Some writers find their voice later in life. Others are born carrying stories long before they understand what they mean. For Albanian author Mirela Kanini, writing began almost as soon as she learned how to hold a pen, shaped by family, silence, fear, and an unshakable need to tell the truth.
Raised in Albania during the communist regime and later building her life in the United States, Kanini writes from the space between two worlds. Her novels explore love and duty, freedom and consequence, memory and exile, often through characters shaped by history rather than choice. Writing first in Albanian, she preserves voices that lived through restriction, survival, and migration, while inviting international readers into stories rarely told with such emotional honesty.
In this interview, Mirela Kanini reflects on her path as a writer, the personal cost of storytelling, and why compassion remains at the center of everything she writes.
Quick Profile
Name: Mirela Kanini
Profession: Author / Novelist
Languages: Albanian, English (published)
Genres: Literary fiction, historical fiction, diaspora narratives
Based in: United States
Key Takeaways
- Writing became a refuge and act of resistance during Albania’s dictatorship
- Living between Albania and the U.S. deeply shapes her characters and themes
- Her novels explore moral conflict without judgment or easy answers
- Albanian history and traditions remain central to her storytelling
- Compassion and understanding define her legacy as a writer
A Conversation With Mirela Kanini
1. What moment in your life made you realize you wanted to become a writer?
I always felt that the desire to write stories and later in life books was born with me. During family conversations I heard that the moment I learned how to write it was also the moment I started making up written stories. Nothing extraordinary of course, and probably were more about my every day life, my concerns or worries that little kids usually have, like going to the dentist for example, or the fear I could get lost and not be able to find my house. But they already knew I was up to something. My father was a journalist and established writer, and I would say genetics could have played a role. As I was getting older, during my teenage years, that desire to write turned into a passion. I kept writing in secret and I wasn’t sharing my stories with no one. I just knew that it felt good to write and hide some truths in papers, thoughts that no one during the dictatorship era I lived in could have the guts to express out loud. But it all came to an end when my mother found my stack of papers, read them and ripped them all off. I was very upset but I knew she did it to protect me and our family. I didn’t stop though, I just became more clever at hiding them until life interrupted. It has been the year 2018 when I started to focus more on creativity and since then I have published 6 books and going.
2. Which of your books is the most personal to you, and what makes it so meaningful?
All the books I wrote have a special place in my heart and carry part of me with them, but I would say the most special will be my first book “ The sins of Mrs. Ema” because after all it gave me that feeling of accomplishment. I was finally a published author. For the first time I faced real readers and their opinions which luckily were great and it gave me the courage to continue expressing myself, and write more books. I needed that enthusiasm coming from random people who were impressed or impacted from my first book which was published first in Albanian and available now in English as well. What makes it meaningful is the stories behind it and the message that transmits to the readers. That particular novel explores deep emotional conflicts, love vs duty, passion vs responsibility, and personal fulfillment vs social expectations. The sins of Mrs Ema tells a story of a successful psychologist who appears to have everything, wealth, a stable marriage, a daughter, a beautiful home and material comfort. But her inner life is far more complicated. The choices she made early in life were not what her heart desired but what circumstances dictated in a country where she was born and raised, and it was in Albania during the communist regime. Women’s freedom or choices were limited there, and they had to be in accordance with the government’s rules which will dictate who you should marry or even how you should dress. She was able to escape and come to America by marrying to a family with ties to the government in power and privileged. She was occupied building her new life and becoming a successful woman. Her past started to fade away while her lifeless marriage was torturing her emotionally. Feeling trapped and unhappy for a long time she starts an affair during a business trip. Falling in love destroys her from the inside. Even if her marriage lacks warmth entering an affair involves betrayal of trust and loyalty – a classic moral conflict in many traditions. Many readers interpret Ema’s choices as “sins” in a moral sense, though the book invites empathy and reflection rather than outright condemnation. Is not just a heartbreaking love story, it’s a scream against the damage and darkness, right or wrong choices, it’s the history itself of a regime who destroyed many people psychologically and emotionally coming to the readers through the characters like Ema on the name of many women suffering. At first she’d had to fight the system and escape to the land of freedom. But when she was there she was fighting with her own demons and trying to free herself.
