Hungarian rights sold for RASPBERRY BOAT REFUGEE by Miika Nousiainen!

We are also glad to report that the Hungarian rights to RASPBERRY BOAT REFUGEE, the debut novel by Miika Nousiainen, have been acquired by Polar! The deal was closed by Sten-Erik Tammemäe.

Originally published in 2007, Nousiainen’s humorous description of one Finn’s yearning to become a Swede at any cost has become one of the classics of Finnish humor novels. A film based on the novel and co-produced by Finnish and Swedish companies was released in 2014.

After RASPBERRY BOAT REFUGEE, Nousiainen has published five more novels and become a popular panellist in Finnish comedy panel shows. His latest novel PUSH, PACE, POSITION, PRAY, detailing his journey to becoming a runner, was published last October and has already been sold to Czechia.

We are also happy to remind you that the latest FILI translation grant application round is ongoing and will last until February 1st!
You can find more information here: Translation and printing grants for publishers outside Finland – FILI

Now is the perfect time to acquire the rights for this or any of the other amazing titles on our list!

Download materials for RASPBERRY BOAT REFUGEE here!

Raspberry Boat Refugee

Miika Nousiainen

An extremely funny debut novel that tenderly depicts the western neighbours of Finland – so close, yet so far. 

Mikko Virtanen has a problem. He does not want to be a Finnish man, the grumpy epitome of anxiety and low self-esteem. He has decided to become Swedish instead, by any means necessary.

The road to Swedishness is a long one, and the price to pay high. But what wouldn’t you do for a chance to live as a member of the most democratic society of the world, in the ‘folkhemmet’ of ABBA, mamma’s meat balls and social democracy?

Mikko Virtanen becomes Mikael Andersson – the empathic, loving and dialogical father of two from Gothenburg, but when his lifetime wish is fulfilled, everything goes haywire.

RASPBERRY BOAT REFUGEE
VADELMAVENEPAKOLAINEN
Otava, 2007, 276 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis
German edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
GERMANY: Nagel & Kimche
HUNGARY: Polar Egyesület
SWEDEN: Brombergs

About author


Miika Nousiainen

Miika Nousiainen (b. 1973 in Säynätsalo) has worked as a news and current affairs journalist for MTV3's news department. In addition, he has written for several popular TV-shows.

Nousiainen’s debut novel, Raspberry Boat Refugee (2007), tells the story of Mikko Virtanen, a man who desperately wants to become Swedish at any cost. In this tragicomic work, Nousiainen makes sharp observations about our western neighbor and illustrates that we’re all self-proclaimed experts on Sweden.

Roots (2016) follows the search for a missing father, taking readers across continents from Lieksa, Finland, to Australia. The book was also well-received internationally.

In Facelift (2020), Nousiainen gently explores themes of family and the longing for connection.

In addition he has written The Danger of the Long Distance Runner (2009) and Forrest Giant (2011). 

Nousiainen's novels have been adapted countless times and translated into languages such as Swedish, German, Dutch, Italian, and Estonian.

Miika Nousiainen have been awarded with: Laila Hirvisaari Foundation Grant (2008), Kalevi Jäntti Prize (2009) and Honorable Mention in the Sports Museum Foundation’s Sports Book of the Year Competition (2010)

Bibliography


2024, Commercial/Upmarket, Humor

Push, Pace, Position, Pray

Miika Nousiainen


2020, Commercial/Upmarket, Humor

Facelift

Miika Nousiainen


2016, Humor

Roots

Miika Nousiainen


2007, Humor

Raspberry Boat Refugee

Miika Nousiainen

TROLL by Johanna Sinisalo is back – and also with film news!

TROLL. A LOVE STORY by Johanna Sinisalo, winner of the prestigious Finlandia Prize in 2000 and sold in 19 languages, is set to relaunch today in the UK with publisher Pushkin Press! Reviews are already in with high praise for TROLL, calling it fresh and unique even in 2024. Rights are now available in many territories.

Click here to download English reading materials for TROLL: A LOVE STORY!

Here is some featured praise:

Troll is a thrilling descent into the deep dark Finnish forest.” — Emily Lawford, The Times

”Now smartly retitled as Troll: A Love Story, and with only the odd reference to Windows 98 and CD-Roms to show its age, Finnish novelist Johanna Sinisalo’s debut feels fresh and bright. It has a playfulness and charm that you can’t fake, and that’s worth celebrating.” — John Self, The Guardian

”Originally published in Finland in 2001, Sinisalo’s debut novel won the prestigious Finlandia Award. With its focus on queer desire and ‘beasts’ of all kinds, this updated translation – which also nods to climate change and society’s othering of what it doesn’t know or understand – reads as if it could have been written yesterday. Clever, funny, dark and tender – it’s the love story you never knew you needed.” — EDITOR’S PICK, Catherine Jarvie, Marie Claire

Adding to the excitement, Swedish writer/director Måns Mårlind (The Bridge) and Tuppence Middleton (Downton Abbey) are adapting TROLL by Johanna Sinisalo, and are currently developing it for the screen and Middleton is set to direct. More updates soon! 

Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi, Tammi 2000, 268 pp

Reading Material:
English edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
DENMARK: Jensen & Dalgaard
FRANCE: Actes Sud
GERMANY: Tropen (Klett-Cotta)
UK: Pushkin Press
USA: Grove Atlantic

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.

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 and Film News for Tommi Kinnunen!

Tommi Kinnunen’s keeps getting accolades! His latest novel, PINE BARK, won the Readers’ Favorite Finlandia Award from the Finnish Book Foundation! The Readers’ Favorite is part of the overall prestigious Finlandia Prize.

Here is the Finnish Book Foundation’s description and praise:

The work gives a voice to the forgotten victims of war, women and children, alongside the official war stories. It describes the impact of traumatic experiences on the human being in a concise way: what cannot be talked about cannot be released; one must grow a shelter, which also becomes a prison. Piece by piece, the work opens up the multiple dimensions of the tragedy that defines the lives of the characters and the multiple dimensions of the name motif.

Click here to download all reading materials for PINE BARK!

 

In addition, we have some very exciting film news for Tommi Kinnunen! His acclaimed novel DARK MOONS has been optioned for a film adaptation by Solar Films Inc. Oy! Having collaborated Solar Films  before, we are excited to put a Kinnunen literary classic in their capable hands. We can’t wait to see the end result on the silver screen!

About DARK MOONS:

A crystal-clear and shining novel about a woman who thought she knew who she was

In 1947, Elna Suorajärvi, a teacher in her sixties, is given a teaching post by the remote Niemi school close to the Finnish-Soviet border. Nothing is as it should be: the school building turns out to be a barracks abandoned by the Germans, and an illness ravages her body. Of her sister Salli, Elna only has memories of bitter arguments and blows to her temple. Nevertheless, Elna gets on with it because she knows how to teach, even though some people find her difficult. Even then, the lonely winter weighs heavily on her mind and brings forth things that she’d rather not think about.

Click here to download all reading materials for DARK MOONS!

PINE BARK
Publication Info:
Kaarna, WSOY 2024, 205pp

Rights Sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
ESTONIA: Varrak
JAPAN: Shinchosha

Reading Materials:
English sample, & synopsis, German sample, Finnish edition

DARK MOONS
Publication Info:
Pimeät kuut, WSOY 2022, 287 pp

Rights Sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
ESTONIA: Varrak
FILM: Solar Films Inc. Oy

Reading Materials:
English sample and synopsis

About author


Tommi Kinnunen

Tommi Kinnunen (1973) was born in Kuusamo in northeastern Finland and currently lives in Turku, where he works as a teacher of Finnish language and literature. His works include novels, opera librettos, short stories, and a non-fiction title on the changes taking place in the Finnish school system.

