Writer and journalist Pauls Bankovskis (born 1973) was born in Līgatne, Latvia. He studied glass art at the Riga School for Applied Arts and Philosophy at the University of Latvia (1992–1996). His prose was first published in 1993. A prolific author, he has now published 10 novels, several collections of short stories, books and works of non-fiction, and film scripts. In 2007 Pauls Bankovskis published his first children’s book, The Tiny-Noggins’ Play House (Mazgalvīši spēlē mājās) which was awarded the International Jānis Baltvilks Prize. Bankovskis' works have been translated into German, Czech, Finnish and English. His latest novel, 18, was published within a series of historical novels entitled We. Latvia. The 20th Century, and discusses 1918, the year the Republic of Latvia was declared. Dace Rukšāne-Ščipčinska (born 1969) is a Latvian writer and journalist. After finishing high school she studied Medicine and Biology and additionally participated in the SOURCES 2 Script Development Workshop in Vienna. Rukšāne became well-known in 2002 for her novel The Little Affair (Romāniņš) that touched upon the subjects of feminine sexuality. It was followed by Bedtime Stories of Beatrice (Beatrises gultas stāsti), and Why were you crying? (Kāpēc tu raudāji?), as well as several articles and columns devoted to intimate subject matters and relationships. During the 1990s Rukšāne wrote poetry, and in the early 2000s several of her plays were staged in various theatres in Latvia. Her novels have been published in Germany and Denmark. In 2002, Rukšāne became a regular contributor to a weekly column in Sestdiena magazine. From 2004 until 2012 she was editor-in-chief of Lilit magazine. Sven Kuzmins (born 1985) is a Latvian writer, artist and actor. He mainly writes prose fiction, critical articles, and journalism, but also experiments with various forms of visual arts and literature. He is actively involved in other media projects, and is known to the wider public as one of the initiators and authors behind the NERTEN sketch theatre project. He also hosts a weekly literary show on Latvian Radio 1 called ‘Dear readers. Conversations about literature’ (Cienījamie lasītāji. Etīdes par literatūru). Urban Shamans (Pilsētas šamaņi) is Kuzmins' first collection of stories, accompanied by his own graphic drawings. His works have been translated into English, Russian, Spanish, and Lithuanian, and published in various printed and online platforms. He is currently working on his second book. Author and art scholar Gundega Repše (born 1960) is a writer of prose, an essayist and critic. Repše has worked as an editor and contributor in various magazines and other media discussing culture and literature. Her prose has been published since 1979. Repše has published many novels; several of her works have been adapted for theatre. Her trilogy Heavy Metal is informed by autobiographical material and has become one of the most important works of contemporary Latvian literature. Repše's short story ‘How Important Is It To Be Ernest’ was included in the prose anthology Dalkey Arhive Best European Fiction 2013. The novel Bogene was published in 2016 as part of the We. Latvia. The 20th Century novel series. Repše's prose has been translated into English, German, French, Swedish, Russian, and other languages. Gundega Repše is a member of the Latvian Writers' Union and the Latvian PEN club. In 2000, she received the Annual Latvian Literature Award for her novel Thumbelina (Īkstīte). Andra Neiburga (born 1957) is a prose writer and a well-known author of short stories. A graduate of the Latvian Academy of Art, she has worked as a designer for the magazines Avots and Karogs and has chaired the Latvian Young Writers' Association. Her first two highly acclaimed books were the short story collection Stuffed Birds and Caged Birds (Izbazti putni un putni buros), and the children's book The Story of Tille and the Dog Man (Stasts par Tilli un Sunu viru), published in 1991. After these books, she only started publishing her work again in 2002. Push, Push (Stum, stum) is her latest collection of stories and has won her critical and public acclaim. Her stories have been turned into plays and staged in the New Riga Theatre. Several of her stories have been translated into English, French, German, Russian, Ukrainian and Lithuanian and published in anthologies abroad. Vilis Lācītis (real name Aleksandrs Ruģēns, born 1975) is a Latvian writer and musician. From 2002 to 2007 he played in the group Pupociklu vasara. He then moved to live in the UK and studied anthropology at Oxford University. He became well-known for his writing in 2010, when his debut novel Stroika to London was published, about the life of Latvian migrant workers in England, asking questions about Latvian identity in the twenty-first century in a humorous tone. The novel was signed with a pseudonym Vilis Lācītis; the author publicly appeared, dressed in a bear's mask, and his real name was not initially disclosed. The debut novel won a special prize at the Annual Literary Awards 2010 and was also nominated in the Best Debut category. This was followed by To Ramen Lacples (2011), which was originally created as a play, The Long Way to Hantimansiysk (2012, together with Schmidz Klonatan Wawert) and The Amsterdam Principle (2013). In January 2017, the English version of his first novel was published under the name Stroika with a London View. Juris Zvirgzdiņš (1941) is known for being one of the most productive writers of highly esteemed literature, having written more than 20 books for children. His works have received many awards, and have been translated into several languages. 11 radio plays were staged for his works between 1982 and 1992. This writer stands out namely with his educational books where children are introduced to various concepts in an engaging way, for instance, going on adventures in the Museum of the History of Riga, visiting the Latvian National Library, or the Riga Zoo, learning about the history of the United States of America, or Austrian music, etc. The author is best known for his books about the teddy bear called Tobias. Tobias is one of the bears from Juris Zvirgzdiņš' actual collection of toys, and as the author himself asserts – Tobias is the true author of at least 7 literary works attributed to Zvirgzdiņš. These works feature other animals from his collection – the little bear Eliot, rhinoceros Mufa, little dog Fu Fuu, and others. In his works, Zvirgzdiņš masterly intertwines documentary with fantasy, and for this reason, his works are dearly loved by children – the stories are not only well imagined, but also have elements of reality and actual experiences. His book Muffa: Story of the White Baby Rhinoceros was included in the prestigious White Ravens Catalogue in 2012. Film director and writer Kristīne Želve was born in 1970. She studied film directing and cultural management at the Academy of Culture of Latvia. She has made several documentary films and video works. She is contributor to various Latvian media outlets and also runs a culture broadcast on Latvian Television. Her first book, a collection of short stories entitled The Girl Who Cut My Hair (Meitene, Kas Nogrieza Man Matus) was published in 2011. The author was awarded the Annual Prize for Literature and the Annual Prize for Culture of the daily newspaper Diena.
