Anna Hallava

Anna Hallava is a Swedish and English language teacher in a Finnish primary school. She grew up in a small town called Huittinen in south-western Finland. In her youth there, she used to hang around the main drag with her friends, checking out boys (she’s quite sure that’s where the character of Ophelia started to take shape). Nowadays she has fond memories of her teenage boy-watching years. Hallava says she’s fortunate to be able to continue experiencing those years through her writing. She decided to become a writer at the age of eight after reading Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables.

Anna Hallava loves humour and imaginary worlds. When she’s not writing, you can probably find her building doll’s houses or doing all sorts of crafts, from beadwork to making homemade soap.