Kinnunen’s novels give a voice to those whose stories have been kept untold. He made a stellar debut with Where Four Roads Meet (orig. Neljäntienristeys) which was nominated for the Finlandia Prize and won the Young Aleksis Prize in 2015. The following novels The Light Behind the Eyes (orig. Lopotti), The Glass River (orig. Pintti), and Defiance (orig. Ei kertonut katuvansa) have been both critical and commercial successes. His books have been translated into 20 languages.

During his spare time, Kinnunen likes to refurbish old buildings.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Pine Bark

Tommi Kinnunen


2022, Literary Fiction

Dark Moons

Tommi Kinnunen


2020, Literary Fiction

Defiance

Tommi Kinnunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Glass River

Tommi Kinnunen


2016, Literary Fiction

The Light Behind the Eyes

Tommi Kinnunen


2014, Literary Fiction

Where Four Roads Meet

Tommi Kinnunen

TREATMENT by Hanna-Riikka Kuisma nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize!

We are very thrilled to announce that TREATMENT, by acclaimed and awarded Hanna-Riikka Kuisma, has been nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize in Fiction!

Hanna-Riikka Kuisma’s is known for exploring the darkness of the human mind and our contemporary society. She has published seven novels and a collection of short stories, which have been received with a critical acclaim. Her novel HIGH-RISE was nominated for the Finlandia Prize for Fiction in 2019, and she has received both the Satakunta Arts Council’s Art Prize and the Nortamo Prize for Literature. Her latest work TREATMENT has sold 4,000 copies and received critical success.

The jury praised the novel:

This work impressively depicts the protagonist’s internal confusion over the span of a few days. The view shifts from the present to the past, playing with the depiction of time to present a wide range of what kind of human trajectories could be hidden behind statistics. The gallery of characters is both recognisable and new in its humanity. The work’s relationship to its subject is analytical and empathetic.

Click here to download all materials for TREATMENT

Finlandia Prize is the most prestigious literary award in Finland, worth 30 000 euros. The winner will be chosen by Golden Globe-nominated actress Alma Pöysti, star of Aki Kaurismäki’s Cannes-winning film Fallen Leaves. The announcement will take place on November 27.

TREATMENT

Hanna-Riikka Kuisma

A man’s life is shaken up when he hears news of his little sister, who disappeared decades ago. Will painful memories drag him back to the ruthless drug world of an industrial city, or will he manage to hold on to the new life he has worked so hard to build?

The novel, which takes place in two time frames, is an unstoppably realistic deep dive into the world of addiction, the shadows of our society and the stages of drug policy from the 1990s to the present day.

Publication Info:
Korvaushoito
Like, 2024, 348 pp.

Reading materials:
English synopsis
Finnish edition

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Like (orig.)

About author


Hanna-Riikka Kuisma

Hanna-Riikka Kuisma (b. 1978) is a Pori-based writer, art critic and columnist. Kuisma is known for exploring the darkness of the human mind and our contemporary society. She has published seven novels and a collection of short stories. Her latest novel TREATMENT was nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize in Fiction.

Kuisma's fifth novel, HIGH RISE, was nominated for the Finlandia Prize for Fiction in 2019, and in the same year she was awarded the Satakunta Arts Council's Art Prize. In 2021, she was awarded the Nortamo Prize for Literature.

Kuisma's debut collection of short stories, Elinkautinen, was published in 2005. Since then, she has published the novels Snake's Nest, Heart Shadow, White Light, Fifth Season, Apartment House, Guilty and Reparative Care. The Fifth Season was nominated for the Tiiliskivi Literary Prize.

The blackly intense atmosphere and surgical precision of Kuisma's works are counterbalanced by colourful visuals and poetic language. Her literary contemporaries include Juha Seppälä, Asko Sahlberg and Hanna Marjut Marttila.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Treatment

Hanna-Riikka Kuisma


2019, Literary Fiction

High-Rise

Hanna-Riikka Kuisma

PINE BARK by Tommi Kinnunen nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize!

We are very thrilled to announce that PINE BARK, the latest title by acclaimed, award-winning author Tommi Kinnunen, has been nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize in Fiction!

Kinnunen’s bestselling novel, which has already sold over 30,000 copies, marks his sixth book and his fourth nomination for Finland’s most prestigious literary award. His works have been translated into 20 languages. and PINE BARK has been acquired by Varrak in Estonia and Shinchosha in Japan.

The jury praised the novel:

The book gives a voice to the forgotten victims of war, women and children, bypassing official war narratives. It describes, in a compact and carefully crafted manner, the impact of traumatic experiences on a person: what cannot be spoken of cannot be escaped; one must build a shield that also becomes a prison. Piece by piece, the work tensely unveils the tragedy that defines the characters’ lives and explores the multifaceted dimensions of the title motif.

Click here to download all materials for PINE BARK.

Finlandia Prize is the most prestigious literary award in Finland, worth 30 000 euros. The winner will be chosen by Golden Globe-nominated actress Alma Pöysti, star of Aki Kaurismäki’s Cannes-winning film Fallen Leaves. The announcement will take place on November 27.

PINE BARK

Tommi Kinnunen

A densely atmospheric and arrestingly written novel about women’s fates in times of war, the difficulty of giving up, and how the proximity of death can change a person

A person cannot return to being who they once were without knowing who they have been.

In 2001, three siblings – Martti and twin sisters Eeva and Marja – meet in a small village in Northern Finland. Their mother Laina, an old woman who has been through the Second World War, is dying and the children have gathered to arrange the funeral. Even though the siblings have always been on good terms, Martti has always felt aloof, the odd man out. All of them reminisce about their childhood, but Martti remembers things slightly differently than the sisters.

As the novel progresses, the readers are transported through the decades and through Laina’s story, culminating in the Soviet partisan attack during the summer of 1944 that irrevocably changed Laina’s life. She has refused to recall the events and, at the same time, has denied her children the opportunity of remembering and recovering. “One can only talk about men’s war, as the women’s war is soundless and forbidden.”

As his mother’s death grows nearer, Martti reaches out to connect with his siblings and attempts to fill in the gaps in the story, but is it already too late?

Publication Info:
Kaarna
WSOY, April 2024, 204 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
ESTONIA: Varrak
JAPAN: Shinchosha

Reading materials:
English sample and synopsis
German sample
Finnish edition

About author


Tommi Kinnunen

Tommi Kinnunen (1973) was born in Kuusamo in northeastern Finland and currently lives in Turku, where he works as a teacher of Finnish language and literature. His works include novels, opera librettos, short stories, and a non-fiction title on the changes taking place in the Finnish school system.

Kinnunen’s novels give a voice to those whose stories have been kept untold. He made a stellar debut with Where Four Roads Meet (orig. Neljäntienristeys) which was nominated for the Finlandia Prize and won the Young Aleksis Prize in 2015. The following novels The Light Behind the Eyes (orig. Lopotti), The Glass River (orig. Pintti), and Defiance (orig. Ei kertonut katuvansa) have been both critical and commercial successes. His books have been translated into 20 languages.

