French rights sold for THE YEAR OF TEA AND MAGIC and THE BLUE FLAME!

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We are thrilled to announce that Flammarion has pre-empted the French rights for The Year of Tea and Magic by Magdalena Hai and Illustrator Heikala and The Blue Flame by Ted Forsström and illustrator Åsa Lucander! The deal was closed by Noora Al-Ani at Ahlbäck Agency.

A YEAR OF TEA AND MAGIC is a charming collection of cozy fantasy stories filled with witches, nature magic, talking animals and heartwarming adventures. Perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli, A Year of Tea and Magic combines the enchantment of cottagecore aesthetics with the warmth of forest cabins, sweet treats and timeless storytelling. Magdalena Hai’s gently magical tales are beautifully complemented by Heikala’s atmospheric illustrations, creating an irresistible read for anyone who longs for a touch of everyday magic.

THE BLUE FLAME is an action-packed fantasy adventure about friendship, courage, magic, and finding your place in the world, even when you’re not quite sure who you are. Set in a richly imagined medieval fantasy realm with LitRPG elements, the novel blends humour, heart and high-stakes adventure with concepts familiar to gaming fans. Perfect for readers who love the wonder of Studio Ghibli, the wit of Discworld, and the immersive progression fantasy of Cradle and Dungeon Crawler Carl.

REQUEST MATERIALS FOR BOTH TITLES HERE

THE YEAR OF TEA AND MAGIC

Reading material:

English sample and synopsis, Finnish PDF

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
FRANCE: Éditions Flammarion

THE BLUE FLAME

Reading material:

English sample, English synopsis, Swedish PDF

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Förlaget (orig. Finnish-Swedish)
FINLAND: Orava-kirjat (Finnish)
FRANCE: Éditions Flammarion

About author


Åsa Lucander

Åsa Lucander is a director and designer, working in illustration and animation both in the UK as well as Scandinavia.

Originally from Finland, she moved to London in 2001 where she was introduced to animation while studying illustration. After graduating she joined the animation studio 12foot6 where she stayed until 2014.

In 2015 she joined Aardman Animations in Bristol, where she is now based.

With multi-faceted strengths in storytelling, design and animation she loves exploring various creative styles, be it in 2d, stop motion or CGI. Åsa has a passion for hand rendered drawings and explores many different textures and mediums in all areas of her work. She loves mixing humour with melancholy and thrills in bringing characters of every shape and form to life with compelling scripts and inventive visions. She nimbly blends music, authentic dialogue, film segments, hand drawn characters and dolls in innovative ways.

Åsa has directed multiple shorts, including her award-winning film Lost Property, as well as many heart-warming commercial films for clients including Blue Peter, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Project Every- one and Childline, and a VR documentary film for BBC. Most recently she directed the music video for Coldplay’s track Daddy that has won numerous awards.

The Finlandia-nominated Stella (2023) was the first picture book by Åsa Lucander, who, in addition to being a director and illustrator at Aardman Animations, has also animated music videos for artists such as Coldplay. She created the book together with Ted Forsström. In spring 2025 her and Ted's second collaboration, Stiven, was published.

Photo credit: Karni Arieli

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About author


illustrator Heikala

Heikala is an illustrator whose work, inspired by Japanese aesthetics, have gained great popularity around the world.

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About author


Magdalena Hai

Magdalena Hai is an award-winning author, lover of cross-genre fiction and all things strange. Her fiction often combines elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

Her Little Shop of Nightmares series has been sold to 30 territories around the world. Among Hai's many accolades are winning the Finlandia Prize for children's and YA literature and the Finnish Literary Export Prize, and being nominated  the Nordic Council Children & Young People's Literature Prize.

Besides being an author, Hai teaches writing and is an active member and editor in the publishing co-operative Osuuskumma.

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About author


Ted Forsström

Ted Forsström is a well-known Finnish-Swedish comedian, radio personality and author. Together with Kaj Korkea-aho, he co-wrote the YA trilogy ZOO!, which was nominated for the Finlandia Junior Prize. Forsström also co-hosts Ted & Kaj, the most popular Swedish-language podcast in Finland, with Korkea-aho.

In 2023, he co-wrote the Finlandia Junior-nominated children’s book Stella with illustrator Åsa Lucander. Their follow-up, Stiven, was awarded the Runeberg Junior Prize in 2026.  Stella has been translated into 10 languages, while Stiven has been translated into five. The Blue Flame is a LitRPG fantasy adventure for young adults.

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