We are proud to present the just-unveiled cover for the UK edition of  Maria Turtschaninoff’s Finlandia Junior Prize-winning Maresi (Schildts & Söderströms 2014), courtesy of Pushkin Press! The UK edition of the literary YA fantasy, launching in January of 2016, has received enthusiastic advance buzz from local writers and booksellers.

“In Turtschaninoff’s contemporary fairy tale, Maresi, the worship of the Virgin Mother by women creates an exclusively female stronghold, and although set in a different world to our own, there are strong parallels and recognisable, sometimes uncomfortable, themes,” reads Pushkin’s press release, which was sent out this week.

In addition to being awarded the Finlandia Junior Prize 2014, the highest honor given to a Finnish children’s or YA book, Maresi is nominated for the 2015 Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize.

Naondel, the prequel to Maresi and Part II in the Red Abbey Chronicles, will publish next year in Finland.

Advance praise in the UK for Maresi:

“Maresi stands out for its startling originality, and for the frightening plausibility of the dangerous world it creates.”
Rebecca Hawkes, The Telegraph

“A poignant, slow-burning fantasy.”
– Taran Matharu, author, the Summoner fantasy series

“Maresi is a tale of sisterhood, survival and fighting against the odds that will capture the hearts of both teen and adult feminists alike and will leave you feeling extremely empowered.”
– Lucy Powrie, blogger at Queen of Contemporary and founder of #UKYA Day

“Atmospheric, immersive and definitely original, MARESI has a quiet, urgent magic that makes her story powerful, poignant and memorable.”
– Jane Bradley, Founder & Director of For Books’ Sake

“It is such a beautiful, haunting tale. Maresi’s voice is unlike any other YA voice I’ve read…The writing is amazing; it has an almost mythical feel to it.”
– Fiona Hadfield, Children’s and Teen Bookseller, Waterstones Macclesfield / Eventide Reads

“A few times in a lifetime, a book comes along that wraps you completely in its world and its characters. Wildly imaginative, vivid and filled with wonders…This book makes me proud to be a woman”
– Casey Daveron, Casey Ann Books

About the Red Abbey Chronicles by Maria Turtschaninoff:

Maresi, Book I: The Red Abbey is a refuge for women and girls where everyone pursues their own areas of interest. Maresi prefers to spend her time reading and learning. Everything changes when the frightened Jai arrives on the island. She has seen her sister get buried alive for speaking to a young man, and her father and a crew of thugs are after her. Maresi and her friends have to fight to defend both Jai and their community.

A prequel to Maresi, Book II, Naondel (Schildts & Söderströms) will tell the story of the First Sisters, and how they came to flee a harem in the faraway Eastern Lands and eventually establish the Red Abbey.

A sequel to Maresi, Book III (Schildts & Söderströms) will follow Maresi after she leaves the Red Abbey and sets out to establish a school in the oppressed province of Rovas.

RIGHTS SOLD: MARESI
Original publisher: FINLAND, Schildts & Söderströms
BELGIUM, Clavis
CANADA (French), Editions de la Bagnole/Groupe Livres Quebecor Media
DENMARK, Turbine
FINLAND, Tammi
GERMANY, Random House/Heyne
NETHERLANDS, Clavis
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
SWEDEN, Berghs
TURKEY, Altin Kitaplar
WORLD ENGLISH, Pushkin Press

Reading materials: The Red Abbey Chronicles
Book I, Maresi:
Full English text
Swedish edition
Finnish edition
Book II, Naondel:
English synopsis

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com