During his spare time, Kinnunen likes to refurbish old buildings.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Pine Bark

Tommi Kinnunen


2022, Literary Fiction

Dark Moons

Tommi Kinnunen


2020, Literary Fiction

Defiance

Tommi Kinnunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Glass River

Tommi Kinnunen


2016, Literary Fiction

The Light Behind the Eyes

Tommi Kinnunen


2014, Literary Fiction

Where Four Roads Meet

Tommi Kinnunen

HOW WE MET YOUR MOTHER by Kaj Korkea-aho nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize in Fiction!

We are very thrilled to announce that HOW WE MET YOUR MOTHER, an autobiographical novel by Kaj Korkea-aho, has been nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize in Fiction!

Kaj Korkea-aho is one of the most celebrated modern Finland-Swedish authors. His works have received both critical and commercial success and numerous accolades, including the Swedish Literature Society Prize, the Thank You for the Book Award, and nominations for the Nordic Council Literature Prize and the Finlandia Prize for children’s and YA literature. Kaj Korkea-aho’s works have been translated into 7 languages.

The jury praised the novel:

In this autofictional work, which challenges genre boundaries, the longing to become a parent is explored with raw honesty and an unforced style. The narrator contemplates what the moral lesson of the story could be: is it a tale of failure, or does hope find a happy ending? This creates a tension that is only released in the final lines. For the reader, the resolution of the protagonists’ journey offers a profound emotional experience, built upon strong empathy.

Click here to download all materials for HOW WE MET YOUR MOTHER

Finlandia Prize is the most prestigious literary award in Finland, worth 30 000 euros. The winner will be chosen by Golden Globe-nominated actress Alma Pöysti, star of Aki Kaurismäki’s Cannes-winning film Fallen Leaves. The announcement will take place on November 27.

HOW WE MET YOUR MOTHER

Kaj Korkea-aho

An autobiographical story about a gay couple’s journey to co-parenting

After eight years together, Kaj and Niko, living in Helsinki, decide to try to become parents. They start dating women, but the search for a co-parent seems impossible at first. What has to be right so that one could dare trust a complete stranger? Whose sperm cells should be used? How do you plan the future of a family that is outside the norms, in a society that is still coded heterosexually?

Kaj Korkea-aho’s autobiographical text about how three parents had a child is irresistibly touching, painful, and humorous. It bears traces of all forms of expression mastered by Korkea-aho – novel, podcast, blog, and drama – and can also be used as a kind of handbook for others in the same life situation. The book grabs the reader like a baby with its little hand and doesn’t let go until the book has been finished and the wonder of life has become a fact.

Publication Info:
Hur man möter en mamma
Förlaget, 2024, 240 pp.

Reading materials:
English sample and synopsis
Swedish edition (orig.)

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Förlaget (orig. Finland-Swedish)
FINLAND: Otava (Finnish)

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


2024, Literary Fiction

How We Met Your Mother

Kaj Korkea-aho


2021, Literary Fiction

The Red Room

Kaj Korkea-aho

Sara Al Husaini’s powerful and bestselling debut wins the Young Aleksis Award

Sara Al Husaini’s powerful debut, A Disobedient Girl, has won the Young Aleksis Award, an honor given to the best Finnish book published in the past year. Following the footsteps of last year’s winner, our very own Maria Turtschaninoff with her international bestseller Inherited Land, this year’s prize celebrates al Husaini’s captivating storytelling.

The award jury, comprising high school students, praised the novel for its bold societal stance and relatable themes.:

The winning work, Disobedient Girl, is both important and unique in its subject matter. The plot addresses a woman’s journey to independence and the importance of having a voice in a culture where this is not a given. The book takes a strong societal stance, serves as peer support, and changes the world.

The work is written with honesty and directness. The descriptions in the book are easily relatable. The fact that the book is based on reality is thought-provoking, as in today’s Western societies, freedoms are often taken for granted. There are still countries where women are under the control of men. These cultural differences are naturally woven into the story.
The Young Aleksis Award Jury

Based on the author’s own experiences, A Disobedient Girl takes a very close and visceral look at the normalized misogyny and oppression of women in conservative Islamic tradition and deals with themes such as liberty, womanhood, and self-determination. It also highlights how such traumas can be inherited through the generations and how these grievances can only be transcended with dialogue and the will to change.

Originally published June 2023, A Disobedient Girl was one of the most successful debut titles of 2023 in Finland. It has sold over 35,000 copies, it was nominated for the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize of 2023 and the Savonia Prize of 2023, and it won the BookBeat Newcomer of the Year Award of 2023!

Click here to download all English reading materials for the ravishing and powerful debut.

A Disobedient Girl shows what kind of acts are needed to stop the circle of evil. What kind of books are needed to change the world. And Sara Al Husaini is a first-class example of an author capable of this.
– Savon Sanomat newspaper

Sara Al Husaini’s novel A Disobedient Girl should be on the reading list of as many people as possible. It is an eye-opening and hopefully heart-opening story – or rather a document of sorts – about how the right to, among others, one’s own body is not everyone’s privilege.
 Kaisa Koski, Hämeen Sanomat newspaper

 

A DISOBEDIENT GIRL

Sara Al Husaini

A mother is escorting her daughter, trembling with fear, to the wedding suite door. This is what she’s been raised for ever since she was little, kept in wrapping paper like a precious sweet. This is the reason why she was brought back from Finland to Iraq.

A Disobedient Girl is an astonishingly honest and authentic story about the history of subjugating and silencing women, about abandoning one’s faith, honor violence, forced marriage, Islamic morality, the price of freedom, and the desperate desire for the right to self-determination.

About author


Sara Al Husaini

Sara Al Husaini (1992) is a human rights activist, feminist, and linguist from Helsinki. She was born in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia and moved to Finland as a child. She has studied English philology at the University of Helsinki and has worked, among others, as an intern at the European Parliament. She is currently a board member in Amnesty Finland and member of the steering group for UN Women Finland. In 2021, Al Husaini was chosen as the Refugee Woman of the Year by the Finnish Refugee Council.

Her debut novel A Disobedient Girl (orig. Huono tyttö) is a deeply personal story of experiences for which there haven’t been words before. Al Husaini's writing delves into the human psyche, weaving a tale that unravels the threads of cultural expectations and the resilience of those who defy them. Through her storytelling, Al Husaini seeks to provoke thought, challenge stereotypes, and ignite conversations that lead to meaningful societal shifts.

Bibliography


2023, Literary Fiction

A Disobedient Girl

Sara Al Husaini

PINE BARK by Tommi Kinnunen nominated for Botnia Literature Prize!

More award news: Tommi Kinnunen’s PINE BARK has been nominated for the Botnia Literature Prize! The Botnia is worth 15,000 EUR and goes to one selected literary novel published by a commercial publisher, with the writer coming from North Ostrobothnia. PINE BARK, published by one of the biggest houses in Finland, certainly qualifies.

PINE BARK was nominated from a record number of 99 other works and will compete with 7 others. This year the biggest factor for nomination was, in the jury’s words, strong narrative “that moved and carried me away” and that this is “a year of writing about wounds”. Like all of Tommi Kinnunen’s work, PINE BARK gives a voice to women and others who have historically suffered in silence.

Praise for PINE BARK on Mun Oulu media’s website:

Tommi Kinnunen’s characteristic sensory descriptions and polished expression form a lifelike and touching whole that does not let the reader go easy. PINE BARK kicks the legs out from under you and knocks the wind from your lungs.”

The winner will be chosen on November 9th 2024 – lots of onnea to Tommi Kinnunen!

