Liisa Kovala is a Finnish Canadian author and book coach. Her debut novel, Sisu's Winter War (Latitude 46, 2022), received a Literary Creation Project Grant from the Ontario Arts Council (OAC). Liisa's first book, Surviving Stutthof: My Father’s Memories Behind the Death Gate (Latitude 46, 2017) was shortlisted for a Northern Lit Award and published in Finland under the title Stutthofin selviytyjä (Docendo, 2020). Her most recent historical novel, Like Water for Weary Souls (House of Karhu, 2025) received a Literary Creation Project Grant from the OAC and was released in October.​

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Liisa is a member of the The Writers' Union of Canada, the Canadian Authors Association, Historical Novel Society, Sisters in Crime, and past president of the Sudbury Writers' Guild. She earned a graduate certificate in Creative Writing with distinction from Humber School for Writers and a Creative Writing Certificate from the University of Toronto.  

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Liisa's work is inspired by her Finnish heritage and the northern landscape she calls home. A nearly empty nester of two adult children, she lives in Sudbury, Ontario with her husband and puppy Emmy.