Flutura Açka

Açka was born on 4 June 1966 in Elbasan, People's Socialist Republic of Albania.^[1][2][3][4] She was educated to primary and secondary school level in her hometown,^[3] then studied economics at the University of Tirana, graduating in 1988.^[1][3] Açka began her working life as an economist in a slaughterhouse.^[5][6]

Açka studied Albanian language and literature at the University of Elbasan, graduating in 2001,^[1] and became a writer.^[7] She worked as a journalist at Elbasan's newspaper Fjala e lirë then for independent newspaper Ku vemi?^[1] Her poems were first published in the newspaper Shkumbini in 1988.^[8] Açka won the "Lira e Struga" prize at the 1997 Struga Poetry Evenings festival in Struga, North Macedonia.^[1][2] She has published several volumes of her poetry,^[9] with her works portraying "desolate landscapes where storms bring tears not rain"^[10] and exploring loneliness.^[11]

In 2001, Açka established the Skanderbeg Books publishing house in Tirana with her Dutch husband.^[2][8][12] Skanderbeg Books published the works of Albanian and foreign authors,^[12] including British novelist Doris Lessing.^[13]

In 2007, Açka published the first book in The Anima Balkanica project series of novels by contemporary Balkan women authors.^[14] Her 2014 book Kryqi I harresës has been translated into Dutch, a volume of her poetry has been translated into Macedonian,^[2] and she has been included in Albanian poetry anthologies that have been published in France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Romania and the USA.^[1]

In 2018, Açka's son Jerini died from a rare disease, aged 18.^{[15][16][17][18][19]}

Açka was elected as the Elbasan Deputy to the Albanian Parliament's 31st Kuvendi for the Democratic Party of Albania (DP) at the 2021 Albanian local elections.^[20] She was removed as chairperson of the education committee in 2022,^[21] then from the DP Parliamentary Group in 2024, over the Electoral Reform draft in the Law Commission.^[22][23] She remains active in political commentary,^[24][25][26] is critical of the Rama government and the deputies of the Socialist Party of Albania (PSSh),^[27] and has called for new leadership of the DP.^[28] She chose not to run in the 2025 Albanian parliamentary election.^[29][30]