Click here to download all materials for PINE BARK.

About PINE BARK:

A person cannot return to being who they once were without knowing who they have been.

In 2001, three siblings – Martti and twin sisters Eeva and Marja – meet in a small village in Northern Finland. Their mother Laina, an old woman who has been through the Second World War, is dying and the children have gathered to arrange the funeral. Even though the siblings have always been on good terms, Martti has always felt aloof, the odd man out. All of them reminisce about their childhood, but Martti remembers things slightly differently than the sisters.

As the novel progresses, the readers are transported through the decades and through Laina’s story, culminating in the Soviet partisan attack during the summer of 1944 that irrevocably changed Laina’s life. She has refused to recall the events and, at the same time, has denied her children the opportunity of remembering and recovering. “One can only talk about men’s war, as the women’s war is soundless and forbidden.”

As his mother’s death grows nearer, Martti reaches out to connect with his siblings and attempts to fill in the gaps in the story, but is it already too late?

Kaarna
WSOY, April 2024, 204 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
ESTONIA: Varrak
JAPAN: Shinchosha

Reading materials:
English sample and synopsis
German sample
Finnish edition

About author


Tommi Kinnunen

Tommi Kinnunen (1973) was born in Kuusamo in northeastern Finland and currently lives in Turku, where he works as a teacher of Finnish language and literature. His works include novels, opera librettos, short stories, and a non-fiction title on the changes taking place in the Finnish school system.

Kinnunen’s novels give a voice to those whose stories have been kept untold. He made a stellar debut with Where Four Roads Meet (orig. Neljäntienristeys) which was nominated for the Finlandia Prize and won the Young Aleksis Prize in 2015. The following novels The Light Behind the Eyes (orig. Lopotti), The Glass River (orig. Pintti), and Defiance (orig. Ei kertonut katuvansa) have been both critical and commercial successes. His books have been translated into 20 languages.

During his spare time, Kinnunen likes to refurbish old buildings.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Pine Bark

Tommi Kinnunen


2022, Literary Fiction

Dark Moons

Tommi Kinnunen


2020, Literary Fiction

Defiance

Tommi Kinnunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Glass River

Tommi Kinnunen


2016, Literary Fiction

The Light Behind the Eyes

Tommi Kinnunen


2014, Literary Fiction

Where Four Roads Meet

Tommi Kinnunen

Fantastic new praise for MILO, WOLF CUB, and OUR LAST GAME!

To round off the week, we have some fantastic praise for our hot titles: MILO by NY Times bestseller Max Seeck, our wilderness noir WOLF CUB by award-winning author Johanna Holmström, and OUR LAST GAME by Finland’s literary favorite Riikka Pulkkinen!

MILO

“I found Seeck’s choice to deal with infertility from a male perspective particularly commendable. In the book, a child is precisely Milo’s dream, and when that dream doesn’t come true, it leads to many unexpected consequences.”

– Amman lukuhetki blog

*****

“The most important thing for a detective story is, of course, a well-rolling, addictive plot that reveals just the right amount: not too much, not too little. (-) As before, Seeck draws both the characters and the milieu with such force that everything can be seen as a film before your eyes. Not surprisingly, a TV series is already in the pipeline.”

– Amman lukuhetki blog

You can download materials for MILO here!

WOLF CUB

“We end up in the middle of the primeval forest, the wilderness. The best writers create their own genre. Like Johanna Holmström. Understanding half of what Johanna Holmström means and wants is enough to think that “Vargens unge” is a really good novel, even the best Swedish-language detective, crime, police and suspense novel of the year. A crime novel and novel critical of civilization.

– Bengt Eriksson, Opulens magazine, Sweden

*****

“Johanna Holmström succeeds in telling a strong story about lost and lonely people, about children who are both loved and hurt, about living both inside and outside society, and also makes strong contemporary events such as the pandemic and the Ukrainian war into thought-provoking parts of the story. At the same time, she also writes a classic crime novel with police investigation, suspense and unexpected disputes. The mix of all this makes “The Wolf’s Cub” a great read for everyone, whether you like crime fiction or not.”

– Nerikes Allehanda newspaper, Örebro, Sweden

You can download materials for WOLF CUB here!

OUR LAST GAME

Pulkkinen masters the distinctive voices of the characters, right down to the narrator. The work poses ethical and philosophical questions through the mouths of its numerous characters… OUR LAST GAME asks how much of what was broken in childhood can be repaired with medicine. Above all, it asks what is ultimately broken in us and what is the fabric of life itself.

– Maija Alander, Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

*****

Riikka Pulkkinen’s OUR LAST GAME is a masterpiece of psychiatric power. It is a stunningly beautiful cry for help for the mentally broken. The novel has the makings of a Finlandia nominee.

– Maaseudun Tulevaisuus newspaper, Finland

You can download materials for OUR LAST GAME here!

MILO
Merkitty – Tammi 2024 – 400 p.
Rights Sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.), FRANCE: Mera Editions, GERMANY: Bastei Luebbe, LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji, NORWAY: Aschehoug, FILM & TV: Solar Films
Reading Materials: 50 p. English sample + synopsis, Finnish edition

WOLF CUB
Vargens unge – Albert Bonniers Förlag 2024 – 428 p.
Rights Sold:
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag (orig.), FINLAND: Förlaget (Swedish) & Otava (Finnish)
Reading Materials: English sample & 27-page synopsis, Swedish edition, Finnish edition

OUR LAST GAME
Viimeinen yhteinen leikki – Otava 2024 – 411 p.
Reading Materials: English sample & synopsis, Finnish edition

About author


Johanna Holmström

Johanna Holmström is one of the most successful Finnish-Swedish writers of her generation. Her works have been published in over 10 countries.

She made her debut at 21 years old with the short story collection Inlåst och andra noveller in 2003, and was nominated for Sveriges Radio’s award. She had her literary breakthrough in 2009 with her fourth book, the short story collection Camera Obscura, which received both Svenska Dagbladet's literature prize in Sweden and Svenska YLE's literature prize in Finland.

Her novel Asfaltsänglar (2013) has been published in seven countries.  With Själarnas ö (2017), her acclaimed novel centered around women in a mental hospital in the Finnish archipelago from the late 1800s-1962, Holmström was nominated for the prestigious Runeberg Prize in 2018. Her short story collection Handbok i klardrömmar (2022) was the first Finnish-Swedish title to receive the Karin Boye prize in Sweden. Vargens unge (2024) is published by Albert Bonniers.

In her writing, Johanna Holmström explores the darker sides of human nature in a psychologically credible way. She writes about relationships and power structures within the family and society. Holmström is one of Finland's most skilled at environmental portrayal, and for her the environment is at least as central as the characters when it comes to creating drama. She has a narrative drive that few can match, without forgetting to maintain a top class and wayward language.

About author


Max Seeck, New York Times Best Selling Author

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

Winner of the prestigious Glass Key Award 2023 for his novel THE LAST GRUDGE.

Big Hollywood film & TV news coming soon!

“An exceptional combination of hardboiled Scandi-noir and eerie ghost story. [--] Seeck marries breathtaking suspense with an expertly drawn heroine. This is guaranteed to send shivers up even the most unshakable readers’ spines." – Publisher's Weekly, starred review (Ghost island)

"Each new step has been an artistic success. Max Seeck, last year's winner of the Glass Key Award for best Nordic detective story, has a golden touch for Finnish suspense fiction." - Kai Hirvasnoro, Kansan Uutiset newspaper

“Another star has been added to the firmament of thriller writers,” announced Iltalehti newspaper, when Max’s debut novel was published in 2016. 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 Jessica Niemi series landed him on the New York Times Bestseller list! 2024 will see the release of his independent novel MILO, which is already creating buzz internationally with several rights pre-empts ahead of the Finnish publication!

