Non-Fiction

New praise for THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO!  

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We are happy to share new international praise for AINO + ALVAR AALTO: A Life Together, published in English and French by Phaidon Press! English edition was translated by David Hackston.

“This characteristically elegant Phaidon publication, lush with images, is remarkably personal … A beautiful and important contribution to architecture and design history.”
– Booklist, starred review

“Unique … Such an intimate level of access is possible thanks to the fact that the author is a grandson and has done much to preserve the designers’ legacy.”
– Interior Design

“An intimate look inside a partnership that was both romantic and commercial … Together, the Aaltos were stronger than they were apart.”
– Dwell

Meanwhile, the Japanese edition of the title, published by Soshisha and translated by Mihoko Ueyama, was recently featured at the European Literature Festival in Japan! 

And in Italy, the launch of the Italian edition – published by Salani and translated by Nicola Raino – coincides with the MAXXI museum’s Aalto exhibition!

The rights for this beautiful title are still available in e.g. Germany, Sweden, World Spanish, Denmark, Poland, etc.

Download the materials for the title here!

Rakastan sinussa ihmistä
Otava, August 2021, pp. 460

Reading Material:
English edition

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Postimees
HUNGARY: Európa Könyvkiadó
FRANCE: Phaidon Press
ITALY: Salani
JAPAN: Soshisha
WORLD ENGLISH: Phaidon Press

About author


Heikki Aalto-Alanen

Heikki Aalto-Alanen is the grandson of architects Aino and Alvar Aalto, who has previously served as vice chairman of the Alvar Aalto Foundation, been a member of Artek’s Board of Directors, member of the Alvar Aalto Academy Board, and held other positions maintaining Aino and Alvar Aalto’s artistic work and heritage. Today he is serving as the chairman of the Paimio Sanatorium Foundation, established in 2020 to preserve Aino and Alvar Aalto's early masterpiece. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Alvar and Aino Aalto Estate Ltd. Heikki Aalto-Alanen is a lawyer by profession and has worked in the nordic financial market.

His book tells the story of Aino and Alvar Aalto, depicted through their previously unpublished correspondence from 1921-1949, photographs and drawings.

Read more

Bibliography


2021, General Nonfiction, Memories & Biographies

The Story of Aino and Alvar Aalto

Heikki Aalto-Alanen

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Kimmo Rentola’s HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN (Yale UP) Book Launch in London! Now published in English!

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In London, on Thursday, November 2nd, we celebrated the UK launch of Professor Kimmo Rentola’s book HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN: From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950, beautifully published by Yale University Press in the UK and US. Originally published in Finland by Otava in 2016, the English language edition is available on November 14th throughout the world. Rights have been previously sold to Rebis in Poland, to Papadopoulos Publishers in Greece, and Äripäev in Estonia.

Media, historians, and other professionals were gathered at the Finnish Ambassador’s Residence at Kensington Palace Gardens to learn more about Finland’s history, from Winter War to Cold War. Yale University Press edition is an updated edition, translated by Richard Robinson, and a dramatic and timely account of Stalin’s failed invasion of Finland in 1939 and the decade of wars and fraught relations that followed, written by Kimmo Rentola, PhD, historian and professor emeritus of political history. Publisher Julian Loose at Yale UP said:

“I am thrilled to publish Kimmo Rentola’s important work on Finland and Stalin. As the leading scholar on Soviet-Finnish relations, his intimate understanding of the intelligence history during this crucial period makes for a uniquely fascinating and revelatory read. And of course this story has huge resonance at the present time, with Finland joining NATO and the parallels between the Winter War and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.” 
– Julian Loose, Editorial Director Trade & Academic, Yale University Press London

Warmest thanks to Ambassador Jukka Siukosaari and his excellent team for hosting the book launch event in collaboration with Yale University Press and Elina Ahlback Literary Agency. We also thank FILI – Finnish Literature Exchange for kindly supporting the event. Congratulations, Kimmo Rentola and Yale University Press!

