Loukko by 
We are incredibly thrilled to share the news that our author Sirpa Kähkönen has been awarded the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s grand prize! The 35 000 € prize is awarded for significant cultural contributions, on the eve of the Kalevala Day and the Day of Finnish Culture.
Kähkönen is a talented writer whose works have been nominated for the Finlandia Prize and for the Nordic Council Literary Prize, and her newest novel, THE GREEN CHAMBER, won the prestigious Savonia prize!
Download the materials for the Green Chamber here!
The Finnish Cultural Foundation Jury said:
“Sirpa Kähkönen writes about society by writing about people. She describes contemporary questions through historical narrations.
Born in Kuopio in 1964, Sirpa Kähkönen studied literature and history, and worked as an editor prior to setting out as a full-time writer. Her studies provided her with a clear direction: Kähkönen is particularly known as a master of historical novels.
As someone who enjoys digging through newspaper archives, Kähkönen is accomplished at providing the details that make the past come alive. While describing the private sphere and bringing historical events up close, she is able to make her work universal. Through her characters, Kähkönen asks life’s big questions, demanding answers from the reader.
The author has created a world of her own – a Kuopio of times past, which is fictional but true. — Sirpa Kähkönen is characterised by humaneness, being always on the side of the individual.”
Congratulations, Sirpa!
THE GREEN CHAMBER
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Koolibri
Reading material:
English synopsis and sample
