Middle-Grade

Ukrainian rights for THE MANTICORE acquired by The Black Sheep, and Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award nomination!

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How is everyone’s FBF going? Amidst the buzz, we have a mid-fair rights deal! Ukrainian rights to THE MANTICORE by Maria Turtschaninoff and illustrator Peter Bergting have sold to The Black Sheep, an imprint of V. Books – XXI. In the publisher’s words, the imprint “focuses on books with social and psychological topics as well as those addressing problems of emotional intelligence and social responsibility. It also creates bilingual editions to help Ukrainian children learn foreign languages.”

About THE MANTICORE:

The Manticore is told from the perspective of a young girl called Li, who starts suspecting that her stepmother is in fact a Manticore, an ancient monster intending on devouring the protagonist and her baby brother. She realizes that no one can help her because no one would believe her. So as the Manticore starts fattening up the children, the protagonist hunts for a way to defeat her. She soon realizes that the only way to kill a Manticore is with a mythical object: the horn of a unicorn. But where can she possibly find one?

Maria Turtschaninoff is a multiple award-winning fantasy author, published in 30 countries, and Peter Bergting is the author and/or illustrator of over 50 books of fantasy, sci-fi and horror.

Check out our fully illustrated English PDF of THE MANTICORE here!

And with perfect coincidental timing, THE MANTICORE’s author, Maria Turtschaninoff, along with our other talent: author Salla Simukka and author/illustrator Sanna Pelliccioni have been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, one of the most prestigious children’s literature awards that picks nominees from all over the world! Among the international talent, they are joined by big name children’s authors like Kate DiCamillo and Gene Luen Yang. The winner will receive 5 million Swedish kronor along with an illustrated diploma hand-lettered by a calligrapher. The laureate will be announced April 1 2025, meaning one person, at least, will have a happy April Fool’s Day.

Best of luck to Maria, Salla, and Sanna!!!

Publication Info:
Raben &Sjögren/Förlaget, 2024, 96 pp, 4c illustrations

Reading Material:
Fully illustrated English PDF & Swedish edition

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Raben &Sjögren/Förlaget (Swedish), Tammi (Finnish)
DENMARK: Bogoo
UKRAINE: V. Books – XXI/The Black Sheep

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, winner of the Swedish YLE Literature Prize, winner of the Thank You for the Book Award, a nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2020-2024), and winner of the 2014 Finlandia Junior Prize. In 2024, Maria Turtschaninoff won the Eeva Joenpelto Literary Prize (10,000 euro award) for her literary masterpiece Inherited Land.

Her Red Abbey Chronicles YA trilogy has been sold into 30 languages, while her first adult novel Inherited Land has been sold to 23 territories. Maria has a Master of Arts in human ecology and works full-time as a writer.

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About author


Peter Bergting

Peter Bergting is one of Sweden’s most renowned comic book artists and fantasy and children book illustrators. His career began in the late ’80s, providing art for games such as Mutant Chronicles, Dungeons & Dragons, Vampire, and Shadowrun. In 2006 he released his first comic book for Image Comics, followed by a run on Strange Girl with Rick Remender. After several graphic novels for IDW, working with Richard Morgan, Alex Irvine, and Joe R. Lansdale, Peter landed his first job for Dark Horse Comics, providing artwork for the Hellboy Roleplaying Game.

Since 2013, Peter has been working with Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden on various titles in the Mignolaverse, such as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Frankenstein – to date, more than 44 comic books and eight graphic novels. Peter is the author and/or artist of more than 50 books, including 20 graphic novels. In addition, Peter has provided hundreds of comics, children's, and fantasy books with covers and interior artwork for authors such as Clive Barker, Philip Pullman, J. R. R. Tolkien, Michelle Paver, and Frank Frazetta. For Swedish publisher Semic, Peter has written and illustrated a total of eleven fantasy novels and artbooks.

Peter has been nominated for the August award twice, for “Kråkorna”, and “Vi kommer snart hem igen”. In addition, he has won the Adamson statuette.

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Estonian rights to THE SECRET STAIRCASE by Salla Simukka and illus. JP Ahonen sold to Ühinenud Ajakirjad!

