was a Finnish writer, poet, and translator. He is often counted among the most important Finnish poets of the 1930s. He published an impressive collection of poetry and translations before succumbing to schizophrenia and tuberculosis at the age of 31.

Finnish novelist, dramatist and poet Veijo Meri, whose oeuvre includes novels, essays, poetry and short stories, is best-known for his works on war and its absurdity and often includes dark humour. Two of his notable works are The Manila rope and Beneath the Polar Star: Glimpses of Finnish History. He also wrote a biography of noted Finnish writer Aleksis Kivi.

Initially a grocery store worker and a maid, Sally Salminen later soared to fame with her bestselling debut book Katrina. The 3-time Nobel Prize-nominated author later married Danish painter Johannes Dierkop and continued to write. However, her later works were not as successful as her first novel.

Initially part of the Neoromantic movement, Joel Lehtonen later wrote on themes of social pessimism. He is remembered for his iconic novels such as The Amorous Cripple and his short story collections The Dead Apple Trees. He committed suicide by hanging, after suffering from various ailments.

Eeva-Liisa Manner was a Finnish playwright, poet, and translator. Counted among the most influential and important modernists in post-war Finland, Manner's work has been translated into numerous European languages. She also translated many works of popular writers like William Shakespeare and Franz Kafka into Finnish.    

A champion of peasant rights, Finnish author Johannes Linnankoski is best remembered for his iconic works The Fugitives and The Song of the Blood-Red Flower. Part of the Golden Age of Finnish Art, he was a major force behind strengthening the national consciousness behind the Finnish independence from Russia.

Finnish-Swedish poet Frans Mikael Franzén, who had been the Bishop of the Diocese of Härnösand, was also one of the pioneers of the Romantic movement in Sweden. Initially a professor of philosophy, he later reformed Swedish poetry, inspired by the likes of Shakespeare and Milton.

Tuomas Anhava was a Finnish writer and poet. Although he never achieved any significant success during his lifetime, Anhava is revered for the impact he has had on other Finnish poets. Apart from writing poems, Tuomas Anhava also worked as the editor-in-chief of Parnasso. 

Rabbe Enckell was a Finnish poet and writer. He is best remembered for playing a major role in the Swedo-Finnish poetic revival that started in the 1920s. A modernist, Rabbe Enckell also worked for the avant-garde publication, Quosego. 

A co-founder of the pioneering Finnish National Theatre, Kaarlo Bergbom was also a playwright who introduced Finnish productions of William Shakespeare’s works. He collaborated with playwright Minna Canth and actor Ida Aalberg in bringing Finnish-language works to the forefront. His direction of Aleksis Kivi’s play Lea heralded the beginning of Finnish theatre.

Distinguished Finland-Swedish poet Baron Gripenberg spawned notable poetry collections such as Under fanan, Efter striden and Den hemliga goldenI besides translating into Swedish prominent works like the Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde and the novel The Song of the Blood-Red Flower by Johannes Linnankoski. He received nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature for fourteen times.