Tessy Baila is a Greek author. She was born in Piraeus, Greece. She studied History of Greek Civilization and Literary Translation, and later pursued postgraduate studies in literature at the University of Western Macedonia. She first appeared in the Greek literary scene in 2009. She has published novels of historical and social content, including The Portrait of Silence (Enastron) and The Fairy Tale of the Rain (Dokimakis). Her books published by Psichogios Publications include The Secret Was Sugar, Whisky Blue, Wild Seas, At Night She Played with the Shadows, and Call Me Ishmael. Her novel Call Me Ishmael was shortlisted for the Greek State Prize for Fiction in 2023. Her novels, short stories and articles have been translated into Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Bulgarian, and Turkish. Alongside her writing, she works as a literary translator and has collaborated with distinguished publishers. She has also contributed to online literary magazines, while her book reviews are regularly published in the newspaper Kathimerini (Sunday edition). She is a member of the editorial team of the literary magazine Klepsydra and serves as editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Literature.gr & consulting editor in Librotimes.com. In addition to her literary work, she is also involved in photography, and her solo exhibitions have been hosted at Tokyo Gakugei University in Japan as well as in Athens. She is a founding member of PEN Greece, the official Greek centre of PEN International, where she served as Secretary General from 2021 to 2025. Since January 2025, she has been serving as President of PEN Greece.
