Kari Hotakainen (born 9 January 1957 in

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north ...

, Finland) is a Finnish

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

. Hotakainen started his writing career as a reporter in Pori. In 1986, he moved to Helsinki. He became a full-time writer in 1996. He has two children with his wife, sound technician Tarja Laaksonen, whom he married in 1983. He has also worked as a copywriter and as a columnist for the

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

Life and career

His father, Keijo Hotakainen, worked as a storekeeper and photographer while his mother, Meeri Ala-Kuusisto, worked as a sales clerk. Kari Hotakainen passed his matriculation examination in 1976 and graduated from Rautalampi High School the same year. He has a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

. Hotakainen kicked off his career as an author in the beginning of the 1980s by writing poetry. His debut collection ''Harmittavat takaiskut'' (''Unfortunate setbacks'') was published in 1982. From poetry, Hotakainen moved on to writing books for children and young adults and then on to writing novels for adults. Before he started writing full-time, Hotakainen worked as a news reporter, in the advertising department of WSOY, etc. Hotakainen's breakthrough came when he was nominated for the 1997

Finlandia Prize The Finlandia Prize ( fi, Finlandia-palkinto; sv, Finlandiaprisen) is a set of Finnish literary prizes awarded by the Finnish Book Foundation to "celebrate reading and highlight new Finnish first-rate literature." Considered the most prestigious ...

, for his semi-autobiographical work titled ''

Klassikko ''The Classic'' ( fi, Klassikko) is a 2001 Finnish comedy film directed by Kari Väänänen. It is based on Kari Hotakainen's semi-autobiographical novel ''Klassikko''. The film stars Martti Suosalo as writer Kari Hotakainen who receives an ass ...

'' (''The Classic''). In 2002, Hotakainen received the

for his book titled '' Juoksuhaudantie'' (''Battle Trench Avenue'') published the same year. Later on, the book was turned into a movie with the same name. In 2004, Hotakainen received

the Nordic Council's Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

for the same book. In 2006, he received the

Nordic Drama Award Nordic most commonly refers to: * Nordic countries, written in plural as Nordics, the northwestern European countries, including Scandinavia, Fennoscandia and the North Atlantic * Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in ...

for his play '' Punahukka''. Hotakainen has also written children's plays,

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

s, newspaper columns and the scripts for a 10-part TV series titled '' Tummien vesien tulkit''. Hotakainen was seriously injured in a car accident on 3 March 2012.

Bibliography

Novels

*''Buster Keaton: elämä ja teot'' (1991) *''Bronks'' (1993) *''Syntisäkki'' (1995) *''Pariskunta, pukki ja pieni mies'' (1997) *''Klassikko'' (1997) *''Sydänkohtauksia, eli kuinka tehtiin Kummisetä'' (1999) *'' Juoksuhaudantie'' (2002) –

winner 2002 *''Iisakin kirkko'' (2004) *''Huolimattomat'' (2006) – nominated for the Finlandia Prize 2006. *''Ihmisen osa'' (2009)

Poetry

*''Harmittavat takaiskut'' (1982) *''Kuka pelkää mustaa miestä'' (1985) *''Hot'' (1987) *''Runokirja'' (1988) *''Kalikkakasa, kootut runot'' (2000)

Children's and young adults' books

*''Lastenkirja'' (1990) *''Ritva'' (1997) *''Näytän hyvältä ilman paitaa'' (2000) *''Satukirja'' (2004)

Radio dramas

*''Puutteellinen'' (1996) *''Hurmaus'' (1997) *''Keihäänheittäjä'' (1997) *''Tulisuihku'' (1999) *''Sitten kun kaikki on ohi'' (2000)

Plays

*''Hukassa on hyvä paikka'' (1999) *''Sydänkohtauksia'' (2002) *''Punahukka'' (2005)

TV series

*''Tummien vesien tulkit''

References

* Kari Hotakainen, Iisakin kirkko, WSOY, Juva 2004 * Ismo Loivamaa, Kotimaisia nykykertojia 1–2, BTJ Kirjastopalvelu, Helsinki 2003 * *

External links

*
Kari Hotakainen at WSOYPresentation on the Nordic Council's Literature Prize site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotakainen, Kari 1957 births Living people People from Pori Writers from Satakunta Finnish children's writers Finnish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Finnish poets Finnish male novelists Finnish-language poets Finlandia Prize winners Finnish columnists Nordic Council Literature Prize winners Finnish male poets 20th-century Finnish novelists 21st-century Finnish novelists 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers