March 2016

Film rights sold to Emmi Itäranta’s Memory of Water!

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The film rights of Memory of Water, the dystopian novel by Emmi Itäranta, have been sold to the production company Bufo. Founded in 2007, Bufo has produced a number of films of which many have received international recognition, such as Concrete Night (2013) by Pirjo Honkasalo and The Good Son (2011) by Zaida Bergroth. Based in Helsinki, the company concentrates on plot-driven and meaningful stories that can also entertain big audiences. So far the foreign rights of Itäranta’s novel have been sold in 21 territories.

The eponymous feature film Memory of Water will be directed by Saara Saarela and set in a futuristic Lapland, where water is a luxury, rationed by the military. When a young woman discovers a secret water source she has to decide if she is ready to risk her life by letting the water run free.

Water will be the next natural resource wars are fought over. Emmi Itäranta’s novel Memory of Water deals with the grim topic with amazing talent: she has managed to write an engaging, beautiful, serene, almost zen-like dystopian story that simultaneously sends chills up your spine and steals your heart.
– Johanna Sinisalo, author of Troll and Core of the Sun

The past two months Emmi Itäranta has been the first-ever Author in Residence of Silicon Valley Reads, the closing event of which took place last weekend. This year this annual community program focused on fiction addressing climate change. In addition to the official program, she visited local schools to talk about her book, climate change, writing, and more.

https://www.facebook.com/emmiitaranta/ 
http://www.emmiitaranta.com/ 

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

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

READING MATERIAL: MEMORY OF WATER
English edition
Finnish edition

READING MATERIAL: THE CITY OF WOVEN STREETS
English edition
Finnish edition

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.

Read more Author's page

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

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Monster Nanny duology pre-empted in France and Sweden!

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morkotnewsMonster Nanny and its follow-up Monster Route, written by Tuutikki Tolonen and illustrated by Pasi Pitkänen, have been sold in pre-empts in France and Sweden, to Éditions Robert Laffont and Rabén & Sjögren respectively. Rights are now sold in 10 languages!

Robert Laffont publishes authors such as Lewis Carroll and Rick Yancey in French and will launch Monster Nanny in its new middle-grade collection in late 2016. Rabén & Sjögren is one of the leading Swedish publishing houses and home to authors such as Astrid Lindgren, J.K. Rowling and Roald Dahl.

We are really thrilled to publish Monster Nanny in French, both for its monstrously appealing humor and its wonderful artwork! Mimi, Koby, Halley, the bathrobe and the clueless parents all bring their own fantastic personal touch and it’s bound to have parents and kids alike prolong the traditional bedtime story!
– Fabien Le Roy, editorial manager for YA & children’s books, Robert Laffont

Monster Nanny is a lovely story with a huge heart. Clearly related to classical tales with a touch of the absurd and a great sense of humour.  Tolonen and Pitkänen have created an adventurous story which is destined to be a future classic loved and read by many, many children – and their grown-ups.
– Sofia Hahr, senior editor, Rabén & Sjögren

The novel recently received the prestigious Arvid Lydecken Prize for an outstanding children’s novel:

Themes of friendship and tolerance are woven in the thrilling and good-natured adventure. – – Monster Nanny has all the ingredients of a beloved children’s classic.
– Arvid Lydecken Prize jury

A blend of Where the Wild Things Are and Mary Poppins,Monster Nanny tells the story of a contemporary family whose daily routines are turned upside-down when a hairy, swamp-smelling creature said to be specializing in childcare shows up at their doorstep. In Monster Route, Mimi, 6 years, has snuck into the monsters’ underground world after her monster friend Grah.

Contact the agency for the full English text of Monster Nanny!

RIGHTS SOLD:
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
CHINA (simplified Chinese), Beijing Children’s Publishing House
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Editions Robert Laffont (two-book-deal)
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag (two-book-deal)
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon (two-book-deal)
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren (two-book-deal)
WORLD ENGLISH, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

READING MATERIALS:
Monster Nanny:
Full English text
Finnish edition
Monster Route:
English synopsis
Finnish text (available soon)

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

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About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

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Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff sold in 15 territories, its follow-up Naondel in 7!

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MARESINAONDELHIRESMaria Turtschaninoff’s glorious YA fantasy novel Maresi, the first book in the Red Abbey Chronicles, has been sold to Varrak Publishers in Estonia. The deal brings the total of sold territories to 15! The second novel in the Red Abbey Chronicles, Naondel, was sold to Berghs in Sweden. Naondel will be published in Sweden simultaneously with the Finnish and Finland-Swedish editions in September 2016.

Maresi is just that kind of a book I want my daughter to read. It’s not just a captivating read but also something that makes you see the world and your own life from a new angle. Something that helps the young reader grow as a person.
– Merit Kask, editor, Varrak Publishers

Once again Maria Turtschaninoff brings us to a world full of magic, darkness and unforgettable characters.  Naondel is a complex story with many dimensions, and at the same time an exciting feministic page turner. I finished reading last night, but Kabira, Garai and the others stayed in my dreams all night.
– Lena Andersson, editor, Berghs

Maresi tells a story of friendship and survival, set in the Red Abbey: a refuge for women and girls where everyone pursues their own areas of interest. When the frightened Jai arrives on the island with a crew of thugs after her, Maresi and her friends have to fight to defend both Jai and their community.  Naondel tells 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. Maresi was published earlier this year in the UK by Pushkin Press to glowing reviews:

It’s hard not to be impressed with Turtschaninoff’s magical world.
– The Times

The novel is at once contemporary and timeless. Its unwavering feminism is resolutely modern, resonating with a range of texts from Ursula Le Guin’s 2001 Tales from Earthsea to Disney’s Frozen. At the same time, it feels authentically ancient and mythic.
– The Guardian

RIGHTS SOLD:

The Red Abbey Chronicles
Original publisher: FINLAND, Schildts & Söderströms (Book 1)
Original publisher: FINLAND, Förlaget (Books 2-3)
BELGIUM, Clavis (Book 1)
CANADA (French), Editions de la Bagnole (Book 1)
CHINESE (Simplified), Shanghai 99 (Books 1-3)
DENMARK, Turbine (Book 1)
ESTONIA, Varrak (Book 1)
FINLAND, Tammi (Books 1-2)
FRANCE, Editions Rageot (Books 1-2)
GERMANY, Random House/Heyne (Book 1)
ITALY, Atmosphere Libri (Books 1-3)
NETHERLANDS, Clavis (Book 1)
ROMANIA, Editura Univers (Book 1)
SWEDEN, Berghs (Books 1-2)
TURKEY, Altin Kitaplar (Book 1)
UNITED KINGDOM, Pushkin Press (Books 1-3)
UNITED STATES, Abrams (Books 1-3)

READING MATERIALS:

MARESI,  Book I
English edition
Swedish edition
Finnish edition

NAONDEL,  Book II
Swedish manuscript
English synopsis

UNTITLED, Book III:
English synopsis

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com

About author


Maria Turtschaninoff

Maria Turtschaninoff is known for crafting lyrical, historically inspired fantasy stories starring strong female protagonists. In addition to J.R.R. Tolkien, she counts Philip Pullman, Ursula K. Le Guin and C.S. Lewis among her favorite authors. She is a two-time winner of the Society of Swedish Literature Prize, winner of the Swedish YLE Literature Prize, winner of the Thank You for the Book Award, a nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2020-2024), and winner of the 2014 Finlandia Junior Prize.

Her Red Abbey Chronicles YA trilogy has been sold into 30 languages, while her first adult novel Inherited Land has been sold to 23 territories. Maria has a Master of Arts in human ecology and works full-time as a writer.

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2024, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

The Manticore

Maria Turtschaninoff


2022, Literary Fiction

Inherited Land

Maria Turtschaninoff


2018, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Maresi: Red Mantle

Maria Turtschaninoff


2016, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Naondel

Maria Turtschaninoff


2014, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Maresi

Maria Turtschaninoff

Related news

Spring 2016 Rights Guides published!

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We are very excited to present the Elina Ahlback Literary Agency Spring 2016 Fiction Rights Guide. Download here!

fiction kansi-page-001We are very excited to present the Elina Ahlback Literary Agency Spring 2016 Children’s Rights Guide. Download here!

 

Elina Ahlback Literary Agency is attending the Bologna Book Fair from Monday April 4th to Thursday April 7th. Come and visit us in Hall 30 C 18.

Elina Ahlback Literary Agency is attending the London Book Fair from Tuesday April 12th to Wednesday April 14th. Come and visit us in the Rights Centre table 1Q.

 

For materials and rights information contact:

Elina Ahlbäck, Literary Agent, CEO:
elina(at)ahlbackagency.com

Lotta Dufva, Agent:
lotta(at)ahlbackagency.com

Silja Niemi, Agent:
silja(at)ahlbackagency.comchildren coveri-page-001

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com