Emmi Itäranta

Emmi Itäranta is a Finnish author who writes fiction in Finnish and English. Her award-winning debut novel Memory of Water (2014) has been translated into more than 20 languages and a film adaptation, The Guardian of Water, is in the works. The novel was shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Golden Tentacle Award as well as being included in the Otherwise Award honor list.

Itäranta has also published two other novels, The Weaver (2016) and The Moonday Letters (Finnish edition Kuunpäivän kirjeet in 2020). The awards won by her books include Kalevi Jäntti Prize for young authors, Young Aleksis Kivi Prize, Kuvastaja Award for the best fantasy book published in Finland, Tampere City Literary Award and Tähtivaeltaja Award for the best science fiction book published in Finland.

Itäranta lived in the United Kingdom for 14 years before relocating back to Finland in 2021. She now lives in Tampere, Finland, and continues to write in two languages. Her novels have been characterised as lyrical eco dystopias and compared to the works of Sheri S. Tepper, Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Atwood.