Latvian rights of Monster Nanny and Maresi sold!

morkomaresiTuutikki Tolonen’s award-winning middle-grade novel Monster Nanny and Maria Turtschaninoff’s feminist YA fantasy Maresi have been sold to Latvia, to Zvaigzne and Petergailis respectively. The deals mark their 11th and 16th sold territories!

Monster Nanny tells the story of a contemporary family whose daily routines are turned upside-down when a hairy creature said to be specializing in childcare shows up at their doorstep. “I loved this fresh and funny novel. The author matter-of-factly creates a world where monsters work as nannies and bathrobes talk – there’s a classic old fashioned, Roald Dahl feel to it with the everyday and the fantastic interacting seamlessly.   We’re happy to bring this clever and engaging Finnish novel to US readers.” — Margaret Raymo, senior editor, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
 
Maresi is a tale of friendship and survival, set in the Red Abbey: a refuge for women and girls. When the frightened Jai arrives on the abbey island with a crew of thugs after her, Maresi and her friends have to fight to defend both Jai and their community. “Because of the unique and inhibited world that this novel portrays, Maresi is difficult to place within an existing fantasy genre. The book is a compelling read for teenagers and adults alike. Although Maresi is undoubtedly a contemporary read, it could well become the next genre classic, and the novel’s protagonist its main symbol.” — Inguna Cepite, Chief Executive, Petergailis Publishers

Contact the agency for the full English texts of Monster Nanny and Maresi!

RIGHTS SOLD: MONSTER NANNY
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)
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren (two-book-deal)
WORLD ENGLISH, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

RIGHTS SOLD: MARESI
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)
LATVIA, Petergailis (Book 1)
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)

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com

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."

Bibliography


2024, Picture Books (0-3 Years)

The Secret Ones

Tuutikki Tolonen


2022, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Agnes and the Shadow in the Window

Tuutikki Tolonen


2021, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Agnes and the Mysterious Manor

Tuutikki Tolonen


2020, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Monster Message

Tuutikki Tolonen


2020, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Agnes and the Garden of Dreams

Tuutikki Tolonen


2016, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Monster Route

Tuutikki Tolonen


2015, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Monster Nanny

Tuutikki Tolonen