Piret Raud (b. 1971) is an Estonian writer and artist. Having begun her career in the 1990s as a children’s author and illustrator, Raud has since become one of Estonia’s most highly regarded and award-winning writers, whose work has reached far beyond the country’s borders. She has published several dozen children’s books, the most recent of which, An Important Figure (Tähtis kuju), appeared last year. The book offers a witty response to a serious subject – the increasingly pervasive totalitarian mindset in the world. To date, Raud has also published six prose works for adults, including two short story collections and four novels. Her latest, the novel The Time of Boiled Deer (Keedetud hirvede aeg, Tänapäev, 2024), is a magical-realist artist’s novel set in the years of Soviet stagnation, with autobiographical undertones. It tells the story of two women – mother Anna and daughter Lill – and the artist-filled house in which they live. In doing so, it juxtaposes an oppressive social reality with the inner sensitivity and aesthetic awareness of those living within it.
Piret Raud
