Bestseller news: Finlandia 2023 winner 36 URNS by Sirpa Kähkönen is #1 in Finland!

Sirpa Kähkönen

Sirpa Kähkönen is one of Finland’s   most acclaimed and widely recognised contemporary authors. Her historical novels   begin where source information ends. It opens the gates to experiencing the   past in a sensory way; the characters live out the story as physical, sensual   beings.

Kähkönen was born to a family that had been harshly treated by the   history of the 1900s. The Second World War and the Civil War preceding it had   wounded her family members and marked them with heavy silence and unspoken   words.

She has published thirteen novels, including 36 Urns: A History   of Being Wrong, which won the prestigious Finlandia Prize and has sold   over 100,000 copies in Finland, with rights sold in six territories.   Four of her other novels have been nominated for the Finlandia Prize, and one   was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. She has also published   three works of non-fiction, one of which was nominated for the Non-Fiction   Finlandia Prize, and written five plays.

In 2022, Kähkönen received the Finnish Cultural Foundation's Grand   Prize for significant achievements in culture.

Awards and nominations:

• Kirjallisuuden        valtionpalkinto 1992 - The State Literary Prize 1992
• Savonia-palkinto        1999 - Savonia Prize 1999
• Kuopion        taiteilijaseuran kirjallisuuden tunnustuspalkinto 2003 - The Kuopio        Artist Society's Literary Award 2003
• Kiitos kirjasta -mitali 2008 - Thank You for        the book medallion 2008
• Savon Sanomien        Savonmuan Hilima -titteli 2010
• Otavan        kirjasäätiön Veijo Meri -palkinto 2012 - Otava Literary Fund Veijo Meri        Prize 2012
• Pro-Finlandia -mitali 2015 - Pro Finlandia        Medallion 2015
• Suomi-palkinto 2016 - Suomi-Finland Prize 2016        from the Ministry of Education and Culture
• Savonia-palkinto 2021 - Savonia Prize 2021
• Suomen Kulttuurirahaston suurpalkinto - The        Finnish Cultural Foundation's Grand Prize 2021
• Finlandia-palkinto 2023 - Finlandia Prize 2023

Photo   credit: Laura Malmivaara