Loukko by 
Beloved YA author Markku Karpio has been nominated for the prestigious Topelius Prize for his novel Survival Game (Tammi 2014), a story of trauma, resilience and friendship set in the Nordic wilderness. Karpio is a second-time nominee.
Recognizing the year’s best youth novel, the Topelius Prize has been awarded since 1946. Previous honorees include Snow White Trilogy author Salla Simukka. The winner will be announced on January 14th, 2015.
Jury motivations:
“In a small town everyone used to be friends, but the closing of a local factory has resulted in splits between both young people and adults: there are those who kept their jobs, those who became unemployed, and those who did the firing. Only “winners” and “losers” remain, and friendships are now redefined based on these divisions. When the local boy scout troop leaves on a traditional winter survival hike, they notice that the old rapport within the group is gone, and emotions reach a volatile boiling point.”
– Topelius Prize 2014 jury
About Survival Game:
John Green meets Lord of the Flies in the Nordic wilderness.
Suffering from life-threatening burns at the Korpisalo hospital, Ozzy can’t hear, see or smell anything; he knows only that his mother, little sister and father are all gone. Ozzy’s father, the HR director of a local paper machine manufacturer, suffered a breakdown during a brutal round of layoffs and burned his house down, killing himself, Ozzy’s mother and his little sister. During brief moments of clarity Ozzy tries to turn his thoughts to his former boy scout troop on their annual winter hike – a trek that turns into a dangerous game of survival in freezing temperatures. Hunger and cold add to the stress – and above everything hovers a worry over Ozzy’s fate.
About the author:
Markku Karpio (b. 1961) has authored both YA and adult novels and numerous short stories, columns and articles, as well as a four-part television series. His novel Storm Warning (Myrskyvaroitus, Otava 2008) was nominated for the Topelius Prize. Karpio has also been nominated twice for the Kirjava Kettu (“Colourful Fox”) prize, in 2009 (for Storm Warning) and 2014 (for My Father is an Astronaut), and twice for the LukuVarkaus Prize. In 2005 he was given the Pertsa and Kilu prize for his impressive contribution to Finnish youth literature. He lives in Utö, a small island in the Baltic Sea.
RIGHTS SOLD:
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
Reading materials:
English sample
English synopsis
Full Finnish text
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