3. How do your own life experiences find their way into your stories?
My life as anyone else’s life probably is unique in its way, and full with experiences because I was born and raised in Albania and emigrating to USA 30 years ago. We can’t choose the country we are born, but I was lucky enough to choose America as the country where I want to spend the rest of my life. Living in two different realities made it possible for me to accumulate enough material to create. I have lived longer in America than in Albania but I carried with me the experiences, stories told, legends myths of the place I came from. Intertwining those two worlds together I think has its own advantages and effects on who I am as a person, and on my books as result.
4. How has being Albanian shaped the way you see the world and tell stories.
I grew up in Albania and beside the poverty, and problems that we as country endured through generations, since ottoman occupation for 500 years or communist regime for almost half a century, also being Albanian taught me compassion, love for one another because that’s all we had left. It made me understand suffering and pain, and made me want to change the world for better, made me more humane I believe, and I am grateful for that.
5. Are there Albanian traditions, memories, or historical moments that inspire your writing?
Memories of my childhood still vivid in my mind to this day and I find myself often go back to the memory lane and use some of those stories on my books. I sometimes create characters based on them with all twists and turns that written trillers allow. Our traditions define us and not only I embrace them but are part of who I am. I would mention one of my favorites which lately is being made known worldwide, and is called “Besa” which basically is keeping your promise, and protect the guest in your house at any cost. It is extended part of hospitality which is very strong part of Albanian’s culture . As a historical moment I would mention the fall of communism and Albanians being free after a long, hard dictatorship, followed by a large part of population leaving the country not only for a better life, but to experience the freedom they were deprived for half of century in isolation. I think about it all the time how could we live for decades so isolated from the outside world in a big open prison I would call it, while people who would go against the government even unintentionally ended up in real notorious prisons or working camps, similar to Soviet gulags. Those could be the reasons why some characters on my books are emigrants who had experienced suppression and then freedom like I have, and trying to find the perfect balance where fate or choices had place them. Sometimes they are successful, and sometimes they suffer the consequences of the life they left behind.
6. Have you ever felt the responsibility to represent Albanian Culture or voices through your work?
When I write a book I write it in Albanian because it’s easier and naturally to me, and I publish them in Albanian first. I feel like I owe it to the people I left behind because my stories were their stories too. As I mentioned before living in both countries is reflected in most of my books. The stories might take place in America because this is my home, but in my books there are always characters from Albania because they are my people. I think through my books I kind of open a window to the American readers to get to know Albanian culture and what we are all about, but also by being truthful, with the good and the bad. My latest book published in USA is “The Trafficker “, and is about one of today’s Albanian’s biggest problem, and not only. Through a love story between a young immigration lawyer Mia and Alen a millionaire with a dark past I invite the readers through their journey of past and present understanding characters from different backgrounds, and how societal pressures like poverty and desperation can influence life choices. This invites the readers to question their own assumptions, and prejudices of people’s paths. The narrative is described not just as a love story but also as a journey of survival and transformation, suggesting that love, truth and acceptance can be powerful forces in reshaping one’s life. I try to represent Albanian people in the best way possible, and I hope through my books to be one of the good ambassadors for them in the world, without compromising the truth.
7. What challenges have you faced as an author and how did you overcome them?
Writing a book requires time, focus, and a lot of work with the process of bringing it to life, but the biggest challenges for any author is how to put it in readers hands. Nowadays it is a lot easier to make your book visible, and then it depends on the value of the book for readers to make you a wanted writer. I write because I can’t leave without doing it, and is like breathing with the hope that people will like my stories either for simple entertainment, or to find them relatable and full of messages.
8. What do you hope readers take away from your book?
I hope they like them, I hope their thoughts get provoked, and I hope they find some answers in there.
