Nora Ikstena (born 15 October 1969) is a

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n writer and cultural manager. She was born in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

and English language and literature at the

University of Latvia University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia () was founded on Se ...

. After a subsequent period of residence in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for further studies, she returned home and worked to establish the Latvian Literature Centre. Her debut novel ''Celebration of Life'' appeared in 1998, and she has written more than twenty books since, several

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

collections, biographies and

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

s. Her recent novel ''Soviet Milk'' (, 2015) was translated into English and published in 2018 by

Peirene Press Peirene Press is an independent publishing house based in Bath. Established by the novelist and journalist Meike Ziervogel, Peirene publishes literary fiction in translation from all over the world. Their books are regularly listed for significa ...

in London. The launch took place on March 7 in the English-language bookstore Robert's Books in Riga. She also represented Latvia at the

London Book Fair The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and d ...

in 2018 as a featured author and was officially invited to be a participant of the Library of Congress National Book Festival of

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 2016. The book ''Soviet Milk'' has been licensed for 15 foreign languages, among them translations in Italian and German. In 2008 she was honoured with the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

(officer) of the Republic of Latvia. In 2018 she was honoured with another national ''Excellence in Culture Award'' for being the internationally best-known Latvian writer of the 21st century.

References

1969 births Living people Writers from Riga University of Latvia alumni 20th-century Latvian writers 20th-century Latvian women writers 20th-century novelists 21st-century Latvian writers 21st-century Latvian women writers 21st-century novelists Latvian women novelists {{Latvia-writer-stub