AGNES AND THE GARDEN OF DREAMS picked as book prize for German reading competition

We are happy to announce that AGNES AND THE GARDEN OF DREAMS by Tuutikki Tolonen and Kati Vuorento has been picked as the book prize for a prestigious German reading competition organised by the German bookseller association and under the patronage of the German Federal President.  As part of this national reading competition, children from schools all over Germany will compete against each and the finale will even be on TV! Each of the participants in the regional round will be given a copy of a special edition with new cover of AGNES AND THE GARDEN OF DREAMS.

 

Huge congratulations to Tuutikki, Kati, and their German publisher Carlsen!

Download the materials for AGNES AND THE GARDEN OF DREAMS here!

AGNES JA UNIEN AVAIN / AGNES AND THE GARDEN OF DREAMS
WSOY, March 2020, 200 pp

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
CZECH REPUBLIC: Portál, s. r. o.
DENMARK: ABC Forlag
ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat
GERMANY: Carlsen Verlag
HUNGARY: Cerkabella
ROMANIA: Editura Paralela 45
RUSSIA: Rosman

About author


Kati Vuorento

Kati Vuorento is an illustrator living and working in Espoo, Finland: ”In small details there is an infinite magic. I want my illustrations to stir emotion in the audience. Empathizing is important to me. In my illustrations, I always include approachable characteristics to even the most hardened anti-hero. This is how I mold the characters into personalities with depth and dimension.”

She is the illustrator of middle-grade Agnes Series by Tuutikki Tolonen that in 2021 was nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award!


About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Tolonen is currently writing the Agnes series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award.

SANG wins the City of Tampere Literature Prize!

We are excited to share the news that SANG by Elina Pitkäkangas won the City of Tampere Literature Prize!

The jury had great things to say about this outstanding YA fantasy novel

Sang, Elina Pitkäkangas’ fantasy novel, is an incredibly beautifully built title, rich in its language, intensive, and truly exciting, luring the reader into the story right from the start and keeping its grip till the end – and in a way that the reader waits for the sequel. Sang is a story about poverty and wealth, about power and oppression, about the relationship between nature and humans, about love and brotherhood. Its timeless, enchanting, multilayered story utilizes the cultures from China and East Asia skillfully, respecting them. A fantastical work, also for those who are not traditional friends of fantasy literature.” – the City of Tampere Literature Prize jury

SANG is the first part in a LGBTQIA+ friendly YA fantasy / romantasy duology with cross-over potential that has been praised for its inclusivity and world-building. It won the prestigious Topelius Award early this year and rights have been sold to Denmark and Turkey, with an offer for another language on the table. The eagerly-awaited sequel, NARAKA, will publish in Finland this fall.

Rights are still available for France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, UK, etc – make sure not to miss this powerful novel!

Download the materials for SANG here! 

Sang
WSOY, September 2022, 496pp
Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig. 2-book deal)
DENMARK: Straarup (2-book-deal)
TURKEY: Indigo Kitap

About author


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. Pitkäkangas has written five novels and produces book-related videos to TikTok and Instagram on her channel @elinapitkakangas.

Bibliography


2023, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Naraka

Elina Pitkäkangas


2022, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Sang

Elina Pitkäkangas

INHERITED LAND by Maria Turtschaninoff honoured with the “Thank You for the Book” Award!

We are happy to announce that Maria Turtschaninoff was given the “Thank You for the Book” Award for her internationally best-selling book INHERITED LAND (Finnish title: Suomaa, orig. Arvejord) on 23st April 2023 at the Helsinki Central Library Oodi celebrating the World Book Day!

The award, which is handed out yearly by booksellers and librarians in Finland, is a recognition given to an especially stimulating book. The jury said:

“Turtschaninoff has a wonderful skill of building unique characters, even if they appear for only one chapter in the book. The ancient but already crumbling forest relationship of Finns is a timely and rousing theme. Inherited Land is a beautiful and thought-provoking title, which is especially impressive as Turtschaninoff’s first adult novel.”

Previously, INHERITED LAND has been awarded the Swedish Yle Literature Prize! The international success story of INHERITED LAND continues, as the rights for the title have now been sold to 20 territories! 

Rights are still available in Greece, Spain, Japan, China, Portugal, Latvia, Iceland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Turkey…

Download the materials for INHERITED LAND here!

 

Inherited Land

Maria Turtschaninoff

Inherited Land is an episodic work of literary fiction depicting human relationships with nature across generations, following in the tradition of family sagas like One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.

The roots of man and forest are intertwined in the depths of the earth.

  • Winner of the Svenska YLE Literature Prize!

Inherited Land tells multiple enchanting stories about short human lives on a small farmstead in the north of Finland with its golden cloudberries and the mythical woodland animals. The hub of the narrative is a marsh close to the farmstead, and nature is the constant while humans are like dragonflies: here one day, gone the next. Across four centuries, the people face wars, epidemics, and heartbreaks, but from the woods they find shelter and a place to be themselves

Inherited Land is a novel about the climate crisis without ever mentioning it by name. Instead, the novel explores what people have thought about their environment, how they have used it and why. The novel is a reminder of where we have come from, and what a relationship between humans and nature could look like in the future.

The book is beautiful like a piece of jewelry and rich like a forest.
– Freja Rudels, Åbo Underrättelser newspaper

Arvejord
Förlaget, August 2022, 371 pp.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Förlaget (orig. Finland-Swedish)
FINLAND: Tammi (Finnish)
AZERBAIJAN: Alatoran
BULGARIA: Izida
CROATIA: HENA COM
CZECH REPUBLIC: ARGO
DENMARK: Alpha Forlag
ESTONIA: Rahva Raamat
FRANCE: Éditions Paulsen
GERMANY: Rowohlt
HUNGARY: L’Harmattan
ISRAEL: Hakibbutz Hameuchad – Sifriat Poalim
ITALY: Bompiani
NETHERLANDS: Atlas Contact
NORWAY: Bonnier Norsk Forlag
POLAND: Poznańskie
ROMANIA: Editura Univers
SWEDEN: Förlaget
UNITED KINGDOM & COMMONWEALTH: Pushkin Press
UNITED STATES & CANADA: Pushkin Press
WORLD ALBANIAN: Shkupi Publishing House
Reading materials:
Swedish edition
English sample and synopsis

About author


Maria Turtschaninoff

Maria Turtschaninoff is known for crafting lyrical, historically inspired fantasy stories starring strong female protagonists. In addition to J.R.R. Tolkien, she counts Philip Pullman, Ursula K. Le Guin and C.S. Lewis among her favorite authors. She is a two-time winner of the Society of Swedish Literature Prize, a nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and winner of the 2014 Finlandia Junior Prize. Her Red Abbey Chronicles YA trilogy has been sold into 30 languages. Maria has a Master of Arts in human ecology and works full-time as a writer.

INHERITED LAND, Maria Turtschaninoff's first adult fiction novel, has been awarded the prestigious Swedish YLE Literature Prize 2022! This award is annually given to the best Finnish-Swedish book of the year during Helsinki Book Fair and is regarded as one of the most important award for Finnish-Swedish authors.

Bibliography


2022, Literary Fiction

Inherited Land

Maria Turtschaninoff


2018, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Maresi: Red Mantle

Maria Turtschaninoff


2016, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Naondel

Maria Turtschaninoff


2014, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Maresi

Maria Turtschaninoff

MABEL MERRYWEATHER AND THE MINIATURE PIRATES by Noora Kunnas and Teemu Juhani has won the Swiss PRIX CHRONOS Award 2023!

We are excited to share the news that MABEL MERRYWEATHER AND THE MINIATURE PIRATES by Noora Kunnas and Teemu Juhani has won the Prix Chronos 2023!

The Prix Chronos is a Swiss Literature Prize that is honouring books for children that depict conviviality and exchange between different generations.
Two children, two elderly people, a rooster and a horde of mini pirates: A colorful bouquet of different people and animals plays into this story and makes the book a unique and humorous reading pleasure.”
– Prix Chronos 2023 jury

Noora Kunnas was overjoyed by the news:
It feels unbelievably great to win this prize. It’s amazing when your book is recognized internationally.

You can read more about the prize and the ceremony here: Preisverleihung 2023 (prosenectute.ch)

Congratulations to Noora and Teemu!

Written by award-nominated author Noora Kunnas and illustrated by Teemu Juhani, the wonderful MABEL MERRYWEATHER series has been sold to 8 territories!
Rights are available in US, UK, France, Spain, Korea, Portugal, Turkey…

Reminder: The FILI translation grant application round is ongoing! FILI provides grants that can cover up to 70% of the costs of translating Finnish and Finland-Swedish titles to other languages. The deadline for the current application round is May 1st. You can find more information here: Translation and printing grants for publishers outside Finland – FILI

Download materials for MABEL MERRYWEATHER AND THE MINIATURE PIRATES here!

MABEL MERRYWEATHER AND THE MINIATURE PIRATES
SALMANTERIN TERTTU JA MINIMERIROSVOT
Otava, 2019, 140 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
DENMARK: ABC Forlag
GERMANY: Mixtvision
HUNGARY: Pagony
ITALY: Terre di Mezzo
NETHERLANDS: Veltman Uitgevers
POLAND: Znak
RUSSIA: Eksmo

 

MABEL MERRYWEATHER AND THE KING OF THIEVES
SALMANTERIN TERTTU JA HUIJAREIDEN KUNINGAS
Otava, 2020, 140 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
DENMARK: ABC Forlag
GERMANY: Mixtvision
POLAND: Znak
RUSSIA: Eksmo

 

MABEL MERRYWEATHER AND THE CHEESY MYSTERY
SALMANTERIN TERTTU JA JUUSTOINEN MYSTEERI
Otava, 2021, 144 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
POLAND: Znak
RUSSIA: Eksmo

 

MABEL MERRYWEATHER AND THE CROWBAR GALA
SALMANTERIN TERTTU JA SORKKARAUTAGAALA
Otava, 2022, 144 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

About author


Noora Kunnas

Noora Kunnas is a children’s author from Helsinki, Finland. She has the knack for making both children and grownups laugh while they’re immersed in her zany books. She loves animals and British humor – she grew up watching Jeeves and Wooster and eating ice cream straight from the container. Kunnas draws her inspiration from the world of Roald Dahl. The trademark of her books is a nutty humor, spiced with quirky characters, as well as the titillating mood of various settings, where anything – and we mean anything – is possible.