9. How do you want to be remembered as a writer?
I want to be remembered as a writer that people like to read, a writer who understands human nature and have compassion. A writer who writes for the simple things in life but that have big meanings.
10. What story are you still hoping to tell in the future?
Lately we hear quite often the expression “ we’re living in such interesting times”, and it is true. What’s happening around us or in the world it’s impossible to be ignored. In my case I get inspired to write about because the more the history is written through books the less chances are for it to repeat itself. This year also I published the book “ Arratisje” in Albanian that talks about an Albanian immigrant in Italy and he became a product of circumstances being in the wrong place at the wrong time which forces him to go hide in Ukraine at his friends house. A month after he gets there the war starts. His life takes a different turn when he refuses to escape and live behind Olga, an Ukrainian girl he fells in love with. Human behavior changes profoundly during war, because normal moral, social and psychological frameworks are disrupted. Survival replaces comfort, fear replaces certainty, and people are pushed into extreme situations that reveals both the best and the worst of human nature. Moral choices become situational, actions once unthinkable may feel necessary. It happened that I know a lot of Ukrainian people and their stories touched me to that level I had to write a book about it. My hope is this year to publish a new book I’m writing.
Books written by Mirela Kanini
- The sins of Mrs. Ema available on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles
- The trafficker available on Amazon, Barns & Nobles
- Per pak dashuri available at Adrion/Tirana, Ebooks2go USA
- Mekatet e Zj, Ema available at Adrion/Tirana and Ebooks2go USA
- Klienti available at Adrion/Tirana
- Mallkimi i Mellonëve available at Adrion/Tirana
- Trafikanti available at Adrion/Tirana
- Arratisje available at Adrion/Tirana
Find more Albanian voices shaping culture across the globe, or submit your story to be featured.
FAQs
1. Who is Mirela Kanini?
Mirela Kanini is an Albanian author based in the United States. Born and raised in Albania during the communist regime, she writes novels that explore freedom, identity, love, and moral conflict. Her work reflects the psychological and emotional impact of history, migration, and personal choice, often through deeply human characters.
2. What inspired Mirela Kanini to become a writer?
Kanini’s desire to write began in early childhood, shortly after she learned how to write. Growing up in a family connected to journalism and literature, and later living under a restrictive political system, writing became both a personal refuge and a way to express thoughts that could not be spoken aloud.
3. What themes are most common in her books?
Her novels often explore love versus duty, personal freedom versus social expectations, exile, memory, and the long-term effects of dictatorship. Many stories focus on women navigating moral and emotional conflicts, shaped by history rather than choice, and seeking meaning beyond survival.
4. Which book is most personal to Mirela Kanini?
While all her books carry personal meaning, The Sins of Mrs. Ema holds a special place as her first published novel. It marked her transition from private writing to public storytelling and introduced her to readers whose responses gave her the courage to continue writing.
5. How does Albanian history influence her writing?
Albanian history, especially the communist era and its aftermath, plays a central role in Kanini’s work. Her characters often reflect the psychological weight of censorship, limited freedom, and forced choices, as well as the emotional challenges faced by those who emigrated in search of a different life.
6. Why does Mirela Kanini write her books first in Albanian?
Writing in Albanian comes naturally to Kanini and allows her to stay emotionally close to the stories and people she represents. Publishing first in Albanian is also a way of honoring the readers and experiences she left behind, while later translations help introduce these stories to a wider audience.
7. What is The Trafficker about?
The Trafficker explores love, survival, and moral ambiguity through the relationship between an immigration lawyer and a man with a troubled past. The novel addresses contemporary social issues, including poverty and difficult life choices, while challenging readers to reconsider assumptions about identity and redemption.
8. What does Mirela Kanini hope readers take away from her books?
She hopes readers feel understood, emotionally engaged, and prompted to reflect. Rather than offering clear judgments, her books invite empathy, compassion, and deeper thought about human behavior, history, and the complex choices people make under pressure.
Author: Dardane Halimi
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