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.

About author


Riikka Pulkkinen

Riikka Pulkkinen (b. 1980) is one of the top names in Finnish literature. Her debut novel The Limit (2006) gained wide attention, was a bestseller, and was adapted into a play and a TV series in Finland. Her international breakthrough came with her second novel, True (2010), which was the one novel everyone was talking about that year at the Frankfurt book fair. The novel has been published in 17 countries to date.

Pulkkinen’s novels are characterized by the precision with which she describes the psychology of the characters, and the philosophical themes that reflect from the characters into the refined structure of the novels and culminate on the level of the plot. The main questions she explores in her novels concern power, responsibility, and justice.

Pulkkinen has an M.A. in Literary Studies from the University of Helsinki, and she lives in Helsinki with her husband and her two children. She enjoys dancing and running in the forest or by the seaside. If she weren’t a writer, she would be a psychologist or a baker.

For her works, Riikka Pulkkinen has received the Kaarle award in 2007, the Laila Hirvisaari Fund stipend in 2007, the Veijo Meri Award in 2019, and her novel True was nominated for the Finlandia Prize in 2010. Her acclaimed novel Enchantment (Otava, 2022) will be published in English by Scribe in 2026, and her new novel Our Last Game (Otava, 2024) published in Finland in August 2024 is gaining starred reviews.

FILI Grants Fall 2024 open from now until November 1st!

The FILI Fall 2024 grant application period is now open and will last until November 1st 2024! Now is the perfect time to acquire your Finnish bestseller and award-winner! Check out our Fall Catalogue here:  Ahlback Agency Fall 2024 – and latest news here: Ahlback Agency News

FILI offers grants to support the translation of Finnish literature. These grants are intended for publishers outside Finland and are to be applied towards the translator’s fee. Grants are awarded for translating works of fiction and general non-fiction, children’s and young adult (YA) books, and comics and graphic novels from the Finnish, Finland-Swedish and Sámi languages. Grants are awarded to cover part of the translation cost, on average, 50 to 70 per cent. Grants are also available for printing costs for comics and graphic novels and for children’s picture books. Read more here: APPLY FOR FILI GRANTS

Good news for German publishers: there is an extra guarantee of a 70% grant for German publishers.

FILI grants can be applied for all Ahlback Agency titles. Below are some picks of our bestsellers, award-winners & new titles. We look forward to spreading Finnish literature together!

 

Wolf Cub

Johanna Holmström

“Finland-Swedish Holmström’s suspense debut is unusually literary, also atmospheric, dense and unpredictable. In an instant, the mood can change from calming to unsafe. Whether it’s due to nature’s whims, threatening people or unkempt things that we suddenly imagine. Johanna Holmström manages to capture that. She is even more skilled at the relationships between people, when trust is there and when it is lacking. When everything breaks down.”

– Bella Stenberg, Ystads Allehanda newspaper, Sweden

“Vargens unge” is a really good novel, even the best Swedish-language detective, crime, police and suspense novel of the year. A crime novel and novel critical of civilization.

– Bengt Eriksson, Opulens magazine, Sweden

 

Our Last Game

Riikka Pulkkinen

“Pulkkinen masters the distinctive voices of the characters, right down to the narrator. The work poses ethical and philosophical questions through the mouths of its numerous characters… OUR LAST GAME asks how much of what was broken in childhood can be repaired with medicine. Above all, it asks what is ultimately broken in us and what is the fabric of life itself.”

– Maija Alander, Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

 

Daughter of Two Bloods

 S. K. Rostedt

“An addictive and titillating domestic fantasy novel that is just as good as all the hype suggests. Smooth storytelling, with just the right amount of plot twists and surprises. This book is on your mind when you can’t read it and you get sucked in as soon as you pick it up.”

– Kirjoihin kadonnut bookstagram

 

The Kristinestad Murders #1: Revenge

 Kaisu Tuokko

”Will Kaisu Tuokko’s Kristinestad be Finland’s equivalent to Camilla Läckberg’s Fjällbacka or Mari Jungstedt’s Visby? Tuokko has taken a model from another classic author, namely Agatha Christie. The reader has no real chance to identify the killer, although clearly the most important question is ”who dunnit”. The key thing is that Tuokko succeeds in creating excitement and suspense by bringing up current social phenomena against an idyllic setting.”

– Taika Dahlbom, Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

 

The Kristinestad Murders #2: Alone

 Kaisu Tuokko

“Kaisu Tuokko perfectly balances the combination of a gorgeous, atmospheric setting and the aftermath of a terrible crime that exposes the eerie underbelly below the shiny surface of lovely Kristinestad. Mats and Eevi, a police investigator and a journalist, complement each other so well because one of them can always keep digging where the other one reaches their limits. Her investigative team is capable and likeable – what more could you ask for?”

– Sarah Mainke, Editor, Aufbau Verlage, Germany

 

Milo

Max Seeck

“Each new step has been an artistic success. Max Seeck, last year’s winner of the Glass Key Award for best Nordic detective story, has a golden touch for Finnish suspense fiction.”

– Kai Hirvasnoro, Kansan Uutiset newspaper
“The most important thing for a detective story is, of course, a well-rolling, addictive plot that reveals just the right amount: not too much, not too little. (-) As before, Seeck draws both the characters and the milieu with such force that everything can be seen as a film before your eyes. Not surprisingly, a TV series is already in the pipeline.”

– Amman lukuhetki blog

WOLF CUB
Vargens Unge
Albert Bonniers, 2024, 428 p.
Rights sold:
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag (orig.)
FINLAND: Förlaget (Swedish) & Otava (Finnish)
Reading materials:
English sample & 27-page synopsis
Swedish edition
Finnish edition

OUR LAST GAME
Viimeinen yhteinen leikki
Otava, 2024, 411 p.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
Reading materials:
English sample and synopsis
Finnish edition

DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS
Kahden veren tytär
Otava, 2024, 509 p.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
Reading materials:
English sample and synopsis
Finnish edition

Kristinestad Murders 1: REVENGE
Kosto
Otava 2023, 298 p.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
Reading materials:
Full English translation
English sample and synopsis; series presentation

Kristinestad Murders 2: ALONE
Yksin
Otava, 2024, 300 p.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
Reading materials:
English synopsis and series presentation
Finnish edition

MILO
Merkitty
Tammi, September 2024, 400 p.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.), FRANCE: Mera Editions, GERMANY: Bastei Luebbe, LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji, NORWAY: Aschehoug, FILM & TV: Solar Films
Reading materials:
Longer English sample + synopsis
Finnish edition

About author


Johanna Holmström

Johanna Holmström is one of the most successful Finnish-Swedish writers of her generation. Her works have been published in over 10 countries.

She made her debut at 21 years old with the short story collection Inlåst och andra noveller in 2003, and was nominated for Sveriges Radio’s award. She had her literary breakthrough in 2009 with her fourth book, the short story collection Camera Obscura, which received both Svenska Dagbladet's literature prize in Sweden and Svenska YLE's literature prize in Finland.