Noora Kunnas has published eight children’s books at Otava (2015 – 2022),  and her works have been nominated for the prestigious Tiiliskivi and Lukuvarkaus literary prizes in Finland. She graduated from the Turku Academy of Arts with a degree in film, and she worked in television since.

About author


Teemu Juhani

Teemu Juhani is a Finnish illustrator, comic artist and picture book author whose illustrations have been published in picture books and children's fiction in over 20 countries. In addition to children's books Teemu has illustrated magazines and educational material. Originally from the fields and woods of North Karelia, Teemu now lives, works and eats way too many cakes in Helsinki.

THE LAST GRUDGE by Max Seeck is nominated for the prestigious Glass Key Award!

We are beyond thrilled to announce that THE LAST GRUDGE (orig. Kauna, Tammi 2021)  by New York Times Bestselling Author Max Seeck is nominated for the Glass Key Award 2023! The Glass Key Award (Glasnyckeln/Glasnøglen) is an award by the Scandinavian Crime Novel Society and is given out to a book written by a Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swedish author each year. Previous winners include Henning Mankell, Peter Høeg, Jo Nesbø, Stieg Larsson, Karin Fossum, and many more.

The 2023 nominees are:

Finland: Max SeeckKauna
Iceland: Ragnheidur GestsdóttirFarangur (engl. Baggage)
Norway: Torkil DamhaugHund uten grav
Sweden: Sara StrömbergSkred
Denmark: Torben MunksgaardDamevennens død

The winner will be announced in mid-June 2023. The Last Grudge, the third novel in the Jessica Niemi series,  has been published in Danish (Gutkind) as Zetterborg-sagen and in Swedish (Albert Bonniers) as Djävulspakten. Rights sold in 40 territories and Hollywood (TV-show). Max Seeck continues to be one of the top bestselling authors in Finland with over 300,000 copies of his books sold!

Praise for THE LAST GRUDGE:

An intricate, beautifully written, character-driven page-turner with some shocking twists.
—  Kirkus Reviews, USA

“Max Seeck has done it again. — The Last Grudge is an example of both his knowledge of the suspense thriller tradition and his meticulous way of building a story. — Seeck offers the readers incorrect clues and bluffs that are part of the suspense genre tradition, along with various references from film and literary works throughout the plot line – which is meandering and surprising in an exemplary way.” 
— Pertti Avola,Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Finland

Download the full Englishtext for THE LAST GRUDGE here!

Kauna
Tammi, September 2021, 390 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ALBANIA: Muza
BULGARIA: EMAS
DENMARK: Gutkind
ESTONIA: Pegasus
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe
HUNGARY: Animus Kiadó Kft.
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
NETHERLANDS: A.W. Bruna
NORWAY: Aschehoug
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag
UK: Welbeck
USA & CANADA: Berkley / Penguin Random House
WORLD ARABIC: Arab Scientific
TV RIGHTS: Stampede Ventures

Reading materials: English edition

About author


Max Seeck, New York Times Best Selling Author

Max Seeck - New York Times Bestselling Author of THE WITCH HUNTER.

“Another star has been added to the firmament of thriller writers,” announced Iltalehti newspaper, when Max’s debut novel was published in 2016. Four years and four books later, Max Seeck’s novels have been sold to more than 40 countries, including US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries and as far as Korea!

His debut trilogy following protagonist Daniel Kuisma sold over 40,000 copies in Finland. His new Jessica Niemi series landed him on the New York Times Bestseller list! In Faithful Reader, AKA The Witch Hunter (US title), book 1 of the Jessica Niemi series, Helsinki Police Detective Jessica Niemi hunts an occultist serial killer. In Evil’s Net, AKA Ice Coven, Jessica and her team follow clues hidden on Instagram to solve the disappearance of a young influencer and a manga artist.

Max Seeck has a background in sales and marketing, and has lately been able to dedicate his time to his lifelong love of writing. His interests include well-conducted research, reading Nordic Noir and listening to movie soundtracks as he writes.

Bibliography


2022, Crime & Suspense

The Archipelago

Max Seeck


2021, Crime & Suspense

The Last Grudge

Max Seeck


2020, Crime & Suspense

The Ice Coven

Max Seeck


2019, Crime & Suspense

The Witch Hunter

Max Seeck


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Mephisto Touch

Max Seeck


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Call of Hades

Max Seeck


2016, Crime & Suspense

Angels of Hammurabi

Max Seeck

Illustrator Mari Ahokoivu wins the Puupäähattu Award! 

We are excited to share the news that our illustrator Mari Ahokoivu has won the Puupäähattu Award, given yearly to an established comic artist by the Finnish Comics Society!
The award has been given out since 1972, and past winners include e.g. Mauri Kunnas, Tom of Finland, and Tove and Lars Jansson! The name of the prize refers to the hat of Ola Fogelberg’s classic character Pekka Puupää.

Mari has illustrated e.g. multiple children’s nonfiction titles – the newest one is the lovely I’LL BECOME A RESEARCHER, written by Tero Mielonen, and together with Laura Ertimo she’s worked on the WEIRD WEATHER series, sold to 17 territories! 
She has also illustrated the charming ANNI THE FRIEND TAMER series, written by Kaisa Paasto!

Congrats on the award Mari!

Reminder: The FILI translation grant application round is ongoing! FILI provides grants that can cover up to 70% of the costs of translating Finnish and Finland-Swedish titles to other languages. The deadline for the current application round is February 1st. You can find more information here: Translation and printing grants for publishers outside Finland – FILI

 

I’ll Become a Researcher

Tero Mielonen, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu

Anyone can become a researcher!

South American Kat used to examine the starry skies with her father and now her job is to search for new planets. Marjane loved hunting for treasures, and she became an archeologist who solves the mysteries of ancient cultures. Eduardo loved playing video games. He did not become a professional gamer, but now he creates climate models and ponders what our world will be like in a hundred years. All kinds of people do science, and anyone can become a scientist!

Download the materials for I’LL BECOME A RESEARCHER here!

 

Weird Weather

Laura Ertimo, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu

Answering children’s tough questions about climate change and explaining how we can all fight against it!

Two clever buddies, Lotta and Kasper, get tired of their parents’ evasive answers about weird weather. They decide to research what climate change is really about. Weird Weather! is an accurate but hopeful children’s nonfiction title that explains how humans are responsible for climate change and what we can do to ensure a brighter future. It also gives tips on how everyone can make better choices and practice climate-positive skills every day.

The independent sequel, Where Did the Animals Go which helps to understand the biodiversity crisis, was awarded the Tietopöllö Award for best children’s nonfiction in 2022!

Download the materials for WEIRD WEATHER here!

 

Anni the Friend Tamer series

Kaisa Paasto, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu

Shy people of the world, unite!

Anni is a 10-year-old girl. When her friend Miisa moves abroad, Anni has a chilling realization: she has never had to find a new friend. Is it too late to learn how to make friends? Obviously, no one can learn a skill this big when they’re 10, can they? Anni also has another problem. Her new pet pig only wants to stay in his safe place, under the table. Good thing Anni’s brother has just had a back operation, as this means he has lots of time to lie in bed and dole out advice. Anni’s parents are alright as far as parents go, even if they laugh a bit too much at their own jokes.

So it’s not all bad – Anni just needs to become a ‘friend tamer’!

Download the materials for the ANNI THE FRIEND TAMER series here!

I’ll Become a researcher
Maailman Tutkijat
URSA, 2021, 53 pp.
Rights sold: FINLAND: Ursa (orig.), BULGARIA: Enthusiast, LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
Reading materials: Full English sample

 

Weird Weather! 
Ihme Ilmat – miksi ilmasto muuttuu
Into Kustannus, 2019, 48pp
Rights sold: FINLAND: Into Kustannus (orig.), DENMARK: Staarup & Co., ESTONIA: Avita, GERMANY: Cross Cult, HUNGARY: Ciceró Könyvstúdió, ITALY: Mondadori/Edizioni Piemme, LATVIA: Jumava, LITHUANIA: Obuolys, MEXICO: (Latin American Spanish rights): Ordinal Books, NORTH MACEDONIA: Feniks, NORWAY: Aschehoug, POLAND: Amber, SERBIA: Odiseja, SLOVAKIA: Ikar, SPAIN: Astronave, SWEDEN: Rabén & Sjögren, TURKEY: Kolektif, UNITED STATES (North America): Skyhorse Publishing/Sky Pony Press
Reading materials: Full English PDF

 

Anni the Friend Tamer
Anni Kaverinkesyttäjä
Tammi, March 2020, 128 pp.
Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (orig.), ALBANIA: Muza (books 1-2), GERMANY: Loewe Verlag (books 1-3)
Reading materials: Finnish edition, English sample and synopsis

About author


Mari Ahokoivu

Mari Ahokoivu is a Finnish illustrator and a comics artist. She’s been drawing professionally for over 10 years, mainly drawing graphic novels and comics for children, including Sanni & Joonas and Lola Olifante. Ahokoivu loves everything cute and scary. She lives and works in Copenhagen. Mari Ahokoivu has illustrated WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO which was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!


MOONDAY LETTERS by Emmi Itäranta nominated for the BSFA Awards!

We are thrilled to share the news that THE MOONDAY LETTERS by Emmi Itäranta has been nominated for the British Science Fiction Association Awards!

The BSFA awards have been presented yearly since 1970, and the winner will be presented in April 2023.

