Liisa Kovala is a Finnish Canadian author and teacher. Her first book, Surviving Stutthof: My Father's Memories Behind the Death Gate (Latitude 46, 2017), was shortlisted for a Northern Lit Award and published in Finland under the title Stutthofin selviytyjä (Docendo, 2020). Her work is inspired by her Finnish heritage and the northern landscape she calls home. Sisu's Winter War is her debut novel. She lives in Sudbury, Ontario with her husband and two children.