We are delighted to share praise and endorsements for Kimmo Rentola’s HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN:

“This is a pioneering work on Soviet-Finnish relations in the critical period between the Winter War and the death of Stalin. Using archives around the world, Rentola explores in stunning detail the complex story of Finnish survival.”
– Norman M. Naimark, author of Stalin and the Fate of Europe

“There is no other book like this one. Rentola treats Stalin as a serious strategist and demonstrates how pragmatic, flexible and ruthless he could be.”
– Ronald Grigor Suny, author of Stalin: Passage to Revolution

“No one is better equipped than Kimmo Rentola to tell the extraordinary story of Finland’s relations with Stalin and the Soviets. His penetrating insight, flawless judgement and matchless command of Finnish and Russian sources have produced a masterpiece.”
– Geoffrey Roberts, author of Stalin’s Library

“A masterfully-written and elegant work. Rentola’s precise and compact narration deepens and widens the understanding of Finland’s fateful years.”
– Lauri Jäntti Prize Jury

Download the materials for HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN here!

HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN Yale UP editions at the Finnish Ambassador’s Residence.
© Elina Ahlbäck / Ahlback Agency

Kimmo Rentola presenting HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN.
© Elina Ahlbäck / Ahlback Agency

Elina Ahlbäck and Julian Loose with the Yale University Press team.
© Embassy of Finland in London

How Finland Survived Stalin: From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950

Kimmo Rentola

A meticulously researched insight into critical points in the history of relations between Finland and the Soviet Union

A dramatic and timely account of Stalin’s failed invasion of Finland in 1939, and the decade of wars and fraught relations that followed.

Professor Kimmo Rentola explores Stalin’s invasion of Finland in the Winter War, and the decade of fraught Soviet-Finnish relations that followed, including Finland’s exit from World War Two and a possible coup in 1948. This is a dramatic reconstruction of the Nordic republic’s unlikely survival, at a time when its very existence was at stake.

How did Finland evade Joseph Stalin’s crosshairs three times? Did Stalin have a special relationship with Finland and the Finns? Why didn’t he continue the Soviet onslaught on Finland during the Winter War in 1940? Why did the dictator back down from his aspirations and demands towards Finland during the peace negotiations in 1944? Why did 1948 remain the year of an unfulfilled coup in Finland? The answer lies in the relations between Finland and Russia which remain highly timely to this day.

Joseph Stalin has been one of the individuals with the most influence on the history of independent Finland. There are few who have made so many far-reaching decisions as Stalin: he decreed the beginning and the end of the Winter War, the Moscow Armistice of 1944 that ended the Continuation War was signed with his authorization, and when, in 1948, it was time to decide whether Finland would become a ‘people’s republic’ or not, he initially pushed forward but eventually backed down. All of these decisions can be seen as pivotal to the fate of Finland, its society, its independence, the life and death of the Finnish people.

HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN: FROM WINTER WAR TO COLD WAR, 1939-1950
STALIN JA SUOMEN KOHTALO
Otava, 2016, 240 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Äripäev
GREECE: Papadopoulos Publishing
POLAND: Rebis
WORLD ENGLISH: Yale University Press

About author


Kimmo Rentola

Kimmo Rentola (b. 1953), PhD, is a historian and professor emeritus of political history, at the University of Turku from 2006 to 2014 and at the University of Helsinki since 2014. In his research, Rentola has specialized in the history of the Cold War, the relationships between Finland and the Soviet Union, and both Finnish and Nordic communism. His other research areas are the youth movements of the 1960s and the history of intelligence agencies.

His latest title, HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN, won the Lauri Jäntti Award for non-fiction literature in 2017, while his previous book Vallankumouksen aave (‘The Ghost of the Revolution’) won the Scholarly Book of the Year Award in Finland in 2007.