THE MOONDAY LETTERS is the newest novel by Emmi Itäranta, a love story with elements of clifi and suspense woven into the sotry. The English edition was published by Titan in summer 2022, and has been widely praised:

“Itäranta accomplishes an impressive amount of worldbuilding in Lumi’s letters and makes her longing for her soulmate palpable. The result is a quietly powerful meditation on the human need to share life and love with others.”
– Publisher’s Weekly
“[A] melancholy, lovely, and alarming tale about humanity in crisis”
-Foreword reviews

Rights to the title have been sold in Czechia, Hungary, and World English – all other rights are still available!

Download the materials for THE MOONDAY LETTERS here!
Reminder: The FILI translation grant application round is ongoing! FILI provides grants that can cover up to 70% of the costs of translating Finnish and Finland-Swedish titles to other languages. The deadline for the current application round is February 1st. You can find more information here: Translation and printing grants for publishers outside Finland – FILI

THE MOONDAY LETTERS
Emmi Itäranta
A  love story that bends space, time, myth and science

Lumi is an Earth-born healer whose Mars-born spouse Sol disappears unexpectedly on a work trip. As Lumi begins her quest to find Sol, she delves gradually deeper into Sol’s secrets – and her own.

While recalling her own path to becoming a healer, Lumi discovers an underground environmental group called Stoneturners, which may have something to do with Sol’s disappearance. Lumi’s search takes her from the wealthy colonies of Mars to Earth that has been left a shadow of its former self due to vast environmental destruction. Gradually, she begins to understand that Sol’s fate may have been connected to her own for much longer than she thought.

THE MOONDAY LETTERS
Teos, 2020, 300pp

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Teos (orig.)
CZECHIA: Albatros Media
HUNGARY: Metropolis Media Group
WORLD ENGLISH (print, e-book): Titan Books
WORLD ENGLISH (audio): Recorded Books

Reading material: English edition

About author


Emmi Itäranta

Emmi Itäranta (b.1976) holds two MA degrees, one in Drama and another in Creative Writing. Her award-winning debut novel Memory of Water (Teemestarin kirja) was published in Finland in 2012 to great accolades, followed by The Weaver (Kudottujen kujien kaupunki) in 2015. Her latest novel The Moonday Letters was published in September 2020.

Itäranta’s writing has been compared to that of Ursula K. Le Guin. Her honours include the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize 2013, the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize 2012 and first place in the Teos Fantasy and Sci-Fi Literary Contest 2011.

Memory of Water has sold to over 25 languages to date, and it has also been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award recognizing the best science fiction novel published in the UK in 2014, and the Golden Tentacle award. In addition, Itäranta has been included on the Honor List of the Otherwise Award (formerly James Tiptree, Jr. Award). 

Itäranta’s cv is an eclectic mix of writing-related activities, including stints as a columnist, theatre critic, press officer and dramaturge. Her poems, short stories, articles and essays have appeared in anthologies, film magazines and science fiction magazines in the UK and Finland. She now lives in Finland after 14 years in the United Kingdom.

Bibliography


2020, Fantasy & Science Fiction

Moonday Letters

Emmi Itäranta


2015, Fantasy & Science Fiction

The Weaver

Emmi Itäranta


2012, Fantasy & Science Fiction

Memory of Water

Emmi Itäranta

SANG wins the Topelius Award!

We are thrilled to share the news that SANG by Elina Pitkäkangas won the Topelius Award!

The Topelius Award is an annual award that celebrates outstanding YA books. The jury was very impressed by SANG:

The dystopian novel upholds a beautiful and dark atmosphere in the state of Fusang. Sang is an epic story about a youngster trying to fight against the impossible circumstances of a totalitarian state. Kong Dawei joins the rebels, and breathtaking events follow one another. Pitkäkangas’ skill to conjure with believable details a whole world is enchanting. Our choices create a chain which not only joins us together, but also in the end defines who and what we are. Sang is a story about love, but above all it is a story about morale: all the things we are ready to do for one another.”   – the Topelius Award jury

SANG, part one in a YA fantasy duology, has already been sold to Denmark and Turkey. Rights for all other languages are still available – be quick to read this captivating title!

Since its publication in Finland last September, SANG has been an instant hit with young readers in Finland, who gave it glowing reviews and made Elina Pitkäkangas the most popular author for book signing at Helsinki bookfair!

Here is some of the praise SANG received:

“In the dystopian world recovering from a brutal war the different societal classes are miles apart, and the distance grows with a citizenship debt to be paid yearly. [–] Pitkäkangas describes the inequality and abuse of power skillfully. Warmth and balance is brought by the love between the brothers, but also romantic love and sexual desire. The object of the feelings is a friend, another boy, and the queer theme fits Sang without a fault.”
– Arla Kanerva in Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

“Elina Pitkäkangas is an incredibly skilled storyteller. The story of Sang sucks me in before I can blink. With all my senses, I’m deep in the story, thanks to the detailed descriptions. I love it when I can feel so many emotions when reading a book – sadness, joy, anger, relief, happiness… [–] I also want to applaud the representation and using sensitivity readers. This is how a good book is made!”
– Paperimato bookstagram

“An indescribably magnificent and tear-inducing work that deals with really tough topics in such a deep and realistic way. Great reading trip with Dawei, and doesn’t leave a moment for breaks. Such wonderful work from Elina”
– Ella on goodreads

The sequel Naraka is coming out in Finland autumn 2023, continuing Dawei’s story!

Download the materials for SANG here!

Sang
WSOY, September 2022, 496pp

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig. 2-book deal)
DENMARK: Straarup (2-book-deal)
TURKEY: Indigo Kitap

About author


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. Pitkäkangas has written five novels and produces book-related videos to TikTok and Instagram on her channel @elinapitkakangas.

Bibliography


2023, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Naraka

Elina Pitkäkangas


2022, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Sang

Elina Pitkäkangas

Topelius Award nomination for SANG and Arvid Lydecken Award nomination for BENJAMIN BATEMAN!

We are so happy to announce that two of our Children’s & YA titles have been nominated for prestigious prizes in Finland!

SANG, the epic YA story by Elina Pitkäkangas, has been nominated for the Topelius Award 2023! The award is given yearly to a YA title of high quality, and the jury praised the book as follows:

“The dystopian novel upholds a beautiful and dark atmosphere in the state of Fusang. Sang is an epic story about a youngster trying to fight against the impossible circumstances of a totalitarian state. Kong Dawei joins the rebels, and breathtaking events follow one another. Pitkäkangas’ skill to conjure with believable details a whole world is enchanting. Our choices create a chain which not only joins us together, but also in the end defines who and what we are. Sang is a story about love, but above all it is a story about morale: all the things we are ready to do for one another.”
Download the materials for SANG here!

 

And BENJAMIN BATEMAN – SUPER EMBARRASSED SUPERHERO, the middle-grade title written by Hannele Lampela and illustrated by Pasi Pitkänen, has been nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award 2023! Given yearly to an meritorious children’s book, the jury said:

“Every kid wants to be a superhero. Benjamin Bateman finds out that he is a superhero from Martinlaakso, but the superpowers are missing every now and then. Is it possible there’s been a mistake after all? A very everyday story gets wings when Benjamin understands that he truly is of a superhero family. The narration is breathtaking, but not tiring. The plot really hooks one in, and it is hard to set the book down. The different time periods create ellipsis in the story, and the vivacity of it is awe-inspiring. As a superhero, Benjamin is humane and human-sized, which makes the story very relatable.”

Download the materials for BENJAMIN BATEMAN here!

Massive congrats to Elina, Hannele, and Pasi! The winners will be announced in January.

SANG

Elina Pitkäkangas

When a person’s value is determined by money and one’s happiness by family, what will be left when both are ripped away?

The state of Fusang is recovering from a war that ravaged the world. 16-year-old Kong Dawei, an earnest young man, is living in a poor mountain village and tries to pay his adopted siblings’ citizen dues by transporting contraband goods at night.

After a series of unfortunate events, Dawei ends up in the southern capital which is ruled by the cruel matriarch of the White Tiger Clan. When there is nothing else to lose, Dawei has only one goal: to get back to his loved ones – whatever it takes.

Sang is an addictive fantasy novel that travels through cold mountains and humid cities, noisy bazaars and opulent halls, and the world after the Black Rain, in which one’s value is measured in money.

 

BENJAMIN BATEMAN – SUPER EMBARRASSED SUPERHERO

Hannele Lampela, ill. Pasi Pasi Pitkänen

What if your superhero costume looked like a butterfly? And your only superpowers would be having a good heart and an imagination? Welcome to the embarrassing life of Benjamin Bateman!

The wholly hilarious and thrilling adventures of a super embarrassing superhero for middle-graders!

Benjamin Bateman is stunned when he finds out that he is part of a family of superheroes. Who would’ve believed that about poor Benjamin?

Benjamin’s superhero costume is quite embarrassing though – a butterfly. And his superpower is even more mortifying – a good heart and imagination! But when Benjamin must battle the terrifying Mortem, a deep imagination will come in handy.

The story is enriched by the colorful illustrations of Pasi Pitkänen. A movie is being planned based on the title.

 

Sang
WSOY 2022, 496pp.
Rights sold: FINLAND: WSOY

 

Paavali Pattinen: Supernolo supersankari
Otava 2022, 120 pp.
Rights sold: FINLAND: Otava, DENMARK: Bogoo

About author


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. Pitkäkangas has written five novels and produces book-related videos to TikTok and Instagram on her channel @elinapitkakangas.

About author


Hannele Lampela

Hannele Lampela's lovable works have been praised above all for their rich humor and ability to truly show the world from a child's perspective. She has the ability to enchant her readers, and that is why both children and adults love her stories. Lampela's works have been dramatized for example by the Finnish National Theater, Kuopio City Theater and YLE's radio plays. She has been awarded the prestigious Kaarina Helakisa Prize for her work and she has been nominated for Runeberg Junior award in 2019 and for Storytel Award, and Arvid Lydecken Award in 2020.

