Emmi Itäranta nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award!

Itaranta award Jan2015We are thrilled to announce that Emmi Itäranta, whose speculative fiction debut Memory of Water (Teos 2012) has been praised by publications including Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The Guardian and The Washington Post, has been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award.

Named after the author of science fiction classics such as The Man in the High Castle and A Scanner Darkly, the Philip K. Dick award is presented annually for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the U.S. Memory of Water, published in the U.S by Harper Voyager, is one of six works nominated this year. The winner will be announced on April 3rd.

The Guardian recently named Itäranta’s novel one of 2014’s best science fiction books. The Washington Post called it “a beautiful exploration of environmental ethics and the power of ritual,” while Publishers Weekly described it as “a deceptively tranquil examination of a world of dust and ashes where the tenacious weed of hope still survives.”

Set in a future Scandinavia in which water has become a scarce resource, Memory of Water tells the story of young Noria who is set to become the next tea master in her village. When her father dies, she assumes the dangerous responsibility of guarding a hidden spring.

Rights to Memory of Water have been sold in 18 languages. Itäranta’s independent follow-up, City of Woven Streets, is slated for publication later this year.

RIGHTS SOLD: MEMORY OF WATER
Original publisher: FINLAND, Teos
WORLD ENGLISH, HarperCollins (2-book deal)
ARABIC, Dar Al Muna
BRAZIL, Record (2-book-deal)
BULGARIA, Perseus
CZECH, Albatros Media/Plus
DENMARK, Turbine
ESTONIA, Koolibri
FRANCE, Place des Editeurs (2-book deal)
GEORGIA, Palitra L Publishing
GERMANY, DTV/Reihe Hanser
HUNGARY, Metropolis Media (2-book deal)
ITALY, Sperling & Kupfer
JAPAN, Nishimura Shoten (2-book deal)
KOREA, The Book in My Life
NORWAY, Gresvik Forlag
SPAIN, Ediciones B.
TURKEY, Dogan Egmont

RIGHTS SOLD: CITY OF WOVEN STREETS
WORLD ENGLISH: HarperCollins
BRAZIL: Record
FRANCE, Place des Editeurs
HUNGARY: Metropolis Media
JAPAN: Nishimura Shoten

Reading material:
Memory of Water
English edition
German edition
Spanish edition
City of Woven Streets
English sample

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com

About author


Emmi Itäranta

Emmi Itäranta (b.1976) holds two MA degrees, one in Drama and another in Creative Writing. Her award-winning debut novel Memory of Water (Teemestarin kirja) was published in Finland in 2012 to great accolades, followed by The Weaver (Kudottujen kujien kaupunki) in 2015. Her latest novel The Moonday Letters (Kuunpäivän kirjeet) was published in September 2020.

Itäranta’s writing has been compared to that of Ursula K. Le Guin. Her honours include the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize 2013, the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize 2012 and first place in the Teos Fantasy and Sci-Fi Literary Contest 2011.

Memory of Water has sold to over 25 languages to date, and it has also been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award recognizing the best science fiction novel published in the UK in 2014, and the Golden Tentacle award. In addition, Itäranta has been included on the Honor List of the Otherwise Award (formerly James Tiptree, Jr. Award).

Itäranta’s CV is an eclectic mix of writing-related activities, including stints as a columnist, theatre critic, press officer and dramaturge. Her poems, short stories, articles and essays have appeared in anthologies, film magazines and science fiction magazines in the UK and Finland. She now lives in Finland after 14 years in the United Kingdom.

Bibliography


2020, Fantasy & Science Fiction

The Moonday Letters

Emmi Itäranta


2015, Fantasy & Science Fiction

The Weaver

Emmi Itäranta


2012, Fantasy & Science Fiction

Memory of Water

Emmi Itäranta