Read more

Bibliography

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Aino + Alvar Aalto Book Launch in New York

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In New York, on Thursday the 28th September, we celebrated the launch of Heikki Aalto-Alanen’s book Aino + Alvar Aalto – A Life Together, beautifully published by Phaidon! Originally published in Finland by Otava in 2021, the English language edition is now available throughout the world.

Art, architecture and design professionals as well as Aalto enthusiasts were gathered at the Finnish Consul General’s residence to learn more about the iconic architects Aino and Alvar Aalto and their influential partnership. Phaidon’s edition is a captivating visual biography, written by the Aaltos’ grandson Heikki Aalto-Alanen, translated by David Hackston, and including a rich collection of archival materials and offering an intimate look at Aino and Alvar Aalto’s lives, work, and enduring legacy. A true love story!

Warmest thanks to Consul General Jarmo Sareva and his excellent team for hosting the book launch event in collaboration with Phaidon and Elina Ahlback Literary Agency. Thank you FILI – Finnish Literature Exchange for kindly supporting the event. Congratulations, Heikki Aalto-Alanen and Phaidon!

We are delighted to share a feature “The Very Modern Love Story of Mid-Century Design Duo Alvar and Aino Aalto” by Carol Kino published in 1stDibs (Reach: 4.2M).
LINK: https://www.1stdibs.com/introspective-magazine/aino-and-alvar-aalto-phaidon/

Reviews for the Phaidon edition of AINO + ALVAR AALTO: A Life Together:

“This characteristically elegant Phaidon publication, lush with images, is remarkably personal … A beautiful and important contribution to architecture and design history.”
– Booklist, starred review

“This resonant monograph makes one wonder what else [Alvar] and Aino might have accomplished together had she lived into old age.”
– 1stDibs

“Unique … Such an intimate level of access is possible thanks to the fact that the author is a grandson and has done much to preserve the designers’ legacy.”
– Interior Design

“Aino + Alvar Aalto is a celebration [that] honor[s] their work and the love that inspired their creative projects, offering insights into their impressive contributions to art and design.”
– Designboom

“A poignant glimpse into [Aino and Alvar Aalto’s] deep bond.”
– Metropolis

Download the materials for THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO here!

Aino + Alvar Aalto Phaidon editions at the Finnish Consulate.

The Story of Aino and Alvar Aalto

Heikki Aalto-Alanen

The love story of the world-famous, pioneering design couple Aino and Alvar Aalto, written by the Aaltos’ grandson

Alvar and Aino Aalto are internationally celebrated for their architecture, furniture, glassware, and other interior design, but their personal lives have been relatively unknown – until now. This book, written by the Aaltos’ grandson, stands apart from countless other works on the Aalto’s lives and careers. It contains photos, sketches, and personal letters between Aino and Alvar, beautifully illustrating how inseparable this couple was both in work and love, and bringing a deeply human element to their story.

“Countless books have been written about Alvar Aalto’s architecture and other works. Recently, Aino Marsio-Aalto has also received the recognition she deserves in her own right as well as in her role as the partner of Alvar Aalto in his rise as one of the leading architects of the 20th century,” says Heikki Aalto-Alanen. “The voice in this book is personal. I want to tell the story of Aino’s and Alvar’s unique partnership, relationship, and their joint life work from the perspective of a family member. I also want their own voices to be heard.”

In addition to the photographs from the family archive, the book is illustrated with Aino’s and Alvar’s drawings of each other and of their children, along with architectural drawings and photographs.

THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO
RAKASTAN SINUSSA IHMISTÄ. AINO JA ALVAR AALLON TARINA
Otava, 2021, 462 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Postimees
FRANCE: Phaidon Press
HUNGARY: Európa Könyvkiadó
ITALY: Adriano Salani Editore
JAPAN: Soshisha
WORLD ENGLISH: Phaidon Press

About author


Heikki Aalto-Alanen

Heikki Aalto-Alanen is the grandson of architects Aino and Alvar Aalto, who has previously served as vice chairman of the Alvar Aalto Foundation, been a member of Artek’s Board of Directors, member of the Alvar Aalto Academy Board, and held other positions maintaining Aino and Alvar Aalto’s artistic work and heritage. Today he is serving as the chairman of the Paimio Sanatorium Foundation, established in 2020 to preserve Aino and Alvar Aalto's early masterpiece. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Alvar and Aino Aalto Estate Ltd. Heikki Aalto-Alanen is a lawyer by profession and has worked in the nordic financial market.

