Volter Kilpi (until 1886 Ericsson) was a writer, translator and librarian. Although he worked in Helsinki and Turku he had deep roots in the Kustavi archipelago, an island area in the south-west of the country. From 1924 to 1936 he wrote his trilogy entitled Saaristosarja (The Archipelago Series). The series includes Alastalon salissa (1933, In the Parlour at Alastalo), Pitäjän pienimpiä (1934, The Lesser in the Parish), and Kirkolle (1937, To Church). With this trilogy Kilpi aimed to describe in detail the outer and inner lives of an archipelago community and its inhabitants.

Volter Kilpi was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Literature in 1933 and 1937.