In addition to her fictional works, Lampela has written and created  a world of stories for the next national ABC book of Finnish schools. First graders across the country will learn to read through Hannele’s texts. Lampela lives in a small wooden house in the middle of apple trees with her family, and spends her days not only writing, but also pampering herself and others on a regular basis.

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

Johanna Sinisalo awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal!

As Finland prepares to celebrate its Independence Day tomorrow, we are thrilled to announce that the award-winning and internationally bestselling author Johanna Sinisalo has been awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal for services to Finnish literature!

Founded in 1943, the Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland is a distinction awarded by the President of Finland to artists and writers in recognition of their long meritorious work and exceptional services to Finnish art, drama, literature and music. Awarded just before Independence Day (December 6th) to 10-15 people across all fields of culture, the Pro Finlandia Medal is widely considered the highest national accolade for Finnish artists and writers.

One of the leading Finnish science fiction and fantasy authors, Johanna Sinisalo’s literary career spans five decades and her works include novels, short stories, radio, TV and comic book scripts. Her first novel, Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi (TROLL), was published in 2000 and received the coveted Finlandia Prize. Her works have since been translated into twenty languages.

In addition to the Finlandia Prize, Sinisalo has also won several literary prizes abroad, such as the 2004 James Tiptree, Jr. Award and the 2017 Prometheus Award, and was nominated for the Nebula Award in 2008, the Prix Escapades in 2012, and the Grand Prix de L’Imaginaire in 2017.

Huge congratulations to Johanna!

Below you can find some of Johanna’s amazing titles!

Troll

Johanna Sinisalo

Mikael, a young gay photographer, finds a small, man-like creature in the courtyard of his apartment block. It is a young troll, familiar from Scandinavian mythology: a demonic, wild beast. And it is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. Supposedly extinct, today it is regarded as a hairy, cuddly toy by Nordic children. Mikael gives the troll a name, Pessi, and takes him home and hides him.

The first thing Mikael does is research everything he can about trolls on the internet, from folklore, nature journals, and newspaper clippings. Despite his studies, Mikael does not learn that trolls exude pheromones that smell like a Calvin Klein aftershave and that this has a profound aphrodisiac effect on all those around him. Shooting an assignment for an ultra-hip brand of jeans, Mikael finds himself fast-tracked into a dangerous liaison with Martes, the sexually ambivalent art director of the advertising agency concerned, while a couple of his friends in turn fall in love with him because he carries the troll’s scent.

What Mikael fails above all to learn, with tragic consequences, is that Pessi the troll is the interpreter of man’s darkest, most forbidden impulses.

Download the full English PDF here!

Blood of Angels

Johanna Sinisalo

“The queen is dead. The bees are gone. Thus, the world is about to end. But if you follow the bees, there are doors in the air. And a desperate man is ready to go through one.”

Albert Einstein is claimed to have said that if bees disappear from the earth, mankind has four years left to live. When mass bee-vanishings of unprecedented scope and devastation hit the United States, Orvo, a beekeeper, knows all too well where it will lead. And one day, when Orvo goes to check on his hives, he is forced to witness something he wishes he had never lived to see. The queen is dead. The epidemic has spread to Europe. The world is coming to an end.

The light of Orvo’s life is his son, Eero, whose secret animal activist existence Orvo discovers far too late. Eero’s activities as a defender of animal rights and an ardent opponent of Orvo’s inherited way of life propel the family into irreversible, gutwrenching conflict. Orvo takes a desperate step onto a path where only he and the bees know the way… This novel is a magical plunge into the myth of death and immortality, a tale of human blindness in the face of overwhelming choices and inevitabilities.

Download the full English PDF here!

The Core of the Sun

Johanna Sinisalo

Johanna Sinisalo tells the story of The Eusistocratic Republic of Finland in 2013. Her thriller-like story of flight and fight is also between the lines a feisty social polemic. How did Finland turn into the North Korea of Europe?

The Eusistocratic Republic of Finland has prioritized social stability and national health, and outlawed practically everything that might give one pleasure or cause addiction. Well, almost everything: the distribution of sex, an essential commodity of pleasure, is made as efficient as possible. In order to achieve this, the state has bred a new human subspecies: one that is receptive, submissive and always willing. They used to be called women.

Vanna and Jare become involved in buying and selling a stimulant known to be extremely dangerous: chili. Then Jare comes across a strange religious cult in possession of the Core of the Sun, a pungent chili that is too hot to handle.

Download the full English PDF here!

The Storm Flute

Johanna Sinisalo

Beauty comes in many forms—stunning, exciting, thrilling, perilous. Weather has all of them.

Predicting or altering the weather is the eternal dream of humanity. A merchant named Jonah, living in Assyria 600 years before the common era, gets caught in a storm. Is the storm a curse from God, or is it his own doing? In Finland in the 2010’s, Leena Lind loves her job as a meteorologist, but the activities of an aggressive finance company have her wasting her expertise at menial tasks. When her daughter Leia plays a game that involves making a video of a thunderstorm, Leena’s life is blown irretrievably off track and soon no one is safe anymore.

Download the materials for the title here!

TROLL
ENNEN PÄIVÄNLASKUA EI VOI
Tammi, 2000, 268 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ALBANIA: Dituria
BRAZIL: Devir
BULGARIA: Perseus
CZECH REPUBLIC: One Woman Press
DENMARK: Jensen & Dalgaard
FRANCE: Actes Sud
GERMANY: Tropen Verlag
ITALY: Guanda Editore
JAPAN: Sunmark Publishing Inc
LATVIA: SIA Apgads Atena
LITHUANIA: VAGA Publishers
POLAND: Terytoria
RUSSIA: Amphora
SLOVENIA: Modrijan Zalozba
SPAIN: Ediciones Poliedro
SWEDEN: Wahlström & Widstrand
UK: Grove Atlantic
US: Grove Atlantic
FILM & TV RIGHTS: Marlind International AB

 

BLOOD OF ANGELS
ENKELTEN VERTA
Teos, 2011, 275 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Teos (orig.)
BULGARIA: Perseus
CROATIA: Naklada Ljevak
DENMARK: Jensen & Dalgaard
FRANCE: Actes Sud
HUNGARY: Metropolis
POLAND: Foksal
UK: Peter Owen Limited

 

THE CORE OF THE SUN
AURINGON YDIN
Tammi, 2013, 340 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
CZECH REPUBLIC: Euromedia
DENMARK: Jensen & Dalgaard
FRANCE: Actes Sud
GERMANY: Klett-Cotta
HUNGARY: Metropolis
LATVIA: Petergailis
SPAIN: Roca Juvenil
TURKEY: Ithaki Yayinlari
US: Grove Atlantic

 

THE STORM FLUTE
UKKOSHUILU
Otava, 2021, 400 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
DENMARK: Jensen & Dalgaard
HUNGARY: Metropolis

About author


Johanna Sinisalo

Johanna Sinisalo (b. 1958) is a Finlandia-Prize winning superstar of Finnish speculative fiction. In addition to her nine novels, she has also written short fiction and film and television screenplays. Her works have been translated into twenty languages.

Sinisalo has won several literary prizes also abroad, such as the 2004 James Tiptree, Jr. Award and the 2017 Prometheus Award, and was nominated for the Nebula Award in 2008, the Prix Escapades in 2012, and the Grand Prix de L’Imaginaire in 2017.

In 2022, Johanna Sinisalo was awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal for services to Finnish literature! Founded in 1943, the Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland is a distinction awarded by the President of Finland to artists and writers in recognition of their long meritorious work and exceptional services to Finnish art, drama, literature and music.

Bibliography


2021, Fantasy & Science Fiction

The Storm Flute

Johanna Sinisalo


2020, Fantasy & Science Fiction

Strangers Inside

Johanna Sinisalo


2018, Fantasy & Science Fiction

IRON SKY: RENATE'S STORY

Johanna Sinisalo


2013, Fantasy & Science Fiction

The Core of The Sun

Johanna Sinisalo


2011, Fantasy & Science Fiction

Blood of Angels

Johanna Sinisalo


2010, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

The Möbius Twist

Johanna Sinisalo


2008, Fantasy & Science Fiction

Birdbrain

Johanna Sinisalo


2000, Fantasy & Science Fiction

Troll

Johanna Sinisalo

Award Nomination News: Backman and Seeck both nominated for the Finnish Crime Writers’ Society’s Clue of the Year Award

Award nomination news!

We are thrilled to announce that two of our agency’s authors have been nominated for the Finnish Crime Writers’ Society’s Clue of the Year Award for best crime novel published in 2022!

Elina Backman is nominated for BEFORE THE POLAR NIGHT FALLS, the third instalment in the Saana Havas crime series which is currently no. 3 in Audio Books. Elina Backman is now Finland’s no. 4 bestselling fiction author (all formats). Over 60 000 copies of Elina’s books have been sold in Finland, rights have been sold for 16 territories, and an international TV-series based on Elina Backman’s books is in development by Aurora Studios

New York Times bestselling author Max Seeck is nominated for ARCHIPELAGO, the 4th book in the Jessica Niemi series. Max Seeck is Finland’s no.1 bestselling fiction author in e-books and no. 2 bestselling author in all formats. Over 20,000 copies of ARCHIPELAGO and over 300,000 copies of all his books have been sold in Finland. Max’s books have been sold to 40 countries and Hollywood.

Here is the jury’s motivation for the nominations:

About BEFORE THE POLAR NIGHT FALLS by Elina Backman:

Saana Havas, who has gained a reputation with her podcast, travels to northern Lapland to seek new content and to investigate the case of a girl who disappeared and was then found murdered years ago. The book deserves special recognition for its descriptions of the milieu and the people living north of the Arctic Circle. Elina Backman succeeds in portraying Havas’ role in the strange environment which the “amateur detective” observes with sympathy.

About ARCHIPELAGO by Max Seeck: 

In ARCHIPELAGO, Max Seeck offers the reader an original and very appealing plot. Seeck’s detective, police officer Jessica Niemi, hopes to find a peaceful recovery on Åland’s most remote island due to her work setbacks. In the idyllic boarding house, which follows the tradition of a good detective story, Jessica meets people who share a painful past from decades ago. Soon a body is found on the beach, and Jessica can’t settle for the observer’s part. The story is strongly edged by the big turning point in Jessica’s own life.

