Studio Hamburg FilmProduktion has optioned television rights for Leena Lehtolainen’s Maria Kallio novel series

The German production company Studio Hamburg FilmProduktion has optioned the television rights for Leena Lehtolainen’s Maria Kallio series. Now development starts and according to a preliminary schedule, Studio Hamburg hopes to start shooting in Winter 2014, with the plan being to air the series in both Germany and Finland.

Kerstin Ramcke, producer:” We are very proud to have the opportunity to work with the excellent stories of Leena Lehtolainen. Maria Kallio is a thrilling and modern personality and will give an interesting impulse to our audience who already loves the novels. So we start this journey together with Hannu Salonen, writer and director, in order to produce a high class crime series.”

”Leena Lehtolainen has a very strong foothold in Germany, where the publishing company Rowohlt has published all the novels in the Maria Kallio series. The television series will increase the popularity of the Maria Kallio novels in Germany and Finland,” says Elina Ahlbäck, Lehtolainen’s literary agent at Elina Ahlbäck Literary Agency with excitement.

With her books generating great interest worldwide, Leena Lehtolainen has received numerous invitations to promotional events in different countries. The author has just returned from The Shanghai Literary Festival and Beijing Literary Festival, where she promoted Finnish crime literature in general and presented Maria Kallio series to the Chinese readers.

”I’m very pleased that readers round the world find my novels interesting. Germany has been an important country for me for a long time and German readers are close to my heart. It is fantastic that Maria Kallio’s adventures will soon be seen on television there as well,” explains Lehtolainen.

The beginning of the Maria Kallio series dates back to 1993 when the first installment My First Murder (Ensimmäinen murhani) was published by Tammi Publishers. For the last 20 years, Lehtolainen’s crime novels have featured among the most popular books in Finland. In March 2013, The Maria Kallio Companion (Maria Kallio –Extra) was published to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the crime series, giving the reader an insight into the world of Maria Kallio, to her career path and numerous other topics related to the novels. The 12th Maria Kallio thriller, Iron Triangle (Rautakolmio), will be published in August 2013.

Leena Lehtolainen has published crime novels, collections of short stories and books for young people. The translation rights of her books have been sold in 29 languages and more than 2 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide.

Further information:
Literary Agent Elina Ahlbäck, + 358 400 548 402 | elina.ahlback(a)ahlbackagency.com

About author


Leena Lehtolainen

Leena Lehtolainen is the top female crime author in Finland: her new titles always head straight to #1 on the Finnish bestseller lists.

Lehtolainen created her successful protagonist, detective Maria Kallio, in 1993. Having already featured in 16 novels and a complete TV series, a new Maria Kallio TV reboot series was launched in Fall 2021 on C More. Lehtolainen’s novels have been translated into 30 languages and have sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.

And just like the events in Bodyguard, a that takes the heroine Hilja Ilveskero all around Europe, Lehtolainen’s own work takes her to book festivals, exhibitions and other events across the globe.

Leena Lehtolainen has also published outside the crime genre; her book The Charm of Figure Skating was voted sports book of the year 2010 in Finland, and A Life in Six Scenes showed her return to literary fiction.

The Crossing of the Green Dragon is her first title for YA audiences.

In her free time, Lehtolainen enjoys all kinds of music and follows lynx trails in the forests – just like Maria Kallio.

Bibliography


2023, Crime & Suspense

A Crossing in the Darkness

Leena Lehtolainen


2022, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

The Crossing of the Green Dragon

Leena Lehtolainen


2021, Crime & Suspense

The Lynx Factor

Leena Lehtolainen


2020, Crime & Suspense

The Ripple Effect

Leena Lehtolainen


2019, Crime & Suspense

Oathbreaker

Leena Lehtolainen


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Killer's Girlfriend

Leena Lehtolainen


2017, Crime & Suspense

The End of Innocence

Leena Lehtolainen


2016, General Nonfiction, Memories & Biographies

The Charm of Ice

Leena Lehtolainen


2016, Crime & Suspense

The Eye of the Tiger

Leena Lehtolainen


2015, Crime & Suspense

A Stroke of Sadness

Leena Lehtolainen


2013, Crime & Suspense

The Iron Triangle

Leena Lehtolainen


2012, Crime & Suspense

The Devil's Cubs

Leena Lehtolainen


2011, Crime & Suspense

The Lion of Justice

Leena Lehtolainen


2010, Crime & Suspense

Where Have All the Young Girls Gone

Leena Lehtolainen


2009, Crime & Suspense

The Bodyguard

Leena Lehtolainen


2008, Crime & Suspense

Derailed

Leena Lehtolainen


2005, Crime & Suspense

The Nightingale Murder

Leena Lehtolainen


2003, Crime & Suspense

Below the Surface

Leena Lehtolainen


2000, Crime & Suspense

Before I Go

Leena Lehtolainen


1998, Crime & Suspense

Fatal Headwind

Leena Lehtolainen


1997, Crime & Suspense

Death Spiral

Leena Lehtolainen


1996, Crime & Suspense

Snow Woman

Leena Lehtolainen


1995, Crime & Suspense

Copper Heart

Leena Lehtolainen


1994, Crime & Suspense

Her Enemy

Leena Lehtolainen


1993, Crime & Suspense

My First Murder

Leena Lehtolainen