German Rights Sold at Auction for Annukka Salama’s Queer YA Hockey Romance

We are thrilled to announce that the German rights for Annukka Salama’s THE MELTING POINT and its sequel have been acquired at auction by Bastei Lübbe’s ONE imprint! The deal was closed by Martti Berner at Ahlbäck Agency.

Annukka Salama fits perfectly to ONE’s publishing program, alongside authors such as Becky Albertalli, Bill Konigsberg, Page Powars, Alexandra Moody and Simon James Green.

This bestselling YA title has sold over 10,000 copies in Finland and the rights have been sold to six languages! Annukka Salama has also won multiple awards with her YA hockey romance, the latest award having been the Thank You For the Book award. Previously the book won the Blogistania Kuopus award, given out by Finnish social‑media book influencers, and the Queer Book of the Year award!

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS FOR THE MELTING POINT HERE

The Melting Point is a high-stakes YA sports romance set in the icy heart of Finland, where competition meets slow-burn enemies-to-lovers attraction. It’s a perfect combination of enemies-to-lovers romance, hockey action, and feel-good YA storytelling for the fans of Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, Icebreaker by Hannah Grace, and Rachel Reid’s Game Changers and, last but definitely not least, Heated Rivalry!

The queen of addictive romances, Annukka Salama, now takes your breath away on the hockey rink! Oliver and Niklas are hockey’s brightest prospects—and sworn enemies on junior national teams from Finland and Sweden. When the boys are forced onto the same team, a Finland–Sweden showdown begins like nothing the hockey world has ever seen.

THE MELTING POINT
Sulamispiste
WSOY 2025, 360 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
ESTONIA: Rahva Raamat
FRANCE: Rageot Editeur (2 books)
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe (2 books)
NETHERLANDS: Kluitman (2 books)
SWEDEN: Bokförlaget Opal
WORLD SPANISH: VR Editoras

Reading materials:
English sample and full draft translation
English synopsis
Finnish edition
English synopsis for the sequel

About author


Annukka Salama

Annukka Salama (b. 1980) is a Finnish YA author from Tampere. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees. In addition, she has studied fashion design and architecture.

Salama’s young adult novels are known for their fast-paced plots and addictive romances. Her stories also give space to LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent perspectives. Salama’s books enjoy wide popularity among readers and have consistently performed well in annual Blogistania awards voted by book bloggers. In 2024 and 2025 she won the Queer Book of the Year Award. In 2026 she won the Thank You for the Book award for her YA title The Melting Point.

Photo credit: Tiia Mahkonen

Bibliography


2025, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

The Melting Point

Annukka Salama