The winner will be announced in January 2023.

Congratulations to our Authors!

Download the materials for WHEN THE POLAR NIGHT FALLS here!

Download the materials for THE ARCHIPELAGO here!

Elina Backman Saana Havas Series

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ALBANIA: Dritan
CZECH REPUBLIC: Grada
DENMARK: Gyldendal
ESTONIA: Varrak
GERMANY: Piper Verlag
HUNGARY: Maxim
ITALY: Newton Compton
LITHUANIA: BALTO
NETHERLANDS: De Bezige Bij/Cargo
NORWAY: Cappelen Damm
POLAND: Czarna Owca
ROMANIA: Lebada Neagra
RUSSIA: Mann, Ivanov, Ferber
SLOVAKIA: Arkus
SWEDEN: Bokfabriken
FILM & TV RIGHTS: Aurora Studios

Max Seeck Jessica Niemi Series

Rights sold
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ALBANIA: Muza
ARABIC: Arab Scientific Publishers
ARMENIA: Guitank
AZERBAIJAN: Alatoran
BELGIUM, A.W. Bruna
BULGARIA: EMAS
CANADA: Berkley/Penguin Random House
CROATIA: Fokus
CZECH REPUBLIC: Grada
DENMARK: Gutkind
ESTONIA: Pegasus
FRANCE: Michel Lafon
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe
GREECE: Livani
HUNGARY: Animus
ICELAND: Forlagid
ISRAEL: Tchelet Books
ITALY: Piemme/Mondadori
KOREA: Cheongmirae
LATIN AMERICA: Editorial Maeva/Maeva Noir
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
LITHUANIA: Baltos lankos
MACEDONIA: Matica
NETHERLANDS: A.W. Bruna
NORWAY: Aschehoug
POLAND: Sonia Draga
PORTUGAL: Bertrand Editora
ROMANIA: Litera
RUSSIA: AST
SERBIA: Vulkan
SLOVAKIA: Motýľ
SLOVENIA: Didakta
SPAIN: Editorial Maeva/Maeva Noir
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag
TURKEY: Doğan Kitap
UKRAINE: Family Leisure Club
UNITED KINGDOM & COMMONWEALTH: Welbeck Publishing UK
UNITED STATES: Berkley/Penguin Random House
FILM & TV RIGHTS: Stampede Ventures (Greg Silverman)

 

 

About author


Elina Backman

Elina Backman is an author and a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki. Elina loves books (all sorts), traveling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club. She is a creative soul with a commercial mind, and her goal is to find readers globally.

Her debut novel All the King's Men was published in 2020 and immediately gained an enormous amount of attention from the Finnish media, including a praising review by the biggest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. The Havas series is now a best-selling series in Finland and an international TV series is in development. Elina's books have sold over 70 000 copies in Finland.

Together with Heidi Holmavuo, Elina has also narrated the true crime podcast Ratkaisematon (Unsolved), which turned into a full-length audio book as the two crime writers started investigating the murder of a young girl in 1967. They were able to uncover new evidence and their research led the police to reopen the investigation. This story is narrated in the book Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo.

About author


Max Seeck, New York Times Best Selling Author

Max Seeck - New York Times Bestselling Author of THE WITCH HUNTER.

“Another star has been added to the firmament of thriller writers,” announced Iltalehti newspaper, when Max’s debut novel was published in 2016. Four years and four books later, Max Seeck’s novels have been sold to more than 40 countries, including US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries and as far as Korea!

His debut trilogy following protagonist Daniel Kuisma sold over 40,000 copies in Finland. His new Jessica Niemi series landed him on the New York Times Bestseller list! In Faithful Reader, AKA The Witch Hunter (US title), book 1 of the Jessica Niemi series, Helsinki Police Detective Jessica Niemi hunts an occultist serial killer. In Evil’s Net, AKA Ice Coven, Jessica and her team follow clues hidden on Instagram to solve the disappearance of a young influencer and a manga artist.

Max Seeck has a background in sales and marketing, and has lately been able to dedicate his time to his lifelong love of writing. His interests include well-conducted research, reading Nordic Noir and listening to movie soundtracks as he writes.

INHERITED LAND by Maria Turtschaninoff won the Swedish YLE Literature Prize 2022!

We couldn’t be more thrilled to share with you that INHERITED LAND by Maria Turtschaninoff has been awarded the prestigious Swedish YLE Literature Prize 2022! Huge congratulations, Maria!

This award is annually given to the best Finland-Swedish book of the year during Helsinki Bookfair and is regarded as one of the most important award for Finland-Swedish authors.

From the press release about the award:

“INHERITED LAND speaks to the part of the reader that is Finnish-Swedish, to the part that is nostalgic but still lives in the modern world, where the only alternative is to let go off what has already happened, because one doesn’t have the strength to hold on as the evolution advances with such tremendous speed. Turtschaninoff managed to create an amazing spread of humanity’s different, raw, but so recognisable parts – and still, all dishes fit into the whole and are beautifully served. INHERITED LAND is above all a book that comes so incredibly close to humans.  

These are parts of the award motivation for the prize that Turtschaninoff receives. As a Finland-Swedish fantasy author, she has so far mainly written for a younger target audience. INHERITED LAND is her first adult novel and the book was published in the beginning of this year.

The Swedish Yle Literature Prize wants to highlight Finland-Swedish authors and Finland-Swedish literature. It is a way of paying homage to the writers close to us, who are expanding our world and allowing us to look beyond our own lives through their works. INHERITED LAND takes us to a village in Ostrobothnia and life there for four centuries. It is strongly rooted in time and place, but with an intensity and sensuality in the description of human destinies that carry it into the present. A magical and incredibly touching reading experience, and I am happy that this particular book receives the prize this year!”, says Johanna Törn-Mangs, Director of Svenska Yle.

This year, the jury consisted of human rights activist Panda Eriksson.

“I read Turtschaninoff’s INHERITED LAND in one day, more or less without stopping. It hurt me when I put the book down: There is something in it that talks to the part of me that is Finnish-Swedish, to the part of me that is nostalgic but still lives in the modern world, where the only alternative is to let go of what has already happened”, summarizes Eriksson their reading experience.”

Maria Turtschaninoff already won the Swedish YLE Literature Prize in 2014 for her YA novel Maresi.

INHERITED LAND has been our agency’s fastest ever moving fiction book and is now already sold to 11 territories.

Do get in touch with us if you want to pick up with now award-winning literary gem of a novel for your list!

Download the reading materials for INHERITED LAND here

Arvejord
Förlaget, August 2022, 371 pp.

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Förlaget (orig. Finland-Swedish),
FINLAND: Tammi (Finnish)
AZERBAIJAN: Alatoran
DENMARK: Alpha Forlag
FRANCE: Editions Paulsen
GERMANY: Rowohlt
ITALY: Bompiani
NETHERLANDS: Atlas Contact
NORWAY: Bonnier Norsk Forlag
ROMANIA: Editura Univers
SWEDEN: Förlaget

Reading materials: Swedish edition, English sample and synopsis

About author


Maria Turtschaninoff

Maria Turtschaninoff is known for crafting lyrical, historically inspired fantasy stories starring strong female protagonists. In addition to J.R.R. Tolkien, she counts Philip Pullman, Ursula K. Le Guin and C.S. Lewis among her favorite authors. She is a two-time winner of the Society of Swedish Literature Prize, a nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and winner of the 2014 Finlandia Junior Prize. Her Red Abbey Chronicles YA trilogy has been sold into 30 languages. Maria has a Master of Arts in human ecology and works full-time as a writer.

INHERITED LAND, Maria Turtschaninoff's first adult fiction novel, has been awarded the prestigious Swedish YLE Literature Prize 2022! This award is annually given to the best Finnish-Swedish book of the year during Helsinki Book Fair and is regarded as one of the most important award for Finnish-Swedish authors.

Bibliography


2022, Literary Fiction

Inherited Land

Maria Turtschaninoff


2018, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Maresi: Red Mantle

Maria Turtschaninoff


2016, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Naondel

Maria Turtschaninoff


2014, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Maresi

Maria Turtschaninoff

PRINCESS RASCAL AND THE POTTY WORDS wins Nextory E-Book Award!

We are thrilled to congratulate Elina Hirvonen and Mervi Lindman for having won the Children’s category of the Nextory E-book Award for PRINCESS RASCAL AND THE POTTY WORDS!

Nextory E-book Awards have been awarded in Finland since 2020, and their aim is to praise and draw attention to the most read e-books of the preceding year and to celebrate e-books and digital reading experience in general. The hilarious and relatable PRINCESS RASCAL AND THE POTTY WORDS was one of the most read children’s e-books in Nextory streaming service in Finland!

PRINCESS RASCAL AND THE POTTY WORDS is the second title in the excellent Princess Rascal series that has been sold to 5 countries, but is still available in France, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia, Norway, Germany, United States, UK, Japan, China, Taiwan etc.

Download the full English PDFs for all 3 titles in the series here!

 #1  PRINCESS RASCAL
You would think that Rascal is just a little girl, but she’s also a princess with many crowns for different purposes: one for Important Thoughts, one for Great Adventures and one for Peaceful Dreams. When Mom gets mad at her, she must find the right crown to calm Mom down.

Princess Rascal is a picture book about a little girl who knows her mind and has a heart of gold, though sometimes it’s difficult to know the right thing to do. The book has been praised for its accurate and hilarious depictions of everyday life in a toddler family – sometimes parents get tired too.

#2  PRINCESS RASCAL AND THE POTTY WORDS
Princess Rascal starts pre-school. She’s nervous about her new mates and the new teacher. She is especially nervous about going to the toilet. When she uses potty words in a completely wrong situation, she’s sure that she is the most embarrassed girl in the world. But a solution for the problem can be found in her secret treasure chest.

