Sauna Fever in Eurovision and on the Bookshelves!

Posted on 14.05.202514.05.2025

One of the Finnish secrets to happy life is of course sauna, or bastu, as the Swedes call it! With Sweden’s entry to the Eurovision songcontest KAJ, the world is catching a serious sauna fever with “Bara Bada Bastu”. The interest in saunas has increased rapidly. We got a perfect combination for the sauna lifestyle. So throw some water on the stones, sit back and “1 – 2 – 3, SAUNA!”

In THE POWER OF HOT AND COLD Carita Harju and Katja Pantzar take readers on a journey into the transformative and energizing powers of hot and cold by pairing the sauna, that quintessential hot Finnish steam bath, with a cold-water dip.

Along the way, it serves up the inspiration and practical tools for creating a wellness retreat using the Nordic contrast bathing philosophy, wherever you are in the world. Originally published by Yellow Kite / Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and US, this title will be published by Heyne, an imprint of Penguin Randmhouse, in Germany this fall.

If Power of Hot and Cold is the energizer, SAUNAFULNESS is your deep exhale. Here, Carita Harju introduces a uniquely Finnish approach to natural wellbeing. Blending ancient sauna traditions with modern mindfulness practices.

The exercises unite the mind, the body, one’s health and all the different senses. Saunafulness can be practiced in any sauna with easy-access materials accompanied by clear instructions.

“First build the sauna. Then the house.” In a world where sauna (bastu) fever raises, this practical and stunningly crafted book is the essential guide to the sauna life.

In FINNISH SAUNA: STEAM, WOOD, STONE & HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN sauna expert Lassi A. Liikkanen shares everything you need to know to design and build your own Finnish sauna. Mixing practical step-by-step instructions with traditions history and science, this is perfect whether you’re already planning to build your own, or just curious about the sauna boom.

This book is the perfect introduction to löyly and the very Finnish art of living well. The book will be published in the same format and style as the Christmas bestseller Norwegian Wood, and expands on the growing global resurgence of interest in the health benefits of sauna.

Each book brings a new and fresh perspective to the timeless Finnish tradition wherever you are.

Request materials for THE POWER OF HOT AND COLD here.

Request materials for SAUNAFULNESS here

Request materials for FINNISH SAUNA here.

POWER OF HOT AND COLD publication info:

Power of Hot and Cold: From Sauna to Sea: The Finnish Way to a Happy, Healthy Life
Yellow Kite / Hodder & Stoughton, November, 2024

READING MATERIALS: English PDF

Rights sold: WORLD ENGLISH: Yellow Kite / Hodder & Stoughton (orig.), GERMANY: Heyne

Rights are available in, e.g., Iceland, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Japan…

Publication info SAUNAFULNESS:

Hyvää oloa saunomalla
Viisas elämä, 2021, 272 pp.

Reading materials: English sample, Finnish edition

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Viisas Elämä (orig.), ESTONIA: Rahva Raamat, HUNGARY: Scolar Kiado, JAPAN: TOYO KEIZAI, INC.

Rights are available in, e.g., Germany, US/UK, Sweden…

Publication info FINNISH SAUNA:

Finnish Sauna: Steam, Wood, Stone & How to Build Your Own
MacLehose Press / Quercus UK, September, 2025, 256 pp.

Reading materials: English PDF

Rights sold:
WORLD RIGHTS (excl. Finland): MacLehose Press / Quercus UK (orig.), CZECHIA: offer on the table

About author

Carita Harju

Carita Harju is a Finnish sauna experience expert and marketing professional whose mission is to share the Finnish sauna’s positive health and wellness benefits with the world. She is the founder and executive director of Sauna from Finland, which represents an international network of more than 200 sauna industry companies. The organization’s mission is to create the world’s best sauna experiences, and Harju loves her work, because it allows her to advance an idea that she is personally so passionate about. Carita Harju has always enjoyed saunas, goes to sauna with her family nearly every day and gives talks all over the world.

Her first illustrated guide, Sauna - The Way of Finnish Life (2016), has been published in four languages, including German and Chinese. Her second book, Soul of the Sauna, was released in Japanese and Hungarian, while her newest title Saunafulness (Hyvää oloa saunomalla, 2021) has been sold to 4 territories.

About author

Katja Pantzar

Katja Pantzar – Katja Pantzar is a Helsinki-based writer and journalist who swims in the Baltic Sea year round. Raised in Canada, with stints in New Zealand and England, she is the author of The Finnish Way (Penguin Random House/2018), a bestselling non-fiction book about Nordic well-being, winter swimming and sisu (resilience) that has been translated into 24 languages. Her second book on sisu, Everyday Sisu: Tapping into Finnish Fortitude for a Happier, More Resilient Life (Penguin Random House/2022) explores through expert interviews and research-based information how we can better support our mental and physical health while taking care of each other and our planet. Everyday Sisu has also been published in Japanese, Thai, and Indonesian. Pantzar’s work has been widely covered around the world in media ranging from Le Figaro, Le Monde, and El Paísto Vogue the Washington Post and the New York Review of Books. . She is also the author of three mini-guides to the Finnish capital, including 100 things to do in Helsinki (Siltala/2024).