Purge

With her first novel, Stalinin lehmät, (“Stalin’s Cows”, 2003), Finnish-Estonian writer Sofi Oksanen (born 1977, Jyväskylä, Finland) was catapulted into the elite of young Finnish literary authors. Her original and political début, at once revolting and sublimely poetical, created a heated public debate and rendered her a nomination for The Runeberg Award, one of Finland’s most prestigious literary prizes. Oksanen followed up the success with the publication of a second novel, Baby Jane, in 2005.

Siân Thomas is a Welsh actress who trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has appeared on stage, on TV and in films such as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in which she played Amelia Bones. She was part of the cast of the musical Spring Awakening in London until May 2009 (when the show closed), playing the 'Adult Women'. In 2002 she appeared in London's West End theatre production Up for Grabs with Madonna. She has a particularly effective voice for reading modern poetry, which is often deployed on the BBC Radio 3 program Words and Music.