Lembit Uustulnd

Novels

 

Lembit Uustulnd (born 25 July 1952) is a writer and sea captain.

Uustulnd was born in Saaremaa Island. His father Albert Uustulnd is also a writer and seaman, his mother – head of a school. Following his father, Uustulnd wanted to become a seaman and studied at Admiral Makarov Maritime Academy in Leningrad. His life at sea has lasted for half a century, 35 years of which he worked as a captain. Having begun as a seaman on fishing vessels, he later became a passenger ship captain. Lembit Uustulnd has been a member of the Estonian Writers’ Union from 2007.

Uustulnd achieved recognition as a writer with his first novel Kiikhobune Antverpenist (‘Rocking Horse from Antverp’, 1999), which won second place at the novel competition of the Writers’ Union. The novel is a thriller, the author has called it a pseudodocumentary historical book. In 2016, it appeared in translation into Latvian.

Uustulnd has written 13 novels, short prose, plays, and children’s books. His well-known stories are Aastavahetus Casablancas (‘Turn of the Year in Casablanca’, (1998) and Jõuluämber (‘Christmas Bucket’, 2002). Uustulnd has also written biographies of famous Estonian captains. His magnum opus is the series of eight novels Avameri (‘Open Sea’), which tells stories of the lives of sailors and fishermen on Saaremaa from the 1960s to the early 1990s. The writer has said that he has no plans to write more novels in this series.

In 2021, he was awarded the Order of the White Star, class V.

L. P. (Translated by I. A.)

Books in Estonian

Novels
Kiikhobune Antverpenist. Pseudodokumentaal-ajalooline romaan. Tallinn: Varrak, 1999. 502 lk.
Süvameri. Tallinn: Varrak, 2001. 359 lk.
Reis võlgu. Tallinn: Varrak, 2004. 287 lk.
Ruutuemanda sündroom. Pseudodokumentaal-ajalooline romaan. Tallinn: Varrak, 2007. 630 lk.
Avameri 1. Kapten. Tallinn: Varrak, 2018. 340 lk.
Avameri 2. Kalamehe mõrsja. Tallinn: Varrak, 2019. 335 lk.
Avameri 3. Naerukajaka nutt. Tallinn: Varrak, 2020. 365 lk.
Avameri 4. Kuldkalake. Tallinn: Varrak, 2022, 327 lk.
Avameri 5. Meri taskus. Tallinn: Varrak, 2023, 334 lk.
Avameri 6. Salahoovused. Tallinn: Varrak, 2023, 326 lk.
Avameri 7. Kaugsõit kai ääres. Tallinn: Varrak, 2024, 327 lk.
Avameri 8. Punaste nelkide tuhk. Tallinn: Varrak, 2025, 397 lk.
Voldemar Laasiku üheksa mina: elu nagu filmis. Tallinn: Varrak, 2026, 301 lk.

Short prose
Merejutud. Tallinn: Varrak, 2009. 212 lk.

Children’s books
Ta ujub siiski. Tallinn: Varrak, 2011. 185 lk.
Operatsioon “Lossivaim”. Pseudoajalooline noorteromaan. Tallinn: Varrak, 2021, 221 lk.

Biographies
Kapten Kollo: mereelu – elumeri. Tallinn: Pegasus, 2010. 255 lk.
Kapten Toivo Ninnase üheksa lainet. Tallinn: Pegasus, 2012. 358 lk.