International author conversation with Iida Turpeinen

Acclaimed and award-winning Finnish author Iida Turpeinen visits Linköping’s bookstore!

Iida Turpeinen, born in 1987, debuted with The Living (“Elolliset”) in 2023. The novel was nominated for the Finlandia Prize and awarded the Helsingin Sanomat Prize for the best debut novel of the year. The translation rights have been sold to 28 countries. Alongside her authorship, Turpeinen is working on a dissertation on the intersections between literature and natural science.

In the autumn of 1741, scientist Georg Wilhelm Steller participates in an expedition with the goal of finding the sea route between Asia and America. When the crew is forced to take shelter on an insignificant island in the sea, they make a surprising discovery: a gigantic aquatic mammal inhabits the island, a unique type of sea cow named Steller’s sea cow. The peaceful creatures become the starving men’s salvation and write Steller into the history books. However, the species he named after himself would be extinct just three decades after the discovery – eradicated by humans.

The tale of Steller’s sea cow spans three centuries and touches upon a range of human destinies – from explorers in the Bering Sea to a governor’s wife in Alaska and a conservator in Finland. “The Living” is a novel about the thirst for science and the wonders of nature, but also about how humans, at the very moment they discover the world, begin to destroy it.

“A world-class novel” Helsingin Sanomat

“Fantastic … don’t miss this masterful union of science and storytelling.” Publishers Weekly

The conversation will be held in English. The program is organized by Bokstödet non-profit association, which is a support association for Linköping’s bookstore. The program is made possible thanks to financial contributions from the Cultural Fund for Sweden and Finland.