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We are starting the week off by announcing that Estonian rights for THE SECRET STAIRCASE by Salla Simukka and illustrator JP Ahonen have been acquired by Ühinenud Ajakirjad! This deal was closed by Julia Bogen.

Salla Simukka is the multiple award-winning, internationally bestselling author of the Snow White trilogy, and JP Ahonen is a comic book artist and the illustrator of the cult classic Belzebubs project.

You can watch the book trailer below:

For fans of Michael Ende and Maria Gripe, THE SECRET STAIRCASE is an exciting and touching novel about two boys, who live in the same house but in different realities. Can their friendship cross the border separating two worlds?

10-year-old Alexis’ family moves to a house where he gets the attic room. Another 10-year-old-boy, Max, moves to a house, where a great basement room is waiting for him. Soon the boys notice something weird in their houses: Alexis hears voices under the floor, even though they don’t have a basement. Max’s ears pick up someone playing an instrument from the attic, even though no one is there.

When the two boys finally meet, they realize that they can visit each other’s worlds at night time. But will their friendship endanger everything when the worlds start to blur into each other?

Rights still available in France, Germany, Holland…

Click here to download all reading materials for THE SECRET STAIRCASE!

POIKA ULLAKOLLA, POIKA KELLARISSA
Tammi, March 2024, 200 pp., b&w illustrations

Reading material:
English sample with illustrations
Finnish edition

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ESTONIA: Ühinenud Ajakirjad

About author


JP Ahonen

JP Ahonen (1981) is a comic book artist, illustrator, and the author of several newspaper strips in his native Finland. He is best known for his graphic novel SING NO EVIL and the critically acclaimed strip series BELZEBUBS, which has evolved from a humble webcomic into a unique cross-media project, interweaving comics, music and animation.

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About author


Salla Simukka

Salla Simukka is the author of the international success story The Snow White Trilogy: rights are sold in 53 territories and in Hollywood. She has written several novels for young readers and her accolades include the Topelius Prize 2013 and the Finland Prize 2013. Simukka has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award  every year 2021–2024. Where It All Begins, published in 2022, is her first novel for adults and in 2024 she started a collaboration with JP Ahonen on a middle grade novel.

Previously Simukka has written book reviews for the newspapers, translated all kinds of texts into Finnish, worked as an editor at a literary magazine and as a screenwriter for a popular TV show for young audiences.  She has also been working on the programme of Turku Book Fair in 2017–2020.

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THE INVISIBLES by Sanna Isto nominated for the Young Aleksis Award!

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More good children’s book award news: THE INVISIBLES by Sanna Isto has been nominated for the Young Aleksis (Nuori Aleksis) Award this year in the middle grade category!

The candidates and winner of the award is chosen by young readers and its purpose is “to inspire young people to read and discuss literature, and to find their own favorite books.” The prize will be awarded this October at the Turku Book Fair.

THE INVISIBLES was previously nominated for the Finlandia Prize and Topelius prize.

 

About THE INVISIBLES:

A haunted house. An Invisible boy. A summer of mystery and self-discovery

Spending her vacation away from the city and her friends was not what Pii had in mind for the summer she had been eagerly waiting for. And then even the holiday house turns out to be strange and peculiar. Who is the boy who moves around the house as if it were his own, and why can’t anyone else see him?

Pii’s experience of being an outsider turns into a strength, because she sees things that others don’t notice. Soon she finds herself in the middle of a secret that overshadows the sunny idyll of the small village. Are the thefts of vacation homes and the unsolved death that happened half a year ago related? And what does the mysterious boy in the green cap have to do with all this?

Pii has to look for answers deep below the surface, and while diving for them, she also has to face herself. A vacation Pii expected to be boring turns into a journey of self-discovery, and in the end nothing – not even the ghosts – is what it seemed at first.

Rights still available in: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the US/UK…

Click here to download all reading materials for THE INVISIBLES!

Publication Info:
Näkymättömät, Tammi 2024, 293p.

Reading material:
English sample, synopsis, and praise sheet
Finnish edition

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

About author


Sanna Isto

Sanna Isto is a Berlin based children’s and YA author with a master´s degree from the university of Helsinki. Her stories, rooted in everyday life, are often combined with something strange and out of the ordinary, which allows us to contemplate the world  from a new and intriguing angle.

