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Emmi Elina Itäranta

エンミ・エリナ・イタランタ

Emmi Itaranta

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Tampere, Finland
Nationality
Finnish
Languages
Finnish, English
Residence History
Tampere, Finland → Canterbury, United Kingdom

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Columnist, Theatre critic, Script writer, Press officer
Active Years
2000-
Nominations
2013 Tähtivaeltaja Award nomination (Teemestarin kirja / Memory of Water), 2014 Philip K. Dick Award nominee (Memory of Water), 2014 Golden Tentacle (The Kitschies) finalist (Memory of Water), 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist (Memory of Water), 2016 Tähtivaeltaja Award nomination (Kudottujen kujien kaupunki / The City of Woven Streets)

Education

University of Tampere
Drama / Department of Drama
Degree: 修士（MA）
Country: Finland
MA in Drama
University of Kent
Creative Writing (postgraduate) / Creative Writing
Period: 2007（大学院在籍）
Country: United Kingdom
Enrolled in a postgraduate Creative Writing program in 2007; began writing debut novel as coursework

Awards

Fantasy and Sci-Fi Literary Fiction contest (Teos)
2011
Work: Teemestarin kirja / Memory of Water
Organization: Teos (publisher)
Result: 受賞
Kalevi Jäntti Award
2012
Work: Teemestarin kirja / Memory of Water
Organization: Kalevi Jäntti Foundation
Result: 受賞
Nuori Aleksis Award
2013
Work: Teemestarin kirja / Memory of Water
Organization: Nuori Aleksis
Result: 受賞
Tähtivaeltaja Award
2013
Work: Teemestarin kirja / Memory of Water
Organization: Tähtivaeltaja
Result: 最終候補
Philip K. Dick Award
2014
Work: Memory of Water
Organization: Philip K. Dick Award
Result: ノミネート
Golden Tentacle (The Kitschies)
2014
Work: Memory of Water
Organization: The Kitschies
Result: ノミネート
Arthur C. Clarke Award
2015
Work: Memory of Water
Organization: Arthur C. Clarke Award
Result: 最終候補
City of Tampere Literary Award
2016
Work: The City of Woven Streets (Kudottujen kujien kaupunki)
Organization: City of Tampere
Result: 受賞
Premio Salerno Libro d'Europa
2016
Work: La Memoria dell'Acqua (Italian edition of Memory of Water)
Organization: Premio Salerno
Result: 最終候補

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Memory of Water (Teemestarin kirja)

2012 Speculative fiction (climate-change dystopia)

Set in a near-future world of severe freshwater scarcity, the novel follows Noria, who inherits knowledge of a secret water source and related memories. She must confront an oppressive system while themes of environmental crisis, resource control and personal memory are explored.

environment and climate changewater scarcitydystopiamemory and lossidentity
Translations
  • Arabic
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Estonian
  • French
  • Georgian
  • German
  • Hungarian
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Latvian
  • Lithuanian
  • Norwegian
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish
  • Turkish
  • Russian

The City of Woven Streets (Kudottujen kujien kaupunki)

2015 Fantasy / Speculative fiction

Set in a city where weaving and textile culture shape everyday life, the novel explores community and individuality, memory and tradition. Characters' fates are interwoven against themes of social structure and change.

community vs. individualtradition and changememorycraftsmanship / weaving
Translations
  • English

The Moonday Letters

2022 Literary fiction (with speculative elements)

Published in 2022. Details are limited in the provided sources; the book is presented as a novel employing letters or epistolary elements to explore relationships, memory and perceptions of time.

letters / epistolary formrelationshipsmemory

Bibliography

  • Memory of Water (Teemestarin kirja)
  • The City of Woven Streets / The Weaver (Kudottujen kujien kaupunki)
  • The Moonday Letters

Translations of Works

  • Italian edition: La Memoria dell'Acqua
  • English editions: Memory of Water; The City of Woven Streets (UK) / The Weaver (US/Canada)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical yet spare prosevisual, cinematic imageryuse of ellipsis and negative space
Recurring Motifs
waterweavingteamemorylettersnature / environment

Legacy

Emmi Itäranta, a Finnish-born author, is internationally recognized for works addressing climate change and resource issues. Writing in both Finnish and English, her debut Memory of Water has been translated widely and has received multiple international award nominations.

Trivia

  • Finnish novelist born in Tampere.
  • Known for writing simultaneously in Finnish and English.
  • Debut (Teemestarin kirja) won a Teos contest in 2011, published in Finnish in 2012; the English edition (Memory of Water) was published by HarperCollins in 2014.
  • Translation rights for Memory of Water have been sold to 21 territories.
  • Italian edition La Memoria dell'Acqua was among the finalists for the Premio Salerno Libro d'Europa in 2016.
  • Second novel was published in Finnish in 2015 and in English in 2016 (published as The Weaver in the US/Canada).
  • Resides in Canterbury, United Kingdom.