Selja Ahava (born 1974) is a Finnish writer. She studied scriptwriting in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, and has written scripts for film, TV and radio. Her debut novel ''The Day the Whale Swam through London'' (''Eksyneen muistikirja'') appeared in 2010, followed by ''Things That Fall from the Sky'' (''Taivaalta tippuvat asiat'') which was nominated for the prestigious

Finlandia Prize The Finlandia Prize (; ) 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 in the nation, they are awarded annually in ...

. This book also won the

EU Prize for Literature The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...

, and has been translated into English by

Emily Jeremiah Emily Jeremiah is a British academic and literary translator. She studied modern languages at Exeter College, Oxford, and obtained her PhD from Swansea University. She has taught at Helsinki University, Goldsmiths College and finally Royal Hollo ...

and

Fleur Jeremiah Fleur(s) is French for flower(s). Fleur(s) may refer to: Music * Flëur, a Ukrainian band * ''Fleurs'' (Franco Battiato album), 1999 * ''Fleurs'' (Former Ghosts album), 2009 * ''Les Fleurs'' (album), by Ramsey Lewis, 1983 *''Fleurs 2'', a 200 ...

. Her third book ''Before My Husband Disappears'' (''Ennen kuin mieheni katoaa'') appeared in 2017 to wide acclaim. Her fourth book ''The Woman Who Loved Insects'' (''Nainen joka rakasti hyönteisiä'') was published by Gummerus in 2020. She lived in London for a few years before settling down in

Porvoo Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the Porvoo sub-region, sub-re ...

, a town outside Helsinki.Bio
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahava, Selja 1974 births Living people Finnish women novelists 21st-century Finnish women writers 21st-century Finnish novelists Finnish screenwriters Finnish television writers Finnish radio writers Finnish women screenwriters Women television writers Women radio writers Finnish expatriates in England 21st-century screenwriters