His book tells the story of Aino and Alvar Aalto, depicted through their previously unpublished correspondence from 1921-1949, photographs and drawings.

Read more

Bibliography


2021, General Nonfiction, Memories & Biographies

The Story of Aino and Alvar Aalto

Heikki Aalto-Alanen

Related news

Excellent praise for LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY: The Finnish Way by Asko Känsälä!

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We are thrilled to share with you excellent new endorsements and praises for LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY: The Finnish Way (orig. Johtajasta mestariksi) by Asko Känsälä! We have a full English manuscript for you!

This unique book on Finnish perspective of leadership combining art and craftsmanship, like the great Finnish master architect Alvar Aalto, has resonated with many entrepreneurs, researchers and business authors:

“’LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY: The Finnish Way’ by Asko Känsälä is a refreshing take on corporate culture and strategy. The text contains lessons from a lifelong pursuit of excellence in leadership. It sheds light on many dysfunctions that have been normalized in corporate life. The idea that companies undertaking major change efforts is in fact a sign of prior failure to adapt and learn in real time. The insight that busyness is a signal that one has failed to find their focus and prioritize what is important. The connection between art, beauty, and leadership and pursuit of a beautiful company. This book will make you pause and rethink everything you’re doing.“
– Giorgio Paizanis, Partner, BCG X, The tech build and design unit of Boston Consulting Group, Redondo Beach, CA, USA

“LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY by Asko Känsälä brings to life the pivotal role of leadership in motivating individuals to perform their best. Känsälä successfully draws an analogy between a leader and a carpenter, emphasizing the importance of craftsmanship, precision, and vision in leadership roles. Like a carpenter who meticulously shapes wood into valuable creations, Känsälä argues that a leader must similarly shape their teams, inspiring every member to unlock their fullest potential. LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY convincingly demonstrates that effective leadership isn’t about giving orders but rather nurturing, mentoring, and enabling the individuals within the team to unleash their full potential. A must-read for anyone seeking to refine their leadership skills and inspire their teams to exceptional heights. And an important contribution to leadership in a time where responsible leadership is needed more than ever.“
– Jim Hagemann Snabe, Chairman, Siemens AG and Northvolt AB, Germany

“There is much to learn from the Finns (can you say “sisu”?), but this is the first book I’ve seen that nails the Finnish way of leadership. Through his vivid stories, personal reflections, and compelling thinking, let Asko Känsälä be your guide in understanding how to lead in today’s world. Apply the concepts in LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY and you will have the mark of a master.”
– B. Joseph Pine II, co-author of The Experience Economy: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money

“Leadership is often thought of as a quality of the individual, but in this LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY we learn it is more of an art form to be mastered.  We develop to be an exceptional leader through cycles of practice and reflection, just like the mastery of any other complex skill.”
– Jeffrey K. Liker, PhD, author of international bestseller The Toyota Way

“This is an insightful and important book for leaders at all levels. The central theme is that leadership mastery is an intentional lifelong learning process that starts with leadership of self and then advances step-wise to the ultimate goal – helping others become their best selves. Asko uses the concept of “mental models” to describe this journey and offers compelling examples of how craftsmen in any field achieve mastery in the same way. The book is not only deeply thoughtful; it also offers a practical guide to translate these ideas into action.”
– William G. Pietersen, Professor, The Practice of Management, Columbia Business School, New York

Full English translation is available – join the success of the Finnish Way of Leadership!

Download the full English manuscript for LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY here!

