Nora Ikstena (born 15 October 1969) is a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n writer and cultural manager. She was born in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

and studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

and English language and literature at the

University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

. After a subsequent period of residence in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for further studies, she returned home and worked to establish the Latvian Literature Centre. Her debut novel ''Celebration of Life'' appeared in 1998, and she has written more than twenty books since, several

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

collections, biographies and

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

s. Her recent novel ''Soviet Milk'' ( lv, Mātes piens, 2015) was translated into English and published in 2018 by

Peirene Press Peirene Press is an independent publishing house based in London. Established by novelist and publisher Meike Ziervogel, Peirene is primarily focused on bringing out high-quality English translations of contemporary European short novels. Peiren ...

in London. The launch took place on March 7 in the English-language bookstore Robert's Books in Riga. She also represented Latvia at the

London Book Fair The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and di ...

in 2018 as a featured author and was officially invited to be a participant of the Library of Congress National Book Festival of

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

in 2016. The book ''Soviet Milk'' has been licensed for 15 foreign languages, among them translations in Italian and German. In 2008 she was honoured with the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

(officer) of the Republic of Latvia. In 2018 she was honoured with another national ''Excellence in Culture Award'' for being the internationally best-known Latvian writer of the 21st century.

References

1969 births Living people Writers from Riga University of Latvia alumni 20th-century Latvian writers 20th-century Latvian women writers 20th-century novelists 21st-century Latvian writers 21st-century Latvian women writers 21st-century novelists Latvian women novelists {{Latvia-writer-stub