Hassan Blasim (b.Baghdad, 1973) studied at the city's Academy of Cinematic Arts, where his films 'Gardenia' and 'White Clay' won the Academy's Festival Award for Best Work in their respective years.

His overtly political and critical work led to a number of arrests, and he fled Iraq, spending years travelling illegally through Europe as a refugee. In 2004, he settled in Finland where he went on to write a number of prize-winning short stories.

His debut novel, 'God 99', was published in 2020 and a new collection of short stories, 'Sololand' will be published in May.

Described as 'Iraq's Irvine Welsh', Blasim appears to delight in shocking his reader. His work confronts violence and trauma as he strives to reflect ordinary lives in a troubled land.