Author Anna-Liisa Haavikko as Guest

Anna-Liisa Haavikko's biography of Hilja Valtonen - suffragette and mistress of the printing press - explores the career and life of the entertainment writer Hilja Valtonen. Valtonen was a humorist who examined power relations between society and gender with a light but sharp touch. Her novel heroines are quick-witted and headstrong women - yet she also portrayed her characters with critical distance.

Valtonen published her final novel at age 78, concluding a six-decade career. She wrote during an era when literature and film were heavily dominated by men, and nonetheless carved out her own place as a screenwriter. The nation remembers her works including Varaventtiili, Vaimoke, and Hätävara.

At the event, Haavikko discusses Valtonen as a biographer, and actress Eeva Litmanen reads excerpts from Valtonen's works. Anna-Liisa Haavikko is an editor and non-fiction writer who has also written a biography of Kaari Utrio and is known from YLE's cultural and history programmes.