KAI AARELEID (b. 1972, Tartu) is an Estonian novelist, whose debut novel Vene veri (Russian Blood) was published in 2011 to wide acclaim. After her second novel ('Linnade Poletamine' / 'Burning Cities') was published in 2016 she was awarded the accolade Estonian Writer of the Year. She is also a prolific translator into Estonian and has translated such authors as Bruce Chatwin, Javier Marias, Paulo Coelho, and Roberto Bolano.