#3  PRINCESS RASCAL AND THE QUARREL SPELL
Which spell is the best when it seems that the parents do not have enough time for themselves? Resourceful Princess Rascal has a solution to every problem!

When Mom looks like a red-eyed panda and Dad like an angry troll, and they snap at each other without any reason, it’s time for some Rascal spells and Onni’s insights. The solution is the world’s finest KISSING BOOTH.
“You have to go in there to kiss. Then you will love again. And never quarrel again. And we don’t have to move to Flower’s.”

PRINSESSA RÄMÄPÄÄ SERIES:

#1 PRINSESSA RÄMÄPÄÄN TALVITAIKA
Tammi 2017, 42 pp.

#2 PRINSESSA RÄMÄPÄÄ JA VESSASANAT
Tammi 2019, 42 pp.

#3 PRINSESSA RÄMÄPÄÄ JA RIITATAIKA
Tammi, 2021, 42 pp.

Reading materials:
English PDFs

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
CZECH REPUBLIC: Albatros Media
DENMARK: Gads Forlag
ESTONIA: Elust Enesest
LITHUANIA: Nieko Rimto/ Publishing House Nothing Serious

About author


Elina Hirvonen

Elina Hirvonen is an award-winning author of adults’ and children’s prose, a journalist and documentary filmmaker. She has written four highly acclaimed adults’ novels that are at the same time tragic and beautiful. She is also known for her picture book series Princess Rascal, and a middle-grade trilogy Julia & P.A.L. Her books have been translated to 15 languages.

Her new novel, The Logbook of Love, is published in Finland in August 2023. Hirvonen has received the Kalevi Jäntti Prize and the Nuori Aleksis Prize, and has been nominated for Finlandia Prize and Debut Prize.

About author


Mervi Lindman

Mervi Lindman is a much-loved illustrator whose cheerful artworks have been published in 19 different countries to date. Lindman’s illustrations have been regularly appraised by critics and public alike.

Finnish Cultural Foundation’s grand prize for Sirpa Kähkönen!

We are incredibly thrilled to share the news that our author Sirpa Kähkönen has been awarded the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s grand prize! The 35 000 € prize is awarded for significant cultural contributions, on the eve of the Kalevala Day and the Day of Finnish Culture.

Kähkönen is a talented writer whose works have been nominated for the Finlandia Prize and for the Nordic Council Literary Prize, and her newest novel, THE GREEN CHAMBER, won the prestigious Savonia prize! 

Download the materials for the Green Chamber here! 

The Finnish Cultural Foundation Jury said: 

Sirpa Kähkönen writes about society by writing about people. She describes contemporary questions through historical narrations.

Born in Kuopio in 1964, Sirpa Kähkönen studied literature and history, and worked as an editor prior to setting out as a full-time writer. Her studies provided her with a clear direction: Kähkönen is particularly known as a master of historical novels.

As someone who enjoys digging through newspaper archives, Kähkönen is accomplished at providing the details that make the past come alive. While describing the private sphere and bringing historical events up close, she is able to make her work universal. Through her characters, Kähkönen asks life’s big questions, demanding answers from the reader.

The author has created a world of her own – a Kuopio of times past, which is fictional but true. — Sirpa Kähkönen is characterised by humaneness, being always on the side of the individual.”

 

Congratulations, Sirpa!

THE GREEN CHAMBER

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Koolibri

Reading material:
English synopsis and sample

About author


Sirpa Kähkönen

Sirpa Kähkönen was born to a family that had been harshly treated by the history of the 1900s. World War II and the Civil War preceding it, had wounded her family members and marked them with heavy silence and unspoken words.

Mapping out that silence became Sirpa’s work. The first questions that arose were related to her closest circle: what had happened to her beloved grandparents? From her personal sphere the intellectual curiosity widened to touch upon the history of Finland and then the history of Europe, and finally, researching the fate of an individual during times of crisis.

Sirpa Kähkönen lives and works in Helsinki. She constructs her works upon research, using a wide array of archives, newspaper clippings, research material, and contemporary literature. Inspired by microhistorical research tradition, Sirpa writes about how mentalities are formed, and how the immaterial inheritance runs in family lines and in societies.

Sirpa Kähkönen’s historical novel begins where source information ends. It opens the gates to experiencing the past in a sensory way; the characters live out the story as physical, sensual beings.

Sirpa Kähkönen has published twelve novels of which three have been nominated for the prestigious Finlandia prize, one for the Tieto-Finlandia prize for non-fiction and one for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. In 2022, Kähkönen received the Finnish Cultural Foundation's Grand Prize for significant achievements in culture.

Awards and nominations:

Kirjallisuuden valtionpalkinto 1992 - The State Literary Prize 1992

Savonia-palkinto 1999 - Savonia Prize 1999

Kuopion taiteilijaseuran kirjallisuuden tunnustuspalkinto 2003 - The Kuopio Artist Society's Literary Award 2003

Kiitos kirjasta -mitali 2008 - Thank You for the book medallion 2008

Savon Sanomien Savonmuan Hilima -titteli 2010

Otavan kirjasäätiön Veijo Meri -palkinto 2012 - Otava Literary Fund Veijo Meri Prize 2012

Pro-Finlandia -mitali 2015 - Pro Finlandia Medallion 2015

Suomi-palkinto 2016 - Suomi-Finland Prize 2016 from the Ministry of Education and Culture

Savonia-palkinto 2021 - Savonia Prize 2021

Suomen Kulttuurirahaston suurpalkinto - The Finnish Cultural Foundation's Grand Prize 2021

Bibliography


2021, Literary Fiction

The Green Chamber

Sirpa Kähkönen

THE RED ROOM by Kaj Korkea-aho nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2022!

We are thrilled to share the news that Kaj Korkea-aho’s THE RED ROOM has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2022!

The prestigious prize is given annually to a work of literature that meets high literary and artistic standards, written in a Nordic language. The Nordic Council Literature Prize is worth DKK 300,000 (approx. €40 300). The winner of the prize will be announced and the prize awarded on November 1st 2022 in Helsinki. Among the previous winners of the prize are for example the Nobel Laureates Tomas Tranströmer and Eyvind Johnson.

Nordic Council Literary Prize 2022 Motivation:
Korkea-aho’s text unerringly challenges many of our contemporary age’s notions of power and dominance, resoluteness and desire, without imposing pointers or ready-made answers. The novel openly and emphatetically approaches the yearning of its characters and sensitively orbits the enigmatic and contradictory expressions of desire

Request the materials for THE RED ROOM here!

“A young and slightly depressed author and musician grows tired of his poor artist’s life is enticed by the thought of good bargains and shortcuts to happiness. Imagine if someone gave him a nice apartment in exchange for a novel written by him? Our protagonist places a half-serious advert in the local paper and receives a response from a person who appears to be a combination of Hercule Poirot and Mephistopheles.

“We’ll surely come to an agreement,” says Aimo Kangas and suggests that the main character buy his incredible apartment at a price far lower than what’s reasonable. The phrase continues to ring in the narrator’s ears and throughout the story takes on an ever more complicated tone. Come to an agreement?
Alongside the novel’s narrator, the reader tries to relate to the gentle and polite Aimo. It soon becomes clear that he wants our main character to write a book about him and his longing for submission. Is it wrong to wrong to profoundly want to put your life in someone else’s hands and float in a state of powerlessness, free from all responsibility? But Aimo’s soft and sophisticated essence is combined with a manipulative vein that gives the book the air of a thriller.

The red room of the title does not refer to August Strindberg’s monumental work, but a room in an apartment, a chamber for dreams, experience and eventually even abuse. The novel’s main character is drawn to and repelled by this apartment. Together, he tries to repaint the red room white at the same time he continues to meet with Aimo, all the while inconspicuously sliding deeper and deeper into the older man’s mental world.

Kaj Korkea-aho (b. 1983) is a Finland-Swedish author, columnist and a comedian. He has previously published the novels Se till mig som liten är (2009; Look After Me, Who is Little), Gräset är mörkare på andra sidan (2012; The Grass is Darker on the Other Side), and Onda boken (2015; The Evil Book), the last of which has been translated into six languages.”

The Red Room (orig. Röda rummet)
Förlaget M, August 2021

Rights sold: 
FINLAND (in Swedish, orig.): Förlaget M
FINLAND (in Finnish): Otava
SWEDEN: Förlaget M

READING MATERIALS: 
English sample and synopsis
Swedish edition

About author


Kaj Korkea-aho

Kaj Korkea-aho (b. 1983) is a writer, columnist and a comedian. Moreover, he has a career as an actor and a host in TV and radio. In his varied acting roles, he has often taken a stand for the rights of queer people, and his texts often discuss themes such as growing up, sexual minorities, religious revival communities and literature.

Korkea-aho has published four novels: Se till mig som liten är (God Who Holds The Little Dear) (2009), Gräset är mörkare på andra sidan (The Grass Is Darker on the Other Side) (2012), Onda boken (The Evil Book) (2015) which has been already translated into six languages and sold to Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, and now - Röda rummet (The Red Room) (2021). His books have attained wide readership in Finland and have scored several prizes, such as the The Swedish Literary Society’s prize in 2010 and 2013, the Thanks for the Book Award in 2016 and the Längmans Cultural Foundation’s prize in 2018. In 2017, Korkea-aho’s YA book Virala genier (Viral Geniuses) was nominated for the prestigious Finlandia Prize for children’s and young adult’s literature.

Since 2005, together with Ted Forsström, Korkea-aho has created comedy in Swedish for radio, TV and plays, whilst also writing the YA series Zoo! (the basis for the TV series Virala genier). Together, they also run the Ted & Kaj podcast, one of the biggest podcasts in Finland.

Kaj Korkea-aho was born and raised in the small town of Esse in Ostrobothnia, but now lives in Helsinki.

Bibliography


2021, Literary Fiction

The Red Room

Kaj Korkea-aho

‘Where Did the Animals Go – Travelling Through Time With Lotta and Kasper’ wins the Tieto-Lauri prize for Children’s and YA nonfiction!

