Hannu Luntiala
Encyclopedia
Hannu Veikko Luntiala is the Director General of the Population Register Centre
in Finland
and an author
for Tammi
, a Finnish publishing company.
degree in the University of Helsinki
in 1979. In the same year, he began his career at the Population Register Centre and has since worked in the office in several different positions, e.g. as the Head of Administration and Educational Affairs. Luntiala became the Director in 1995 and later the Director General in 2003. Population Register Centre is a Finnish state authority
responsible for development of population information system, nationwide information services and certificate services of electronic identification
.
contest organized by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. In 2002, he won a short story
contest organized in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the Finnish author Toivo Pekkanen, with his story of an immigrant, called Musta ("Black"). Luntiala's poetry and short stories have been published in several anthologies
and magazines
since the 1980s.
In 2006, Finnish publishing company Tammi published Luntiala's short story collection, Hommes (French
for "men", "people"), followed by the novels Viimeiset viestit ("Last Messages") in 2007 and In memoriam in 2008. Luntiala's third novel, named Petri Vallin toinen elämä ("The Other Life of Petri Vall"), will be released in the fall of 2010. As of 2010, Luntiala's novel Viimeiset viestit has been translated to Croatian
, Slovenian
, Hungarian
, Russian
and Estonian
.
Hommes is a collection of short stories about Finnish melancholic and restricted males who cannot communicate with their loved ones. The novel Viimeiset viestit is a story told in form of text messages
in its entirety. It is said to be the world's first "text message novel". In memoriam is a story of a man trying to find out the secret hidden in a labyrinth of obituaries
. Petri Vallin toinen elämä is about identity theft
.
Registration Office
A registration office commonly refers to a government agency that files compulsory information in the public interest.The most common type of a registration office is a companies registration office or a trade register office. In most countries, the trade and company register is freely accessible...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
for Tammi
Tammi (publishing company)
Tammi is a Finnish publishing company established in 1943 by an initiative of Väinö Tanner, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. In 1996, the company was bought by the Bonnier Group, and it is currently the third largest book publisher in Finland....
, a Finnish publishing company.
Career at Population Register Centre
Hannu Luntiala made the Master of LawsMaster of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
degree in the University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
in 1979. In the same year, he began his career at the Population Register Centre and has since worked in the office in several different positions, e.g. as the Head of Administration and Educational Affairs. Luntiala became the Director in 1995 and later the Director General in 2003. Population Register Centre is a Finnish state authority
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
responsible for development of population information system, nationwide information services and certificate services of electronic identification
Electronic identity card
The electronic identity card or EIC is a government-issued document for online and offline identification. Belgium, Italy as well as other countries are currently issuing EICs which will replace conventional identity cards in most European countries in the future...
.
Career as an author
What began as a hobby at an early age, Hannu Luntiala's professional career first kicked off as a part-time writer, when in 1999 he was one of the winners of a poemPoetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
contest organized by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. In 2002, he won a short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
contest organized in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the Finnish author Toivo Pekkanen, with his story of an immigrant, called Musta ("Black"). Luntiala's poetry and short stories have been published in several anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
and magazines
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
since the 1980s.
In 2006, Finnish publishing company Tammi published Luntiala's short story collection, Hommes (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for "men", "people"), followed by the novels Viimeiset viestit ("Last Messages") in 2007 and In memoriam in 2008. Luntiala's third novel, named Petri Vallin toinen elämä ("The Other Life of Petri Vall"), will be released in the fall of 2010. As of 2010, Luntiala's novel Viimeiset viestit has been translated to Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
, Slovenian
Slovenian language
Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and Estonian
Estonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
.
Hommes is a collection of short stories about Finnish melancholic and restricted males who cannot communicate with their loved ones. The novel Viimeiset viestit is a story told in form of text messages
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
in its entirety. It is said to be the world's first "text message novel". In memoriam is a story of a man trying to find out the secret hidden in a labyrinth of obituaries
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
. Petri Vallin toinen elämä is about identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
.
Awards and honors
- Finnish Cultural Foundation's grand poetry contest, 1999, one of the winners
- Toivo Pekkanen 100-year memorial short story contest, 2002, winner with the short story Musta
- Nuoren Voiman Liiton ja Gummeruksen novellikilpailu, 2002, honorable mention for the short story En ole mikään luontoihminen