Crime Novelist Pirkko Arhippa Bequeaths 800,000 Euros to Finnish Writers' Union

The Finnish Writers' Union has announced a significant bequest of 800,000 euros from the estate of acclaimed author and crime novelist Pirkko Arhippa, who passed away in October 2025. Arhippa, whose real name was Pirkko Syynimaa, has directed that her donated assets establish the Pirkko Arhippa Fund.

The fund's primary objective is to provide financial support to women crime writers at the beginning of their careers. Ilmi Villacís, Executive Director of the Finnish Writers' Union, described the donation as "exceptionally significant," noting that while bequests were more common in the union's early days and the last century, large testamentary gifts like this are now quite rare.

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This means a great deal to us, as we have never received anything like this before. In the early days of the Writers' Union and even in the last century, there were more funds, donations, and bequests, but nowadays, bequests have been quite rare, especially on this scale.

According to Villacís, the funds will be invested alongside the union's existing endowments. The generated income will be distributed as grants once the investments begin yielding dividends. The Finnish Writers' Union currently distributes approximately 200,000 euros annually in grants from its investment returns.

Arhippa's will also included her two-room apartment in Naantali, which will be sold to contribute to the fund. The union also managed Arhippa's funeral arrangements. Arhippa, born in Rautavaara in 1935, began her prolific, six-decade career in the 1960s, publishing crime novels and romantic fiction under various pseudonyms. She was recognized with the Hornanlinna honorary certificate by the Finnish Crime Writers' Society in 2005. Arhippa, who had no children, passed away in Turku at the age of 90 after a long illness. Her final novel, "Ruusu – pallo – avain" (Rose – Ball – Key), was published in 2016. Alongside her writing career, Arhippa was active in local politics in Naantali as a representative of the Social Democrats.

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She wrote, for example, in the 70s, when there weren't as many female crime writers as there are today.