The Estonian Writers' Union (, abbr. EWU is a professional association of Estonian

writers A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short stori ...

and

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

critics.Marje Jõeste, Küllo Arjakas, ''The Baltic States'', Estonian Encyclopaedia Publishers, 1991, page 64

History

The Estonian Writers' Union was founded on 8 October 1922 under the name ''Eesti Kirjanikkude Liit'' at the 3rd Congress of Estonian writers held at the

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. One of its founding members was the poet Anna Haava. On 27 April 1923, the union began the publication of the monthly magazine '' Looming'' (''Creation''), which is one of the most important literary magazines in Estonia. In 1927, the union expanded to Tartu with the opening of a branch there. With the Soviet occupation of Estonia, the Estonian Writers' Union was dissolved on 19 October 1940. The occupation authorities launched the ''Estonian Soviet Writers' Union'' (Estonian: ''Eesti Nõukogude Kirjanike Liit''), on 8th or 9 October 1943 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. From 1958, it was called ''Writers' Union of the Estonian SSR'' (Estonian: ''Eesti NSV Kirjanike Liit'') and was active until the end of the Soviet Union. During the

German occupation of Estonia during World War II In the course of Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany invaded Estonia in July–December 1941, and occupied the country until 1944. Estonia had gained Estonian War of Independence, independence in 1918 from the then-warring German Empire, German ...

from 1941 to 1944, the original Estonian writers' Union unofficially continued its work. In 1945, the ''International Estonian Writers' Union'' (Estonian: ''Välismaine Eesti Kirjanike Liit'') was founded in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

as the organization of exiled Estonian writers as a counter organization to the Estonian Soviet Writers' Union/Writers' Union of the Estonian SSR. With the restoration of Estonian independence came the restoration of free expression and press freedom in Estonia, the association in Estonia was renamed Estonian Writers' Union in 1991. The International Estonian Writers' Union merged with the Estonian Writers' Union in October 2000. Currently, the Estonian Writers' Union has 302 members (as of July 2007). Its headquarters is located in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

of Tallinn and has a branch in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

. Estonian Writers' Union also has a summer house in

Käsmu Käsmu (, ) is a village in Haljala Parish, Lääne-Viru County, in northern Estonia, (retrieved 28 July 2021) on the territory of Lahemaa National Park. It's located northwest of Võsu, on the Käsmu Peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, surround ...

on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

, which is regularly made available for domestic and foreign writers.

Chairmen

Estonian Writers' Union

* Friedebert Tuglas 1922–1923, 1925–1927, 1929–1930, 1937–1939 * Karl Rumor 1923–1924 * Eduard Hubel 1924–1925, 1930–1936 *

Henrik Visnapuu Henrik Visnapuu ( – 3 April 1951) was an Estonian poet and playwright. Life Henrik Visnapuu was born in Helme Parish, Viljandi County, Livonia. He first attended the village school in Reola (today in Ülenurme Parish) and college in Sipe ...

1927–1929 * August Jakobson 1939–1940 * Albert Kivikas 1941–1943 * Gustav Suits 1943–1944 * Vladimir Beekman 1991–1995 * Mati Sirkel 1995–2004 * Jan Kaus 2004–2007 * Karl Martin Sinijärv 2007–2016 *

Tiit Aleksejev Tiit Aleksejev (born 6 July 1968) is an Estonian novelist and playwright. Aleksejev was born in Kohtla-Järve. He studied history at the University of Tartu, and served as a diplomat in France and Belgium. His debut novel was a thriller called ...

since 2016

International Estonian Writers' Union

* August Mälk 1945–1982 * Kalju Lepik 1982–1999 * Enn Nõu 1999–2000

Estonian Soviet Writers' Union/
Writers' Union of the Estonian SSR

* Johannes Vares-Barbarus 1943–1944 * August Jakobson 1944–1946, 1950–1954 * Johannes Semper 1946–1950 * Juhan Smuul 1954–1971 * Vladimir Beekman 1971–1976, 1983–1991 * Paul Kuusberg 1976–1983

Literature

Ülo Tuulik Ülo Tuulik (born 22 February 1940, in Abruka Island, Saare County) is an Estonian writer. In 1963, he graduated from University of Tartu, Tartu State University in philology. From 1964-1966, he was the chairman of Young Authors' Association in T ...

(eds): ''Eesti Kirjanikkude Liit 75'', Tallinn 1997 Katrin Raid: ''Loomise lugu. Eesti aeg. Eesti Kirjanikkude Liit 1922–1940''. Tallinn 2002

References

External links

* {{Authority control Estonian writers' organizations Organizations established in 1922 1922 establishments in Estonia