German rights for ARCTIC MIRAGE acquired by Hanser Berlin!

We are absolutely over the moon announcing that the German rights for Terhi Kokkonen’s debut award-winning novel ARCTIC MIRAGE have now been acquired by a very prestigious literary publisher Hanser Berlin!

They have completely fallen in love with the winner of the Best Debut Novel Award 2020,  and cannot praise it enough:

The unusual setting of the luxury hotel in the middle of the cold, snowy, isolated atmosphere of Lapland wasteland which translates directly to the inner numbness the characters, the slow unmasking of the characters, the carefully crafted language, the subtle atmosphere of menace – these are all things which made me fall in love with this phenomenal novel. I have to admit that it has captured my thoughts since the very moment I read the English sample translation, for it is not only one of the best reading experiences I had in a long time, it’s also such an interesting study of some of the most pressing issues of our time.  Terhi Kokkonen is such a brilliant, exceptional addition to our list of international authors!
– Lina Muzur, Verlagsleiterin/Publishing Director, Hanser Berlin

Download the English synopsis and sample for Arctic Mirage by clicking here

Some of the other Hanser Berlin’s authors include Ottessa Moshfegh, Christina Hesselholdt, Leslie Jamison, Karin Smirnoff, Vendela Vida, Maggie Nelson, Jonas Eika, Douglas Stuart, Hernan Diaz, Kaveh Akbar, Anuk Arudpragasam, Tommy Orange, and Svetlana Alexievich.

ARCTIC MIRAGE
by Terhi Kokkonen

When Karo and Risto’s holiday to Lapland ends in a car accident, they are forced to stay at the Arctic Mirage Hotel. Will their relationship survive the next six days?

Winner of the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize for the best debut novel of the year 2020.

Karo and Risto go on holiday in Lapland to give themselves time to fix their stressful marriage. However, on their way back home, they’re involved in a car accident and are subsequently forced to stay at the only accommodation in the area; Hotel Arctic Mirage. Once inside, they find that the hotel has a rather strange atmosphere and it starts to have a peculiar effect on them. Karo begins to doubt her own memories and tries her best to escape the snowbound hotel holiday village whereas Risto starts to feel strange and refuses to leave.

ARCTIC MIRAGE is a strong-spirited, psychological novel about people in exceptional circumstances. It keeps the reader gripped and provides chills on every page.

It is a rich and sensitive novel in which people can be strange, lewd, and at the same time infinitely ordinary. Contradictions and a mystery-like atmosphere remain after finishing the book – as happens in the best and most fascinating novels.

– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

Terhi Kokkonen is a Helsinki-based musician and pop lyricist. She is known for the band Scandinavian Music Group, as well as being one of the singers of the band Ultra Bra. Kokkonen has studied dramaturgy at the Theater Academy and screenwriting and film editing at the Department of Cinematography and Stage Design at Aalto University. Arctic Mirage is her debut novel, and it was awarded as the best debut novel of 2020.