Her novel Asfaltsänglar (2013) has been published in seven countries.  With Själarnas ö (2017), her acclaimed novel centered around women in a mental hospital in the Finnish archipelago from the late 1800s-1962, Holmström was nominated for the prestigious Runeberg Prize in 2018. Her short story collection Handbok i klardrömmar (2022) was the first Finnish-Swedish title to receive the Karin Boye prize in Sweden. Vargens unge (2024) is published by Albert Bonniers.

In her writing, Johanna Holmström explores the darker sides of human nature in a psychologically credible way. She writes about relationships and power structures within the family and society. Holmström is one of Finland's most skilled at environmental portrayal, and for her the environment is at least as central as the characters when it comes to creating drama. She has a narrative drive that few can match, without forgetting to maintain a top class and wayward language.

About author


Kaisu Tuokko

Kaisu Tuokko’s aim is to create a series where interpersonal relationships and the idyll of a small town are mixed with cruel events – using psychological tension to build stories about how badly we know the families or friends of our neighbors, of our loved ones. Everyone has secrets, but some of them are more dangerous than others.

Tuokko loves the stories of strangers, secrets of small towns, rainy autumn evenings, and the Swedish language. She lives in Helsinki, and has named her main character after her grandparents.

About author


Max Seeck, New York Times Best Selling Author

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

Winner of the prestigious Glass Key Award 2023 for his novel THE LAST GRUDGE.

Big Hollywood film & TV news coming soon!

“An exceptional combination of hardboiled Scandi-noir and eerie ghost story. [--] Seeck marries breathtaking suspense with an expertly drawn heroine. This is guaranteed to send shivers up even the most unshakable readers’ spines." – Publisher's Weekly, starred review (Ghost island)

"Each new step has been an artistic success. Max Seeck, last year's winner of the Glass Key Award for best Nordic detective story, has a golden touch for Finnish suspense fiction." - Kai Hirvasnoro, Kansan Uutiset newspaper

“Another star has been added to the firmament of thriller writers,” announced Iltalehti newspaper, when Max’s debut novel was published in 2016. 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 Jessica Niemi series landed him on the New York Times Bestseller list! 2024 will see the release of his independent novel MILO, which is already creating buzz internationally with several rights pre-empts ahead of the Finnish publication!

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.

About author


Riikka Pulkkinen

Riikka Pulkkinen (b. 1980) is one of the top names in Finnish literature. Her debut novel The Limit (2006) gained wide attention, was a bestseller, and was adapted into a play and a TV series in Finland. Her international breakthrough came with her second novel, True (2010), which was the one novel everyone was talking about that year at the Frankfurt book fair. The novel has been published in 17 countries to date.

Pulkkinen’s novels are characterized by the precision with which she describes the psychology of the characters, and the philosophical themes that reflect from the characters into the refined structure of the novels and culminate on the level of the plot. The main questions she explores in her novels concern power, responsibility, and justice.

Pulkkinen has an M.A. in Literary Studies from the University of Helsinki, and she lives in Helsinki with her husband and her two children. She enjoys dancing and running in the forest or by the seaside. If she weren’t a writer, she would be a psychologist or a baker.

For her works, Riikka Pulkkinen has received the Kaarle award in 2007, the Laila Hirvisaari Fund stipend in 2007, the Veijo Meri Award in 2019, and her novel True was nominated for the Finlandia Prize in 2010. Her acclaimed novel Enchantment (Otava, 2022) will be published in English by Scribe in 2026, and her new novel Our Last Game (Otava, 2024) published in Finland in August 2024 is gaining starred reviews.

About author


S. K. Rostedt

S.K. Rostedt aka Saara Rostedt (1993) is an author and marketing professional who grew up in Finland's book capital Sastamala. Now based in Helsinki, she is an avid romantasy reader who loves to spend time in nature and at her summer cabin. She has popular BookTok and Bookstagram social channels, where she talks about her writing and reading experiences. S.K. Rostedt, who gave up reading as a teenager, rediscovered the world of books in her twenties with the help of romantasy, Saara is known in social media as @skrostedt.

Two more Ahlback Agency titles nominated for Young Aleksis Award!

Recently, we announced the good news that THE INVISIBLES by Sanna Isto was nominated for the Young Aleksis Award, and now we are pleased to report that ØRJA by Riikka Sandberg and A DISOBEDIENT GIRL by Sara Al Husaini have also been nominated!

The Young Aleksis Award jury is made up of young adults. So while these titles are literary fiction, we highly recommend them for young adult readers.

ØRJA is a fateful novel about friendship, passion and secrets buried in the sea from the end of the occupation of Norway till the 1970s.

1952. A gigantesque mail carrier lives on the island of Ørja with her boat-building father. His last boat is left unfinished, and the daughter takes on the task. The boat is sold to an island-dweller who is the subject of many chilling rumors.

1976. Tine arrives in Ørja to put up a traveling cinema. But what is even more interesting than the projector, is the wire recorder she finds in the shed. It talks of a tragic past that the island community has kept silent about.

A rebel. A spouse. A savior. A friend. A lover. How many lives can one person live? What happens when they collide?

Click here to access all reading materials for ØRJA!

 

A DISOBEDIENT GIRL is the winner of the BookBeat Newcomer of the Year Award, a novel that shakes the reader to their core.

A mother is escorting her daughter, trembling with fear, to the wedding suite door. This is what she’s been raised for ever since she was little, kept in wrapping paper like a precious sweet. This is the reason why she was brought back from Finland to Iraq.

A Disobedient Girl is an astonishingly honest and authentic story about the history of subjugating and silencing women, about abandoning one’s faith, honor violence, forced marriage, Islamic morality, the price of freedom, and the desperate desire for the right to self-determination.

Click here to access all reading materials for A DISOBEDIENT GIRL!

ØRJA

Publication Info:
Ørja, Otava 2023, 395 p.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig), SWEDEN: Norstedts

Rights to ØRJA still available in Germany, Norway, Denmark…

Reading Materials:
English sample and synopsis, Finnish and Swedish editions

 

A DISOBEDIENT GIRL

Publication Info:
Huono tyttö, Like 2023, 295 p.

Rights to A DISOBEDIENT GIRL still available in the US/UK, Poland, France

Reading Materials:
English sample, Finnish edition

About author


Riikka Sandberg

Riikka Sandberg (b. 1989) is a Finnish author who grew up in the midst of boatsheds and the sea breeze. She studied Finnish and creative writing at the University of Turku and currently teaches at the University of Helsinki. Sandberg’s debut book Ørja was published in February 2023 and has been described as a thoughtfully constructed novel in which the fjords and the churning sea set a grand stage.

Sandberg is inspired by the Nordic languages, history and nature, and the fictional isles in her debut novel Ørja were inspired by a small and rugged Norwegian island to where she retreated alone to write. Eventually she carried out research for her novel in Norway, the Faroe Islands and the Finnish Lapland and archipelago. Sandberg considers it important to write about women who are, for one reason or another, cast out or have themselves left the society or their community, and about those who have forgotten to live their own truth.

About author


Sara Al Husaini

Sara Al Husaini (1992) is a human rights activist, feminist, and linguist from Helsinki. She was born in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia and moved to Finland as a child. She has studied English philology at the University of Helsinki and has worked, among others, as an intern at the European Parliament. She is currently a board member in Amnesty Finland and member of the steering group for UN Women Finland. In 2021, Al Husaini was chosen as the Refugee Woman of the Year by the Finnish Refugee Council.