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Bibliography


2024, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

The Invisibles

Sanna Isto

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Slovakian rights to MONSTER ROUTE acquired by Arkus!

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A new Slovakian rights deal is in for one of our biggest kid’s series! Slovakian publisher Arkus just acquired rights for MONSTER ROUTE (book 2 of the Monster Nanny trilogy) by Tuutikki Tolonen and illustrated by Pasi Pitkänen, in a deal closed by Martti Berner at the Ahlback Agency.

The Monster Nanny trilogy is an international bestseller with a Hollywood movie in development co-produced by Ridley Scott! It’s the whimsical, exciting combination of Mary Poppins meets Where the Wild Things Are.

For any who are late to the monster party, here’s a bit about book 1 MONSTER NANNY:

The Hellman children must make do with a nanny while their mother is away at a spa. The only problem? Their nanny is a monster.

Grah is hairy, dusty, and doesn’t talk. When the siblings discover that other neighborhood kids have been left with similar creatures, they start to wonder where the monsters came from. With the parents away, the kids work together (between bickering) to figure out the mystery of the monsters.

Tolonen seamlessly intertwines contemporary life with a world full of strange creatures. Monster Nanny is at once a refreshing change of pace and a return to timeless adventure.

 

You can click here to access all reading material for the MONSTER NANNY trilogy!

Rights are still available in the UK, Israel, Iceland, Thailand…

Publication Info:
Mörköreitti, Tammi, 300p

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ALBANIA: Westprint
BRAZIL: DarkSide Books
BULGARIA: Robertino
CHINA: Beijing Publishing Group Co., Ltd.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Portál, s. r. o.
ESTONIA: Tiritamm
FRANCE: Robert Laffont
GERMANY: Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & CO. KG.
GREECE: Patakis Publishers
HUNGARY: Tessloff Babilon
JAPAN: SEKAIBUNKA Publishing
KOREA: Seosawon Co., Ltd.
LITHUANIA: Nieko rimto
NETHERLANDS: Luitingh-Sijthof
NORWAY: Gyldendal
POLAND: Vesper
ROMANIA: Editura Univers SRL
RUSSIA: Rosman
SLOVAKIA: Arkus
SLOVENIA: Mladinska Knjiga Zalozba
SWEDEN: RABÉN & SJÖGREN
UKRAINE: School Publishing House

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.

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About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  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.

Her other bestselling series is 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. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

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THE KRISTINESTAD MURDERS rights sold to Germany in a two-book pre-empt deal!

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The Kristinestad Murders by Kaisu Tuokko is on a roll, with German rights just pre-empted by Aufbau Verlage in a two-book deal! Aufbau has established themselves over the years as a huge crime/thriller publisher, so we know  REVENGE and ALONE will be in the best of hands. The deal was closed by Martti Berner at the Ahlback Agency.

If you haven’t heard the news, Swedish (and Finnish-Swedish) rights were recently acquired by Förlaget so we’re thrilled to see The Kristinestad Murders continue its hot streak.

The series has been a huge domestic success at over 30,000 copies sold, and with all the new readership it’s only going up, fast.

We invite you to click here to download all reading materials for THE KRISTINESTAD MURDERS!

Rights to THE KRISTINESTAD MURDERS still available in the US/UK, Italy, Norway and Denmark…and Film & TV rights are available!

THE KRISTINESTAD MURDERS began with REVENGE in 2023, followed by ALONE in 2024. You can read more about each title below:

Book 1: REVENGE
The body of a young man is discovered in the sea, and the criminal investigator Mats Bergholm is responsible for the case. At the same time, journalist Eevi Manner is sent to dig out a scoop of the event for the local newspaper. Both are surprised to find each other on the grim beach: the two have a past together – a past which they now need to set aside to solve the case.

Eevi is contacted by a young woman, and it becomes clear that the death is just one link in a chain of events unfitting the picturesque town. The full picture becomes clearer and clearer, although the secrets of the locals are buried deep. Social media and recordings can offer help in solving the case, but the lies and muddy memories of the people involved cast doubts in every direction.

