Hildi Hawkins is a writer, editor and translator living in London.

She has co-edited or co-written a wide variety of books, including Ireland: The Rough Guide (1996), Helsinki: A Literary Companion (Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura, 2001), Finland: A Cultural Encyclopedia (Finnish Literature Society Editions, 2000), and The Phantom Museum: And Henry Wellcome's collection of medical curiosities: Henry Wellcome's Medical Mysteries (Profile Book, 2003). She translated Jaan Kaplinski’s collection Through the Forest (The Harvill Press, 1996), much of which is included in his Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2011). She is also the editor of things, a journal of writings about objects, their pasts, presents and futures.