Piret Jaaks
Nordic Writer
and Playwright
Here you’ll find more information about my novels and short stories.
Daughters of Heaven
The historical novel "Daughters of Heaven" won 3rd place in 2023 Estonian New Novel competition and takes us to the Ottoman empire during World War I and is based on the life story of Anna Hedwig Büll (1887-1981), an Estonian missionary.
In "Daughters of Heaven", the young missionary Hedvig travels to an orphanage in the city of Marash, where the tragic war events begin to unfold before her eyes. At the moment of departure, young missionary Hedvig is unaware that she is heading straight into hell, where she must hide hundreds of children to prevent them from being sent to the Syrian desert to perish.
The central themes of the novel are individual responsibility and the potential for mercy, which begin to weigh on missionaries sent far from home amidst the turmoil of war. Step by step, by tying together fragments of the history of Estonia, Europe and the Middle East, the story of the greatness of the human soul unfolds before us.
The Moose Light
"Moose Light" (2024) is a magical-realistic story about a woman and a man who have moved to the countryside and are trying to cope with life after difficult experiences.
Although they hope to find paradise in their new home, the land does not bless the newcomers. As the husband Askur carries a gun and becomes more and more furious, wife Anna finds solace in a mystical white moose.
In the emotional world of the main characters, ancestral beliefs and old legends are intertwined, which become a guide out of the darkness.
"Moose Light" talks about personal trauma, finding one's roots and the impact of human activity on nature.
The novel is based on Piret Jaaks's play "Rites of Passages", which won 1st place in the play competition in 2019, and premiered a year later at the Ugala Theater.
The play and direction received a total of three nominations at the 2021 Estonian Theater Awards, including in the best original dramaturgy. In 2023, "Rites of Passages" was nominated for the Playwriting Award of the Estonian Cultural Endowment.
Urban Legends
A collection of short fiction "Urban Legends" won Best Debut of the Year award in Estonia in 2015. It brings together ten astonishing and fantasy-rich short stories, each exploring a different city of the world where unexpected events take place.