Arto Tapio Paasilinna (born 20 April 1942 in Kittilä) is a Finnish writer, being a former journalist turned comic novelist. One of the most successful novelists of Finland, he has won a broad readership outside of Finland in a way few other Finnish authors have before. Translated into 27 languages, over seven million copies of his books have been sold worldwide, and he has been claimed as "instrumental in generating the current level of interest in books from Finland".
Paasilinna is best known for his 1975 novel The Year of the Hare (Jäniksen vuosi), a best-seller in France and Finland, translated into 18 languages, awarded three international prizes, and adapted twice into feature films.
Arto Paasilinna's brothers are authors Erno Paasilinna, Reino Paasilinna and Mauri Paasilinna.
Arto Paasilinna was born on 20 April 1942 in the Alakylä[citation needed] part of the municipality of Kittilä, in Lapland, Finland. His parents were Väinö Paasilinna (1902–1950, born Gullstén, changed his surname in 1934 after a family conflict) and Hilda-Maria Paasilinna (1908–1983, born Niva). The Paasilinna's had seven children, five sons and two daughters, including the writer Erno Paasilinna; the author, MEP and TV personality Reino Paasilinna; the painter Sirpa Paasilinna-Schlagenwarth; and the writer Mauri Paasilinna.