Book 2: ALONE
An elderly woman is found dead in Kristinestad, malnourished, dirty, and abused. She’s wearing the socks of the local nursing home, but the people there don’t recognise her. No one knows who she is.

Mats, the local police officer, starts investigating the case with his team, but establishing the identity of the murder victim proves tricky. Mats also has issues in his personal life, and same goes for the journalist Eevi, who struggles to get pregnant. While Eevi uncovers harsh truths about the treatment of the elderly in Kristinestad, Mats and his team find another body – and it seems Mats’ brother is also involved in the crime.

 

Publication Info

Book 1: Kosto, 298 p., June 2023
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.), Förlaget (Finnish-Swedish), SWEDEN: Förlaget, GERMANY: Aufbau

Book 2: Yksin, 300 p., June 2024
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.), GERMANY: Aufbau

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.

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Bibliography


2024, Crime & Suspense

THE KRISTINESTAD MURDERS #2: Alone

Kaisu Tuokko


2023, Crime & Suspense

THE KRISTINESTAD MURDERS #1: Revenge

Kaisu Tuokko

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Introducing Ahlback Agency FALL 2024 CHILDREN’S & YA Catalogue

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We are very happy to launch our Fall 2024 Children’s & YA Rights Guide today – and to present the hottest titles for you:

Check out the Ahlback Agency Fall 2024 Catalogue here!

The Manticore

Maria Turtschaninoff, illustrated by Peter Bergting
(orig. publication: Mantikoran, Raben &Sjögren/Förlaget, September 2024)

The Manticore is told from the perspective of a young girl called Li,  who starts suspecting that her stepmother is in fact a Manticore, an ancient monster intending on devouring the protagonist and her baby brother. She realizes that no one can help her because no one would believe her. So as the Manticore starts fattening up the children, the protagonist hunts for a way to defeat her. She soon realizes that the only way to kill a Manticore is with a mythical object: the horn of a unicorn. But where can she possibly find one?

 

Meet the Fox Family

Animal Family Series: Fun & Facts
Hannu Laakso
(orig. publication: Me kettuset, Into)

What does the fox family’s summer entail? Some quirky fun and playful lessons, for a start! Meet the Fox Family combines animal education with a fictional story to match. Readers will join these adorable foxes in their daily adventures, watching as the small pup grows up and becomes independent. At the same time, readers learn facts about foxes and their way of life. What do fox pups eat? What’s it like seeing the surrounding world through their eyes–literally? And why does a fox’s den smell?

This story presents the life of a seven-member fox family living on the outskirts of the city from spring to autumn. We see the joys and sometimes hardships, without forgetting the humor. Meet the Fox Family helps readers understand nature with an up-close view of these lovable foxes.

 

Little Mouse’s School Picture Day

Riikka Jäntti
(Orig. Publication: Hiiru. Karmea kuvauspäivä, Tammi, July 2024)

The little mouse boy Hiiru, known from the beloved picture books, is ready for grade school where he’ll take on new adventures in illustrated chapter book form! What kind of mischief can happen during a normal school day?

Hiru and his friends are dressed up to get their pictures, and the class photo, taken that afternoon. Will the outfits stay clean until the shoot even though the kids are playing soccer and eating lunch? And what will happen to Hiiru when his head gets stuck in a chair right before the shoot?

This easy-to-read chapter-book series with black-and-white illustrations is cheerful and bursting with gentle humor. Little mouse and his friends will discover that when a problem is big, help is always nearby!

 

Stop Secret Mysteries #2: The Mud Puddle Ghost

Ilona Ahti, illustrated by Miila Westin
(orig. publication: Stop Secret. Kuralätäkön kummitus, Tammi, June 2024)

In the second part of this entertaining middle grade series, a super-secret puddle mystery is solved. Hilla, Maisa and Roni-Toni’s stumble across a bottomless puddle of water, which swallows the friends’ football. The Stop Secret Crew is needed again, and Mitsi, the world-traveling grandma, and the incredibly funny sock monster Hikisukka Hirmunen also join to help. There are going to be wild twists, swinging dancing feet and a lot of twisting and turning before the puzzle is solved…