Prestigious award for the praised children’s nonfiction about environmental and ecological crises

We are very excited to announce that just this morning it was revealed that ‘WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO – Travelling Through Time With Lotta and Kasper’ written by Laura Ertimo and illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu won the Tieto-Lauri prize for the best Children’s and YA nonfiction title 2021! The original Finnish title is ’Aika matka! Lotta, Kasper ja luontokadon arvoitus’. The prestigious award is worth 15 000 €.

The jury states that: “Children today grow up among worldwide ecological crises. It presents a great challenge for nonfiction literature: how to tell children about the complex phenomena in an easily understandable way and give factually based hope that even the hardest crises can be solved. Ertimo and Ahokoivu have successfully taken on this challenge.” 

Download the materials from here

We are incredibly happy to see this stand-alone sequel to the best-selling WEIRD WEATHER continue its success after the Finlandia nomination last year!

Congrats to Laura Ertimo and Mari Ahokoivu!

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Into (orig.)

About author


Laura Ertimo

Laura Ertimo is a geographer and author. She has previously worked in publishing of geography-related non-fiction and maps, and now she writes full time, specializing in children’s non-fiction. A recurring theme in her work is the holistic worldview, the interaction between phenomena, people and nature.

In 2020, she received the prestigious Tietopöllö Award for her work as a Non-Fiction writer. Her children's title WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu, was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!

The Tietopöllö award jury: Laura Ertimo knows how to sum up difficult things appropriately in the blink of an eye. Her works can provide information and joy to a wide range of readers, and they also attract people of all ages to delve deeper into the book and consider even difficult issues together. Laura Ertimo's books open paths to important and current topics.

The Tieto-Lauri award jury: Children today grow up among worldwide ecological crises. It presents a great challenge for nonfiction literature: how to tell children about the complex phenomena in an easily understandable way and give factually based hope that even the hardest crises can be solved. Ertimo and Ahokoivu have successfully taken on this challenge.

About author


Mari Ahokoivu

Mari Ahokoivu is a Finnish illustrator and a comics artist. She’s been drawing professionally for over 10 years, mainly drawing graphic novels and comics for children, including Sanni & Joonas and Lola Olifante. Ahokoivu loves everything cute and scary. She lives and works in Copenhagen. Mari Ahokoivu has illustrated WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO which was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!

The Savonia Prize goes to Sirpa Kähkönen for her novel THE GREEN CHAMBER!

We are extremely happy to announce that literary fiction author Sirpa Kähkönen has won the Savonia Prize with her new novel THE GREEN CHAMBER!

The jury concludes:

“In the center of The Green Chamber are three 17-year-old youths coming of age in a world where one must conceal their family’s shame and carry responsibility like an adult. The work flows successfully through time and place, from the 1960s Kuopio to Leningrad, to turn of the century St. Petersburg and Terijoki with an eventual return to Kuopio. The narration of time, place and ambiance are magnificent. In The Green Chamber, Kähkönen’s already gorgeous language is at its pinnacle.”

Sirpa Kähkönen is a Finnish novelist and translator. She has published ten novels of which three have been nominated for the prestigious Finlandia prize and one for the Nordic Council prize. She has authored two books for young adults and a non-fiction bestseller ‘Vihan ja rakkauden liekit (Flames of Love and Hatred) that was nominated for the Tieto Finlandia prize.

Born in Kuopio, Kähkönen studied literature and history at the University of Helsinki before working as an editor. She embarked on her literary career in 1991 with Kuu taskussa (Moon in your Pocket) for young adults, publishing her first adult novel Mustat morsiamet (Black Brides, 1998), which earned her the Savonia award in 1999. Her previous work Graniittimies (Granite Man) is a historical novel depicting the lives of young Finns in Soviet times. Initially writing for young adults, she gained popularity in Finland with her ’Kuopio series’ of historical novels.

Mapping out that silence became Sirpa’s work. The first questions that arose were related to her closest circle: what had happened to her beloved grandparents? From her personal sphere the intellectual curiosity widened to touch upon the history of Finland and onwards to the history of Europe, and finally, doing research on the fate of an individual during times of crisis.


THE GREEN CHAMBER by Sirpa Kähkönen

What follows the crushing of dreams? The powerful story takes us from Kuopio in the 1960s to St. Petersburg in the 1910s.
Irene, a florist, has disappeared before Christmas 1964 when the season is at its peak. The owner is worried by the harsh words he has told the girl. But hyacinths need to be delivered to the clients.

Irene has dropped out of school, Jaakko is a barber assistant. There is chemistry between them. Leo, who has just left the army, is thirsting for love.
Young people are looking for their own place. Why is it easier to conquer Space than to love another person?

Download the full Finnish ms and English synopsis for THE GREEN CHAMBER by clicking here.

The English sample is available in January.

THE GREEN CHAMBER
Vihreä sali, Otava, September, 2021, 315 pp.

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava

About author


Sirpa Kähkönen

Sirpa Kähkönen was born to a family that had been harshly treated by the history of the 1900s. World War II and the Civil War preceding it, had wounded her family members and marked them with heavy silence and unspoken words.

Mapping out that silence became Sirpa’s work. The first questions that arose were related to her closest circle: what had happened to her beloved grandparents? From her personal sphere the intellectual curiosity widened to touch upon the history of Finland and then the history of Europe, and finally, researching the fate of an individual during times of crisis.

Sirpa Kähkönen lives and works in Helsinki. She constructs her works upon research, using a wide array of archives, newspaper clippings, research material, and contemporary literature. Inspired by microhistorical research tradition, Sirpa writes about how mentalities are formed, and how the immaterial inheritance runs in family lines and in societies.

Sirpa Kähkönen’s historical novel begins where source information ends. It opens the gates to experiencing the past in a sensory way; the characters live out the story as physical, sensual beings.

Sirpa Kähkönen has published twelve novels of which three have been nominated for the prestigious Finlandia prize, one for the Tieto-Finlandia prize for non-fiction and one for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. In 2022, Kähkönen received the Finnish Cultural Foundation's Grand Prize for significant achievements in culture.

Awards and nominations:

Kirjallisuuden valtionpalkinto 1992 - The State Literary Prize 1992

Savonia-palkinto 1999 - Savonia Prize 1999

Kuopion taiteilijaseuran kirjallisuuden tunnustuspalkinto 2003 - The Kuopio Artist Society's Literary Award 2003

Kiitos kirjasta -mitali 2008 - Thank You for the book medallion 2008

Savon Sanomien Savonmuan Hilima -titteli 2010

Otavan kirjasäätiön Veijo Meri -palkinto 2012 - Otava Literary Fund Veijo Meri Prize 2012

Pro-Finlandia -mitali 2015 - Pro Finlandia Medallion 2015

Suomi-palkinto 2016 - Suomi-Finland Prize 2016 from the Ministry of Education and Culture

Savonia-palkinto 2021 - Savonia Prize 2021

Suomen Kulttuurirahaston suurpalkinto - The Finnish Cultural Foundation's Grand Prize 2021

Bibliography


2021, Literary Fiction

The Green Chamber

Sirpa Kähkönen

New accolades for Elina Backman and her thriller series!

We are super excited to see that thrillerist Elina Backman is a Finnish Literary Export Award 2021 (Tulenkantaja Prize aka the Torch-Bearer Prize) nominee with her chilling second cosy crime novel STILL WATERS RUN DEEP! The award will be presented at the Tampere Book Fair on December 4th. The winner will receive a prize of 5000 Euros and will be part of an export program provided by the Finnish literature export centre FILI.
Elina Backman has also visited Sweden in November to celebrate her nomination for Best translated novel of the year 2021 with her first novel ALL THE KING’S MEN. The competition is a yearly feat organized by Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy (Svenska Deckarakademin).

 

 

The picture here shows the diploma from Sweden in which Svenska Deckarakademin confirms that “När kungen dör is one of the five BEST TRANSLATED CRIME NOVELS of 2021”.

 

ALL THE KING’S MEN

Saana has been fired from her job as a click-bait journalist, so she decides to spend a summer with her aunt in a small-town Hartola. It sounds like a perfect opportunity to take it easy and recover. But when Saana begins to dig into a case of a teenage girl who died 30 years earlier, the peace of the small town is shaken.

Meanwhile in Helsinki a fire-marked body is found at Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, and crime investigator Jan Leino and his team have a new case in their hands. However, the investigation isn’t going anywhere, and Jan fears that the murder at King’s Gate a is just the beginning…

Saana and Jan continue working on their own cases until their paths cross – for more than one reason.

STILL WATERS RUN DEEP

Is evil lurking beneath the calm waters? Still Waters Run Deep is an awaited sequel to the bestselling All The Kings Men!

Three young men are making a documentary film about a mystical hermit, living in the Isle of Sheep in Helsinki. First one of them disappears, then another one. When one of them is found dead in the nearby nature reserve, the police becmes involved.

Saana Havas, recovering from burnout, hears that her  colleague’s younger brother has gone missing and decides to set up a true crime podcast to help with the search. Meanwhile, police commissioner Jan Leino and his team are investigating the disappearance and possible murder of the documentary makers.

When young men disappear and die, it’s ofter regarded just an accident. But could it be that someone is actually hunting for them?

 

ALL THE KING’S MEN
Kun kuningas kuolee, 2020
Otava, 495 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ALBANIA: Dritan
CZECH REPUBLIC: Grada
ESTONIA: Varrak Publishers
GERMANY: Piper
HUNGARY: Maxim
ITALY: Newton Compton
LITHUANIA: BALTO
NETHERLANDS: Cargo
NORWAY: Cappelen Damm
POLAND: Czarna Owca
ROMANIA: Lebada Neagra
RUSSIA: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber
SLOVAKIA: Arkus Vydavatelstvo
SWEDEN: Bokfabriken
TV: Aurora Studios

STILL WATERS RUN DEEP
Kun jäljet katoavat, 2021, Otava, 450 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Varrak Publishers
GERMANY: Piper
HUNGARY: Maxim
NETHERLANDS: Cargo
NORWAY: Cappelen Damm AS
POLAND: Czarna Owca
RUSSIA: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber
SWEDEN: Bokfabriken

About author


Elina Backman

Elina Backman is an author and a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki. Elina loves books (all sorts), traveling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club. She is a creative soul with a commercial mind, and her goal is to find readers globally.

