Mervi Heikkilä

Mervi Heikkilä (s.1974) is a multifaceted and award-winning fantasy writer. She writes mainly for children and young adults, but also short stories for adults. She has been written over 30 books and many with co-authors also. Many of her children's books have been translated to Estonian and one to Hungarian.

In her stories Heikkilä likes to combine Finnish folklore and realism. Her stories can also be situated in a weird, mythical world with witches, old Finnish gods and supernatural animals. Her characters often meet death, metamorfosis, difficult choises or unhappy love. There is generally a strong, ominous tone and distinctive ideas. The nature is always in a big role and northern woods both hide and comfort characters when needed.