Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning author, playwright and director. Most of her work examines themes of art, identity and social norms. Turunen is known for three highly acclaimed novels Irrational things (2021), Love/Monster (2015) and The Bystander (2018) but also for her work in theatre. Her plays have been translated into numerous languages and performed all over the world. Turunen received the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015, the Finland Prize in 2016 and Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018, all top prizes awarded in Finland.