Vaasa LittFest literature festival announces visiting authors

The autumn LittFest will feature visual artist, cartoonist and writer Riina Tanskanen, among other guests. She has created the Tympeät tytöt series, which is known from Instagram, and which focusses on the world girls live in. Within her work, Tanskanen writes texts criticising society and experiences relating to femininity. Tanskanen was presented with the state award for public information in 2022. Last October, together with Samu Kuoppa, she published a work of non-fiction Kapitalismin suuri illuusio.

Juha Itkonen, who is one of the top names in the young generation of writers, will be coming to Vaasa. Itkonen’s debut novel Myöhempien aikojen pyhiä, was awarded the Kalevi Jäntti prize in 2003 and was nominated for the Finlandia prize. Itkonen has written ten novels, the newest of which is a first-hand account of family life. The novel Teoriani perheestä was published in 2023. He has also written several collections of short stories and a children’s book together with his wife Maija Itkonen.

Kaj Korkea-Aho is one of the most recognised Finnish-Swedish authors of his generation. He has received several awards and has also worked as a columnist for the Swedish-language newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet. His newest book Hur man möter en mamma tells the story of two men’s journey to fatherhood. The book, which was published this spring, frankly describes the most painful and beautiful aspects of parenthood with love and humour.

The author Ville-Juhani Sutinen, who was awarded the Finlandia Prize for non-fiction in 2022, has published poetry collections, essays, novels and non-fiction works. This versatile author is also a Finnish translator and literary critic. Sutinen’s latest non-fiction work Ruoka, valta ja nälkä 1900-luvun diktatuureissa was published in the spring.

State as a theme

The theme chosen for this year’s festival is state. At the festival, the concept is interpreted in a multifaceted way, with an emphasis on different literary angles, on the state of the environment, the state of man and even the state of horror.

– The state of the environment is cause for concern. Non-fiction and fiction are powerful ways to study climate change in a diverse and in-depth way. Through stories and writers’ interpretations, we often experience a deeper touch with humanity and ourselves than by just scratching the surface. A state of horror, on the other hand, is a primitive feeling, explains producer Ilkka Nyqvist when describing the festival’s theme.

In the Vaasa City Library’s Matilda meeting area, visual artist Riina Tanskanen will create a mural that is related to the LittFest theme.

Th bilingual LittFest literature festival offers interesting meetings with top writers and quality literature on 14-16 November 2024 in Vaasa. The event is held in cooperation with the Agenda 2030 Youth Group, which promotes sustainable development. Svenska Litteratursällskapet, KulturÖsterbotten and the Vaasa City Orchestra are also partners.