Two Ahlback Agency titles nominated for Young Aleksis Award!

We are happy to announce that two of our titles have been nominated for the Young Aleksis Award 2025!

Nominated are Naraka by Elina Pitkäkangas and The Book of the Forgotten by Anne-Maija Aalto!

The Young Aleksis award is a literary award granted by the Finnish Language Teachers. The award is given yearly to a Finnish YA title, chosen by a jury of junior high school students. The prize will be awarded at Turku Book Fair in October.

The goal of the Young Aleksis Award is not only to identify young people’s favorite books, but also to inspire them to read and engage in discussions about literature. Through their participation in the jury, young people also contribute to raising awareness of youth literature. The project highlights young readers who are passionate about books and reading!

Download materials for NARAKA here

The sequel to SANG takes the reader back to Fusang and the world where Kong Dawei is faced with impossible choices.

The new novel about war and human relations by the winner of the Topelius Prize

Kong Dawei has returned to his home region, but nothing is the same. The second book of the duology, loved by readers and praised by experts, is a vivid and an intensive novel about war, morals, and ever holding love.

The sequel of the top-rated book SANG presents Fusang’s region Naraka, a workcamp where the unfortunate citizens are sent. The resistance is growing there. When Kong Dawei finds himself in the middle of The Iron Revolution, he must face the boundaries of his loyalty. Whose side does he want to be on? Can there be winners in the war?

Download materials for The Book of the Forgotten here

The final installment of the award-winning trilogy!

Having escaped from the cruel and oppressive Union, Mai has spent months in a refugee camp, with no information about the fate of her beloved Satomi and the family she left behind. Eventually, she catches a glimpse of Satomi in the news. Satomi’s situation is desperate, as her memory has been wiped clean in a human research institute. When Mai is presented with an opportunity to try and change the inevitable course of events, she seizes it without hesitation.

SANG & NARAKA
WSOY, 2022-2023, 496 pp.

Reading materials:
English sample for book 1, Danish edition book 1, English synopses books 1-2, Finnish editions

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
DENMARK: Straarup & Co (2 books)
GERMANY: CBJ Verlag
TURKEY: Indigo Kitap

DRAGONFLY, WHERE THE LIGHT COMES IN & BOOK OF THE FORGOTTEN
Otava, 2020-2024, 320 pp.

Reading materials:
English sample for book 2, English synopses books 1-3, Finnish editions, French edition of book 1

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
FRANCE: Éditions Milan (2 books)
HUNGARY: Metropolis Media Group (book 2)

Anne-Maija Aalto

Anne-Maija Aalto is an award-winning Finnish author of both YA and adult fiction. Her YA novel Where the Light Comes In won the prestigious Finlandia Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature in 2021 and has received praise for its effortless narration, beautiful prose and compellingly current story.

Where the Light Comes In is a standalone sequel for Dragonfly which was nominated for the Topelius Prize in 2020. The prize is awarded yearly to an expectional novel for young people, and the jury described Dragonfly as “a deeply touching and beautifully written story of friendship, loss and social inequality.” Her other works include YA novel Into Deep Water and novel The Silence of Snow. Her books often dwelve into the darker sides of humanity, exploring the themes of loss, loneliness, identity and coming of age.

Anne-Maija holds a Bachelor of Arts in literature from the University of Turku where she also studied English and creative writing. She lives in Turku with her husband and an extensive collection of half-filled notebooks. When she isn’t writing, she can most likely be found walking in nature with her camera or lounging on the couch with a good book.

Elina Pitkäkangas

Elina Pitkäkangas is an author from Nokia, Finland, and an active advocate of YA literature. She has studied creative writing and did her master's degree in the University of Helsinki majoring in literature. Her works seamlessly combine elements of fantasy, social criticism and moral questions. Her accolades include winning the Topelius Award 2023, the City of Tampere Literature Prize 2023, and the Kuvastaja Prize 2023. Pitkäkangas has written five novels and produces book-related videos to TikTok and Instagram on her channel @elinapitkakangas.

Photo credit: WSOY/Marjaana Malkamäki