Dragonfly

Posted on 15.02.2023

Independent prequel to 2021 Finlandia winner Where the Light Comes In!
Topelius Prize Nominee 2020
Young Aleksis Award Nominee 2021
Rights sold to Editions Milan in France in a two-book deal!

A shocking, brilliantly told story about resistance in an unequal society. Two young women, Satomi and Mai have always stuck together. They were born in an internment village on an island that was called Japan before sea level rose. They are non-citizens whose purpose is to serve full citizens.

On good nights they go to the seaside together to wade. They still have that, even if everything else has been taken away from them.

Then Commander Rafikov takes Mai to make her a Nymph.

And Satomi can’t just wait anymore.

“I’m standing here and coming apart inside, just like that. I’m only thinking of the end.”

Where the Light Comes In

Posted on 13.02.2023

What is a person if you take away their memory? Who determines what we believe? A captivating story of rebellion, hope, and humanity..

Finlandia Prize winner – The best Children’s & Young Adult title in Finland 2021!
Finlandia Prize audience favorite 2021!
Winner of the Young Aleksis Award 2022
Rights sold to Editions Milan in France in a two-book deal!

Aleksei is a young man whose father runs a human research institute in Tokyo, which is now partly covered by the sea. New batches of test subjects regularly arrive at the facility, including one with Satomi, a young woman whose memory is set to be erased. Satomi becomes Aleksei’s trial case, since he is meant to continue his father’s work. But something is already churning beneath the surface, and the younger generation can see the horrors of the system their parents have created.

Finlandia Award winner Anne-Maija Aalto’s Where the Light Comes In is the dystopian love story of two very different characters with different values set in a water-covered former Japan. It is a stand-alone sequel to Aalto’s acclaimed novel Dragonfly and a tremendously skillful, captivating story of rebellion, hope and humanity. It was selected as the winner of the Finlandia Prize for Children’s & Young Adult Literature by futurist and non-fiction author Perttu Pölönen.

Anne-Maija Aalto

Posted on 10.05.202212.08.2022

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.