{{Short description|British copywriter, digital marketer and author}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} [[File:Joel Willans at Helsinki Book Fair, 2018.jpg|alt=Color photograph of author Joel Willans standing next to a portrait of himself at a book fair booth|thumb|Joel Willans at Helsinki Book Fair, 2018]] '''Joel Willans''' (born 11 May 1972 in Sudbury, Suffolk in Great Britain) is a British copywriter and author. He moved to Finland in 2002 with his Finnish girlfriend, now his wife.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.6d.fi/index.php/wemet/542-spellbound-by-words|title=Spellbound by words|last=assiabi|website=www.6d.fi|language=en-gb|access-date=2017-07-02}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.hs.fi/elama/art-2000005263298.html|title=Britti Joel Willans muutti Suomeen ja hämmästyi uskollista sääntöjen tottelemista – "Ehkä suomalaiset juovat itsensä niin humalaan juuri sääntöjen takia"|date=22 June 2017|work=Helsingin Sanomat|access-date=2017-07-02|language=fi-FI}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.is.fi/matkat/art-2000001187342.html|title=Brittimies löi tiskiin sarkastisen listan: Miksei Suomeen kannata tulla kesäisin?|date=26 May 2016|work=Ilta-Sanomat|access-date=2017-07-02|language=fi-FI}}</ref>

== Biography == Before moving to Finland, Willans spent his early adult life studying history at University of Greenwich in London, working in the advertising business and writing short stories.

In Finland, Willans worked as a copywriter before founding an ad agency with his wife.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-9685803|title=Very Finnish Problems -sarjan luoja juhannuskolumnissa: Sisukasta sekoilua satoi tai paistoi|website=Yle Uutiset|date=22 June 2017|language=fi|access-date=2017-07-02}}</ref> The couple also have two children.<ref name=":0" />

== Work == Willans’ first book, ''Spellbound – Stories of Women's Magic over Men'', was published in England in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.route-online.com/all-books/spellbound.html|title=Spellbound : Route Online|last=Media|first=Quba New|website=www.route-online.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-07-02}}</ref> The book's short stories describe men falling in love with women.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hs.fi/ihmiset/art-2000002665489.html|title=Proosaa naisen voimalla|date=5 August 2013|work=Helsingin Sanomat|access-date=2017-07-02|language=fi-FI}}</ref>

The second book, ''101 Very Finnish Problems – The Foreigner's Guide to Surviving in Finland'', was published in 2017 by Gummerus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gummerus.fi/fi/kirja/9789512407507/101-very-finnish-problems/|title=101 Very Finnish Problems|website=www.gummerus.fi|language=en|access-date=2017-07-02}}</ref> The work is a collection of short, causerie-style essays, which use a humorous tone to describe Finnish culture from an outside point of view.

Willans based this second book on his Facebook page, Very Finnish Problems, which publishes image memes on Finland to a major audience.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.is.fi/matkat/art-2000005073551.html|title=Britti Joel listaa: 10 asiaa, joilla ilahdutat suomalaista: "Mutta älä vaan kutsu virtahevoksi"|date=3 February 2017|work=Ilta-Sanomat|access-date=2017-07-02|language=fi-FI}}</ref> Peculiarities in Finnish culture, nature, geography etc. are humorously described as "problems".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/self-deprecating_finnish_memes_a_big_online_hit/10120020|title=Self-deprecating Finnish memes a big online hit|work=Yle Uutiset|access-date=2018-03-17|language=en}}</ref> Across different social media, the Very Finnish Problems brand has more than 650,000 followers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Very Finnish Problems|url=https://www.facebook.com/veryFinnishproblems/|access-date=2021-04-05|website=www.facebook.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Very Finnish Problems (@veryfinnishproblems) • Instagram photos and videos|url=https://www.instagram.com/veryfinnishproblems|access-date=2021-04-05|website=www.instagram.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=VeryFinnishProblems (@SoVeryFinnish) {{!}} Twitter|url=https://twitter.com/soveryfinnish|access-date=2021-04-05|website=twitter.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=VeryFinnishProblems (@veryfinnishproblems) TikTok {{!}} Watch VeryFinnishProblems's Newest TikTok Videos|url=https://www.tiktok.com/@veryfinnishproblems|access-date=2021-04-05|website=TikTok|language=en}}</ref> Gummerus published a sequel, ''More Very Finnish Problems – An Even More Essential Guide To Surviving in Finland,'' in 2018, in which Willans explores his observations on Finnish culture with added depth, while adding illustrations from his social media accounts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gummerus.fi/fi/kirja/9789512411726/more-very-finnish-problems/|title=More Very Finnish Problems|website=www.gummerus.fi|language=fi|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://seura.fi/asiat/ajankohtaista/suomalaisten-arkipaivien-ongelmat-naurattavat-edelleen-suomalaiset-eivat-ole-ehka-tietoisia-kuinka-onnellisia-he-ovat-asuessaan-suomessa/|title=Very Finnish Problems -kuvien tekijä Joel Willans sai suomalaiset nauramaan: "Meemit ovat saaneet monet ymmärtäneet, kuinka hyvin asiat täällä ovat"|date=28 September 2018|website=Seura.fi|language=fi|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kirjavinkit.fi/arvostelut/more-very-finnish-problems-an-even-more-essential-guide-to-surviving-finland/|title=More Very Finnish Problems : An even more essential guide to surviving Finland (Joel Willans)|date=26 October 2018|website=Kirjavinkit|language=fi|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref>

In both his writing<ref>{{Cite book|title=101 Very Finnish Problems – The Foreigner's Guide to Surviving in Finland|last=Willans|first=Joel|publisher=Gummerus|year=2017|isbn=978-951-24-0750-7|location=Helsinki, Finland|pages=8}}</ref> and interviews<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.menaiset.fi/artikkeli/ajankohtaista/brittikirjailija-ihmettelee-juhannuksen-romantisointia-vain-pakko-esittaa|title=Brittikirjailija ihmettelee juhannuksen romantisointia: "On vain pakko esittää, että on kivaa"|date=23 June 2017|work=Me Naiset|access-date=2017-07-02|language=fi}}</ref> by media, Willans tends to discuss what he sees as a contrast between positive aspects of Nordic life, compared to the deep-rooted yet "shallow" class system of British society.

In Great Britain, some of Willans’ short stories have been awarded the Yeovil Literary Prize and been read on BBC Radio Somerset.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bristolprize.co.uk/news/joel-willans-wins-yeovil-prize/|title=Joel Willans wins Yeovil Prize|date=19 March 2009|work=Bristol Prize|access-date=2017-07-02|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bristolprize.co.uk/news/shortlisted-story-broadcast-on-bbc-radio-somerset/|title=Shortlisted story broadcast on BBC Radio Somerset|date=27 July 2009|work=Bristol Prize|access-date=2017-07-02|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Willans’ company also publishes a podcast titled Very Finnish Problems, on the Ink Tank web publication.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://inktank.fi/podcasts/|title=The Very Finnish Problems Podcast With Joel Willans -|access-date=2017-07-02|language=en-US}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Willans, Joel}} Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:British podcasters Category:British expatriates in Finland Category:British copywriters Category:British writers Category:Alumni of the University of Greenwich Category:21st-century British writers