Marko Hautala’s (b. 1973) unique blend of psychological thriller and realism has attracted readers of all genres, earning him a reputation as the ’Finnish Stephen King’. Skilled at generating spine-tingling fear in his readers, he has been recognised for his literary prowess: his first novel The Self-Illuminated Ones (Itsevalaisevat, 2008) was awarded the Tiiliskivi Prize, and in 2010 Hautala received the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize for Young Authors for Shrouds. He was also nominated for the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize in 2013 for Seeing Eyes (Unikoira, Tammi 2012). His latest novel, The Whispering Girl was published in autumn 2016 (Tammi).