Her debut novel A Disobedient Girl (orig. Huono tyttö) is a deeply personal story of experiences for which there haven’t been words before. Al Husaini's writing delves into the human psyche, weaving a tale that unravels the threads of cultural expectations and the resilience of those who defy them. Through her storytelling, Al Husaini seeks to provoke thought, challenge stereotypes, and ignite conversations that lead to meaningful societal shifts.

Tommi Kinnunen secures new international deals: ‘PINE BARK’ to Estonia and ‘DEFIANCE’ to Hungary

Following the recent success in acquisition of the Japanese rights for PINE BARK and the DEFIANCE film news, we are thrilled to share more exciting news about our award-winning #1 bestselling author, Tommi Kinnunen:

The Estonian rights to PINE BARK have been acquired by Varrak. Additionally, Hungarian rights to DEFIANCE, Kinnunen’s 2020 masterpiece, were secured by Magyar Napló Publishing Company. DEFIANCE will be translated from Finnish to Hungarian by Béla Jávorszky. These two deals were closed by Julia Bogen.

PINE BARK topped Finland’s bestseller list within a month of its debut with over 30,000 copies sold. It is a densely atmospheric and arrestingly written novel about women’s fates in times of war, the difficulty of giving up, and how the proximity of death can change a person.

Rights to Tommi Kinnunen’s previous novels have sold to 22 territories, and rights for PINE BARK and for DEFIANCE are still available in the UK/US, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands…

We invite you to click here to download all reading material for PINE BARK.

Click here to download material for DEFIANCE.

 

Pine Bark:
Publication Info:
Kaarna, 205 p., April 2024

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
ESTONIA: Varrak
JAPAN: Shinchosha

Defiance:
Publication Info:
Ei kertonut katuvansa, 351 p., 2020

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
CROATIA: Hena
DENMARK: Gyldendal/Cicero
ESTONIA: Varrak
HUNGARY: Magyar Napló Publishing Company
LATVIA: Zvaigzne
LITHUANIA: Alma Littera
NORTH MACEDONIA: Antolog
NORWAY: Pax Forlag
POLAND: Poznanskie

About author


Tommi Kinnunen

Tommi Kinnunen (1973) was born in Kuusamo in northeastern Finland and currently lives in Turku, where he works as a teacher of Finnish language and literature. His works include novels, opera librettos, short stories, and a non-fiction title on the changes taking place in the Finnish school system.

Kinnunen’s novels give a voice to those whose stories have been kept untold. He made a stellar debut with Where Four Roads Meet (orig. Neljäntienristeys) which was nominated for the Finlandia Prize and won the Young Aleksis Prize in 2015. The following novels The Light Behind the Eyes (orig. Lopotti), The Glass River (orig. Pintti), and Defiance (orig. Ei kertonut katuvansa) have been both critical and commercial successes. His books have been translated into 20 languages.

During his spare time, Kinnunen likes to refurbish old buildings.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Pine Bark

Tommi Kinnunen


2022, Literary Fiction

Dark Moons

Tommi Kinnunen


2020, Literary Fiction

Defiance

Tommi Kinnunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Glass River

Tommi Kinnunen


2016, Literary Fiction

The Light Behind the Eyes

Tommi Kinnunen


2014, Literary Fiction

Where Four Roads Meet

Tommi Kinnunen

Czech rights for PUSH, PACE, POSITION, PRAY by Miika Nousiainen sold to Host!

Great news coming from one of our longtime authors: Czech rights for PUSH, PACE, POSITION, PRAY by Miika Nousiainen have been acquired by Host! The deal was closed by Martti Berner at the Ahlback Agency.

Here’s a bit about this humorous and charming anti-midlife crisis novel based on the author’s real-life experiences, blurring the lines between literary and autofiction:

When a man turns 50, he either gets a motorcycle or he does a 400 meter run. For Miika Nousiainen, who does not have a driver’s license and is not interested in rebellion, the only option is the track tour and his goal: the 400m run World Championship in Gothenburg.

Will Miika shape up into a real lightweight frequency runner? Even become the Finnish record holder in his age group?

For any of you who love running or simply relate to the “what do I do now?” of aging, we hope you enjoy PUSH, PACE, POSITION, PRAY.

You can click here to download all reading material for this book. We also recommend you check out his novels ROOTS and FACELIFT for more of Miika Nousiainen’s tragicomical cleverness.

Rights to PUSH, PACE, POSITION, PRAY still available in all territories except Finland and Czechia.

Publication Info:
Ratakierros, Otava, 300 p.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.), CZECHIA: Host

About author


Miika Nousiainen

Miika Nousiainen (b. 1973 in Säynätsalo) has worked as a news and current affairs journalist for MTV3's news department. In addition, he has written for several popular TV-shows.

Nousiainen’s debut novel, Raspberry Boat Refugee (2007), tells the story of Mikko Virtanen, a man who desperately wants to become Swedish at any cost. In this tragicomic work, Nousiainen makes sharp observations about our western neighbor and illustrates that we’re all self-proclaimed experts on Sweden.

Roots (2016) follows the search for a missing father, taking readers across continents from Lieksa, Finland, to Australia. The book was also well-received internationally.

In Facelift (2020), Nousiainen gently explores themes of family and the longing for connection.

In addition he has written The Danger of the Long Distance Runner (2009) and Forrest Giant (2011). 

Nousiainen's novels have been adapted countless times and translated into languages such as Swedish, German, Dutch, Italian, and Estonian.

Miika Nousiainen have been awarded with: Laila Hirvisaari Foundation Grant (2008), Kalevi Jäntti Prize (2009) and Honorable Mention in the Sports Museum Foundation’s Sports Book of the Year Competition (2010)

Bibliography


2024, Commercial/Upmarket, Humor

Push, Pace, Position, Pray

Miika Nousiainen


2020, Commercial/Upmarket, Humor

Facelift

Miika Nousiainen


2016, Humor

Roots

Miika Nousiainen


2007, Humor

Raspberry Boat Refugee

Miika Nousiainen

Japanese rights for PINE BARK sold to Shinchosha; DEFIANCE adapted to film by Oscar nominee Selma Vilhunen!

We have lots of exciting news to share about our award-winning #1 bestselling author of PINE BARK and DEFIANCE, Tommi Kinnunen:

First up, Japanese rights to PINE BARK have been acquired! Our co-agents at Tuttle-Mori Japan loved the title from the start and, in their able hands, PINE BARK found its home with the renowned publisher Shinchosha, who are especially passionate about literary fiction. This deal was closed by Julia Bogen at the Ahlback Agency.

PINE BARK topped Finland’s bestseller list within a month of its debut with over 30,000 copies sold. It is a densely atmospheric and arrestingly written novel about women’s fates in times of war, the difficulty of giving up, and how the proximity of death can change a person.

Segueing to another masterpiece by Tommi Kinnunen, Oscar-nominated Finnish filmmaker Selma Vilhunen will adapt Kinnunen’s novel DEFIANCE for the big screen with production company Dionysos Films and distributor Nordisk Film! It is under the title She Did Not Show Remorse, a more literal translation of the original Finnish title Ei kertonut katuvansa.

One of the biggest magazines in the entertainment industry, Variety, interviewed Selma Vilhunen and discussed the upcoming film plans. Click here to read the full article!

Speaking to Variety, Vilhunen was “won over by Kinnunen’s angry and sometimes merciless’ novel. ‘The women in the story only have bad options to choose from. In this film, I feel I’m opening the door to all the anger and despair that is also true in this world and in myself.'”

