Erina's BIO
Erina Linden is a writer, illustrator, and literary translator whose work moves between poetry, fiction, and visual storytelling. Raised under Albania’s repressive communist regime, she grew up in a world where foreign books and languages were forbidden, shaping her lifelong devotion to literature, translation, and cultural exchange. She holds a master’s degree in Creative Writing from a prestigious UK university and has lived across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. She is also a passionate nature conservation advocate and an unapologetic coffee devotee.
​​​Erina is the author of several picture books, including The King of the Birds and Central Park, as well as middle-grade novels such as The Time of the Dinosaurs and Oru of the Lions (Coming up). ​ Her poetry collections include November Rain (March 2026), and her translations include works by Migjeni and Pirandello. Her writing explores love, heartbreak, and resilience, drawing on both Western and East Asian traditions.
BIO Children's Version
Erina Linden is an author and illustrator who loves stories, painting, her family, and especially birds and nature, just like the ones in her books. When Erina was a child, she lived in a country where people were not allowed to be free. They could not travel, and books from faraway places were forbidden. Food was scarce, and life was often difficult. But whenever Erina saw birds flying across the sky, she felt hopeful. To her, birds meant freedom. Then, in 1991, everything changed. Spring arrived, the dictator lost power, and people were free again. The sun shone brightly, and it felt as if all the birds in the country were singing at once.
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Today, Erina writes and illustrates books for children and adults. She often fills her stories with sunlight and birds to remind readers that even in hard times, hope can always return and brighter days will come.