Leena Parkkinen

Author

I arrived at the Saari Residence in the autumn, when the geese were beginning to migrate. The honking of the geese was the only thing to break the silence, which took some getting used to after the bustle of life I’d just left behind in Helsinki. Saari and its surrounds offered peace, and space, ideal for writing.

During my stay I worked on a children’s story, which will be published in April 2011. It tells the story of a girl named Mercedes who finds a cow in her bathtub. The book reprises my favourite themes of “outsiderness” and otherness. During my stay I also made a good start on a novel, a story of family life in the early 1960s.

Thank you for two wonderful months!

 

Leena Parkkinen studied film scriptwriting and advertising design at Turku University of Applied Sciences, and creative writing at Kristine korkeakoulu (the Critical University) in Helsinki. She has worked in publishing, advertising and in the service industry. In 2009 her novel Sinun jälkeesi, Max (After You, Max) won the prize for the best debut book of the year from the national daily the Helsingin Sanomat, and also won the Leila Hirvisaari Foundation prize and the Akateeminen Kirjakauppa prize. Translations of the book into several languages are currently underway.