Rights to Tommi Kinnunen’s previous novels have sold to 22 territories, and rights for PINE BARK are still available in Germany, France, the Netherlands…

We invite you to click here to download all reading material for PINE BARK.

Click here to download material for DEFIANCE.

Publication Info:

Kaarna, 205 p., April 2024

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.), JAPAN: Shinchosha

About author


Tommi Kinnunen

Tommi Kinnunen (1973) was born in Kuusamo in northeastern Finland and currently lives in Turku, where he works as a teacher of Finnish language and literature. His works include novels, opera librettos, short stories, and a non-fiction title on the changes taking place in the Finnish school system.

Kinnunen’s novels give a voice to those whose stories have been kept untold. He made a stellar debut with Where Four Roads Meet (orig. Neljäntienristeys) which was nominated for the Finlandia Prize and won the Young Aleksis Prize in 2015. The following novels The Light Behind the Eyes (orig. Lopotti), The Glass River (orig. Pintti), and Defiance (orig. Ei kertonut katuvansa) have been both critical and commercial successes. His books have been translated into 20 languages.

During his spare time, Kinnunen likes to refurbish old buildings.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Pine Bark

Tommi Kinnunen


2022, Literary Fiction

Dark Moons

Tommi Kinnunen


2020, Literary Fiction

Defiance

Tommi Kinnunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Glass River

Tommi Kinnunen


2016, Literary Fiction

The Light Behind the Eyes

Tommi Kinnunen


2014, Literary Fiction

Where Four Roads Meet

Tommi Kinnunen

Introducing Ahlback Agency FALL 2024 FICTION Catalogue

We are very happy to launch our Fall 2024 Fiction Catalogue today – and to present the hottest titles for you!

View the Ahlback Agency Fall 2024 Catalogue here!

Crime & Thrillers

WOLF CUB (Vargens unge, Albert Bonniers, August 2024) by Johanna Holmström.

One day, a dirty and unfamiliar little boy stands in Seija’s tulip bed. Upon seeing his wide-open eyes, her motherly heart overflows, but the boy refuses to say a word–only a memory card is found in his mouth. Police Inspector Minna and her sidekick Timo are called, but no one has reported a missing child. Who is the boy and where does he come from?

When the photographer Gloria moves into a collective in the forest, she feels that she has found her home. She enjoys the freedom and companionship, blind to what is going on around her. And when the truth is finally revealed, it is too late for her to escape.

This relentless thriller is set in Kuhmo, northern Finland, in a wilderness as wonderfully beautiful as it is terrifying.

Publication on August 23rd by Albert Bonniers. All rights available (excl. Finland, Sweden).

THE LAST WORD (Sista ordet) by a new crime-writing duo, journalist Anne Hietanen and writer Michaela von Kügelgen.

During the Helsinki Book Fair, author David Berglund is found dead in the harbour – the same day he was set to receive a literary prize. His wife Aurora is almost due to have their first child, and the family idyll he always dreamed of would finally become a reality.

Philip Koski, a national hockey hero whose career was cut short by an injury, just joined the Helsinki Police Department and is assigned to the case. Philip struggles to cope with his new job, along with the fact people see him as nothing more than a has-been.

At the same time, cultural journalist Tilde Björkqvist digs into David’s story. She was the last person to interview him and encountered a man whose words of joy and gratitude did not match his desperate revelation. At work, Tilde struggles against antiquated hierarchies – why are they trying to stop her investigation of the young writer?

Meanwhile, Åsa Stråhle, head of the Bohre Foundation, is beside herself with grief. After years of trying to conceive, she is still childless. David and his twin brother Adam are the closest thing to a family she has, but she lost contact with Adam after he immersed himself in society’s dark underbelly. Åsa tries to keep up her façade while everything around her is falling apart.

All rights are available!

MILO (Merkitty, Tammi, September 2024) by New York Times Bestselling Author Max Seeck.

Milo, a 38-year-old art enthusiast, gallery owner and criminal profiler struggles with sexual frustration that are both the cause and consequence for his marital problems with his wife Ronja. A body of a young woman is found painted in all-white representing a piece of chess. The chief inspector receives an anonymous letter with a short message: Bxc6. This indicates a chess move and along the location where the body was found the investigators feel that more chess moves might be on the way.

Milo struggles to form a clear picture of the killer. He soon understands that in order to help the police force to catch the killer he needs to understand the game of chess better. As much as he hates it, he decides to face the ghost of the past: her mother’s former partner Stanislav who happens to be a European champion in chess…

MILO is a psychological suspense novel with surprising twists and interesting facts about the game of chess. It’s also a story of complex human relationships, sex and issues people are facing when they approach the middle-age. The novel also covers a lot of art and other cultural references, maintaining the erotic vibe that stems from Milo’s and Ronja’s sexual adventures.

 

Romantasy


DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS (Kahden veren tytär, Otava, August 2024) by S.K. Rostedt

Remena is a land where humans and fae coexist, seemingly on equal terms. The elves who control magic live in their own territory in Keto under the authority of an elven ruler, even though the royalty of Remena is human. Since the fierce demons were banished to Tuoni at the end of the demon wars fought a thousand years ago, Remena has lived in peace… but the stirrings of danger loom on the horizon.

Moorna is a 21-year-old half-breed whose life as an escort to the capital’s aristocracy is harrowing. She wants to pay off her escort debt as quickly as possible and return home with her friend Malkra to live a life free from discrimination. When Moorna accidentally stumbles upon the annoyingly handsome fae, Caidas, she is torn from all that is familiar and safe, and quickly learns that nothing is as it seems.

All rights available!

EARTHBORN #1: DAUGHTER OF EARTH (Dotter av jordWAPI Sweden) by Ann-Catrin Mattsson

The year is 1649, and war ravages Europe. In occupied Ireland, we meet Ailea, a young woman whose clairvoyance evokes both envy and fear. Compelled to seek refuge in Scotland with her family, Ailea’s path crosses with Magy Cullane, a sage woman with connections to the enigmatic Order. Thus does Ailea plunge into a realm of intrigue and millennia-old secrets.

Meanwhile, on the continent, in the Italian city of Bologna, the young hot-tempered soldier Roderic begins his military training at the war school. Guided by the charismatic master Muccio, Roderic is honed for battle, but is he truly prepared for the grim reality of war? After stumbling upon a mysterious necklace in the mountains, a fair-haired girl begins to haunt his dreams – Ailea. A timeless bond, stretching across centuries, unbreakable even by death.

In the distance, dark forces begin to stir, as a secret brotherhood known as the Black Knights seek a prophetess, a vessel of ancient blood, to fulfill their plans. Driven by an obsession to overthrow the throne and mold the world to their whims, they spare no means to achieve their goals. But what secrets lurk in the shadows, and what is their true plan for Ailea? Both Ailea and Roderic must confront their pasts and the menacing forces threatening to destroy all they hold dear.

. Rights sold to Sweden, audio & e-book rights sold in Denmark and Poland.

 

Literary Fiction 


OUR LAST GAME (Viimeinen leikki, Otava, August 2024) by Riikka Pulkkinen

Eelis says he’s going to the emergency room for dizziness, then disappears without a trace. His wife Mai is at wit’s end until a woman who knows Eelis appears at the door bearing memories of Eelis’s and her childhood–and the things that happened to them.

The two women’s road trip begins, leading to gas stations, the wedding suite of an airport hotel, and a hospital where children once played Love and Death at summer camps. Our Last Game is a wonderful novel about a person’s desire to find a cure not only for diseases but also for life.