Her debut novel All the King's Men was published in 2020 and immediately gained an enormous amount of attention from the Finnish media, including a praising review by the biggest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. The Havas series is now a best-selling series in Finland and an international TV series is in development. Elina's books have sold over 70 000 copies in Finland.

Together with Heidi Holmavuo, Elina has also narrated the true crime podcast Ratkaisematon (Unsolved), which turned into a full-length audio book as the two crime writers started investigating the murder of a young girl in 1967. They were able to uncover new evidence and their research led the police to reopen the investigation. This story is narrated in the book Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo.

Bibliography


2022, Crime & Suspense

Before the Polar Night Falls

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo

Elina Backman


2021, Crime & Suspense

Still Waters Run Deep

Elina Backman


2020, Crime & Suspense

All the King's Men

Elina Backman

‘Where Did the Animals Go – Travelling Through Time With Lotta and Kasper’ nominated for Finlandia Prize for Children’s and Youth Literature

‘Where Did the Animals Go – Travelling Through Time With Lotta and Kasper’ nominated for the prestigious Finlandia Prize for Children’s and Youth Literature

We are very excited about the news from this morning! ‘Where Did the Animals Go – Travelling Through Time With Lotta and Kasper’ written by Laura Ertimo and illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu has been nominated for the Finlandia Prize in Children and Youth Literature. The original Finnish title is ’Aika matka! Lotta, Kasper ja luontokadon arvoitus’.

The jury states that: “The journey into the enigma of the loss of biodiversity flows smoothly through the playful arrangement of imagery and writing. The text meanders from the smallest small to the greatest of matters, satisfying the thirst for knowledge of all age groups. The expressive illustration walks alongside the text, at times excitedly getting carried away into an independent cartoon adventure where future, present and history unite. The entity is a vivacious cornucopia that induces the reader to do research, to come back to the book and to take effect.”

Download materials from here

WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO – TRAVELLING THROUGH TIME WITH LOTTA AND KASPER
by Laura Ertimo and illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu

Aika matka! Lotta, Kasper ja luontokadon arvoitus
Into, 2021, pp. 48

 

Rights sold
FINLAND: Into (orig.)

About author


Laura Ertimo

Laura Ertimo is a geographer and author. She has previously worked in publishing of geography-related non-fiction and maps, and now she writes full time, specializing in children’s non-fiction. A recurring theme in her work is the holistic worldview, the interaction between phenomena, people and nature.

In 2020, she received the prestigious Tietopöllö Award for her work as a Non-Fiction writer. Her children's title WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu, was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!

The Tietopöllö award jury: Laura Ertimo knows how to sum up difficult things appropriately in the blink of an eye. Her works can provide information and joy to a wide range of readers, and they also attract people of all ages to delve deeper into the book and consider even difficult issues together. Laura Ertimo's books open paths to important and current topics.

The Tieto-Lauri award jury: Children today grow up among worldwide ecological crises. It presents a great challenge for nonfiction literature: how to tell children about the complex phenomena in an easily understandable way and give factually based hope that even the hardest crises can be solved. Ertimo and Ahokoivu have successfully taken on this challenge.

About author


Mari Ahokoivu

Mari Ahokoivu is a Finnish illustrator and a comics artist. She’s been drawing professionally for over 10 years, mainly drawing graphic novels and comics for children, including Sanni & Joonas and Lola Olifante. Ahokoivu loves everything cute and scary. She lives and works in Copenhagen. Mari Ahokoivu has illustrated WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO which was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!

Elina Backman’s debut crime novel ALL THE KING’S MEN nominated by the Swedish Crime Writer’s Academy as the BEST TRANSLATED CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR

Together with the excellent work of Backman’s Swedish publisher we are proud to share this news that her 1st book in the Havas series ‘All the King’s Men’, that was published in August in Sweden, has been nominated by the Swedish Crime Writer’s Academy as the Best Translated Crime Novel 2021. ‘Kun kuningas kuolee’ bears the title ‘När kungen dör’ in Swedish and goes by the international name ‘All the King’s Men’.

Among the ca. 230 crime novels that were registered for the Svenska Deckarakademin – The Swedish Academy for Crime Writers – Award (also known as The Martin Beck Award) included many golden nuggets. The nominated titles are:

Elina Backman: (Bokfabriken) När kungen dör
Originaltitel: Kun kuningas kuolee. Översättning: Marjut Hökfelt.

Blunt, Giles: Arktiska nätter (Hoi förlag)
Originaltitel: Until the Night. Översättning: Sandra Gustafsson & Lars Rambe.
Hancock, Anne Mette: Äppelmannen (Louise Bäckelin förlag)
Originaltitel: Mercedes-snittet. Översättning: Helena Stedman.
Indriðason, Arnaldur: Flickan vid bron (Norstedts)
Originaltitel: Stúlkan hjá brúnni. Översättning: Ingela Jansson.
Musso, Guillaume: Återträffen (Nona)
Originaltitel: La jeune fille et la nuit. Översättning: Christina Norrman.

The authors come from five different countries. Finnish Elina Backman is nominated with her debut crime novel ‘Kun kuningas kuolee’, the international title being ALL THE KING’S MEN. The other authors have been published in Swedish previously.

All winners are announced at the Svenska Deckareakademins and Svensk Deckarbibliotekets (Swedish Crime Fiction Library) Festival during 19th to 20th of November.

Huge congratulations Elina Backman for this important nomination!
We also want to congratulate and thank translator Marjut Hökfelt for her fantastic work!

  • Rights sold to 15 countries and counting
  • Immediate bestseller in Finland! Amazing reviews! 
  • International TV series in development!
  • Winner of the Storytel Audio book Award 2020 for the Best Crime Novel
  • Winner of Elisa Kirja book Award, Best Newcomer 2020

ALL THE KING’S MEN (book 1)
by Elina Backman

Saana has been fired from her job as a click-bait journalist, so she decides to spend a summer with her aunt in a small-town Hartola. It sounds like a perfect opportunity to take it easy and recover. But when Saana begins to dig into a case of a teenage girl who died 30 years earlier, the peace of the small town is shaken.Meanwhile in Helsinki a fire-marked body is found at Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, and crime investigator Jan Leino and his team have a new case in their hands. However, the investigation isn’t going anywhere, and Jan fears that the murder at King’s Gate a is just the beginning…Saana and Jan continue working on their own cases until their paths cross – for more than one reason.

STILL WATERS RUN DEEP (book 2)
by Elina Backman

Is evil lurking beneath the calm waters? The Isle of Sheep is an awaited sequel to the bestselling All the Kings Men!

Three young men are making a documentary film about a mystical hermit, living in the Isle of Sheep in Helsinki. First one of them disappears, then another one. When one of them is found dead in the nearby nature reserve, the police becmes involved.

Saana Havas, recovering from burnout, hears that her  colleague’s younger brother has gone missing and decides to set up a true crime podcast to help with the search. Meanwhile, police commissioner Jan Leino and his team are investigating the disappearance and possible murder of the documentary makers.

When young men disappear and die, it’s ofter regarded just an accident. But could it be that someone is actually hunting.

BEFORE THE POLAR NIGHT FALLS (book 3, to be published in August, 2022) by Elina Backman

In the spellbinding vistas of the Finnish Lapland, polar nights, nature, relationships, murder mystery, Saana and her past meet.
Publication date in August 2022.

Download the English synopses for both titles and the 200pp. English sample for the first book ALL THE KING’S MEN here.

PRAISE:
“Backman keeps the multiple storylines effortlessly together and builds an entertaining summery detective story. – –All The King’s Men (A.K.A ‘When the King Dies’) is the beginning of a new series, and it is a flowy, exciting and skillfully written novel that leaves you wanting for more. – Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Finland

All the King’s Men is skillfully told through many different characters, and it progresses on two time levels. Backman has created a a wonderfully atmospheric story taking place in summery Finland,  and especially the town of Hartola is depicted well. An ambitious novel for a debut author, but Backman succeeds effortlessly. Many elements of a classic mystery novel  build up to an entity that rewards its readers. The influenced of domestic and international authors is visible, but it only adds the great reading experience.” -The Jury of the Storytel Audio Book Award for the Best Crime Novel of 2020

“ALL THE KING’S MEN will capture your imagination and won’t let go until the end. The different storylines and characters are masterfully woven into one spine-chilling ending. We are very excited to introduce Elina Backman and her beautiful writing to the Hungarian audience, and believe that her popularity will equal our love of her book! “– Reka Kresak, Editor, Maxim Könyvkiado, Hungary

“A Star is Born.” – Iltalehti, Finland

ALL THE KING’S MEN
(aka When the King Dies)
Kun kuningas kuolee
by Elina Backman
Otava, 2020, 495 pp.

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ALBANIA: Dritan
CZECH REPUBLIC: Grada
ESTONIA: Varrak
GERMANY: Piper
ITALY: Newton Compton
LITHUANIA: BALTO
NETHERLANDS: Cargo
NORWAY: Cappelen Damm
POLAND: Czarna Owca
RUSSIA: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber
SLOVAKIA: Arkus Vydavatelstvo
SWEDEN: Bokfabriken

TV: Aurora Studios

STILL WATERS RUN DEEP
(aka The Isle of Sheep)
Kun jäljet katoavat
by Elina Backman
Otava, May 2021, 450 pp

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Varrak Publishers
GERMANY: Piper
HUNGARY: Maxim
NETHERLANDS: Cargo
NORWAY: Cappelen Damm AS
POLAND: Czarna Owca
RUSSIA: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber
SWEDEN: Bokfabriken