Leadership as Mastery: The Finnish Way

Asko Känsälä

Lead like a Finn! The Finnish way of leadership combines art and craftsmanship, like the great Finnish master architect Alvar Aalto.

What does craftsmanship have to do with leadership? What makes a company beautiful? And what can the Japanese culture contribute to a good working life and good leadership?

Asko Känsälä spent his career building successful businesses and coaching new leaders. He has refined his leadership experience of more than 20 years into a vision of leadership as a craft. Growing up as a leader is like a craftsman’s lifelong path from apprentice to professional. Leadership is a way of thinking, and good leadership is good thinking. LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY: The Finnish Way presents the thinking patterns, tools of the leader-craftsman that good leadership requires.

Inspiring and humane, this book offers a new perspective on leadership, success in the business world, and a better working life.

“ [—] Six words about the book – “Beautiful is something that ages beautifully” (Alvar Aalto).” – Mikko Mattinen, Director of the Finnish Digital Agency

LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY: THE FINNISH WAY
JOHTAJASTA MESTARIKSI
Tammi, 2023, 174 pp.

READING MATERIALS
Full English manuscript

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ESTONIA: Ühinenud Ajakirjad

About author


Asko Känsälä

Asko Känsälä (b. 1957) is a Finnish business builder and leader with a successful career as deputy CEO in the Finnish market leading telecommunication and digital services company Elisa; coach, investor, and grandfather to 10 grandchildren. He is passionate about inspirational leadership and has worked in manufacturing industry, public administration, banking, and ICT, as well as for four years in Japan.

Read more

Bibliography


2023, General Nonfiction

Leadership as Mastery: The Finnish Way

Asko Känsälä

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FUTURE SKILLS by Perttu Pölönen sold to Albania! Now 8 territories!

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We are thrilled to announce that the Albanian rights for FUTURE SKILLS by Perttu Pölönen have been acquired by Publishing House “Jakup Ceraja”! The deal was closed by Elina Ahlbäck at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Publishing house “Jakup Ceraja” was established in 2018 and they publish poetry and novels from both Albanian and international writers. Their international authors include William Carlos Williams, Langston Hughes, Allen Ginsberg, Ezra Pound, Mark Twain, H.P. Lovecraft, Yasmina Khadra, Slavenka Drakulic, Ivana Bodrozic, Knut Hamsun, Mikaela Sundstrom, Leo Freundlich, Jacob Gould Schurman, etc.

With the latest sale to Albania, FUTURE SKILLS has now been sold to 8 territories!
Rights are available in Germany, Poland, Italy, France, Netherlands, Spain, etc.

Download the full English PDF here!

Pölönen’s book on the essential skills that can help you adapt to, live well, and succeed in a future world dominated by machines, robots, and artificial intelligence has received excellent reviews both in Finland and abroad:

“Our capacity for problem solving is a vital attribute of humankind – and Perttu Pölönen has captured the very essence of what our future depends on. Future Skills is an insightful and encouraging book about what skills we as a society should cultivate in the coming years and why. Filled with inspiring personal stories and thought-provoking examples, this is a book I would make my students read. Perttu is a visionary young thinker.”
– Esther Wojcicki, educator and best-selling author of How to Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results

“Each of the twelve skill duos all are treated with warmth and in a multifaceted way, often with a sense of humour. Pölönen’s own experiences are included together with real life stories. What’s most delightful is that all the future abilities can be adopted by anyone. In order to learn these skills, there’s no need for degrees but ultimately require an open heart and mind. The book is appropriate for anyone who’s looking to broaden one’s mind and to become a better human being.“
– Marja Kasanen, Kollega.fi

You can read more about Perttu Pölönen here: Perttu Pölönen | Keynote Speaker, Author, Futurist (perttupolonen.com)

Future Skills

Perttu Pölönen

What are the 12+1 essential skills that will help you defeat the fear of the future?

The next revolution is a human revolution, says Perttu Pölönen, a futurist, inventor and inspirational speaker. We should develop courage, adaptability, compassion, storytelling, patience and curiosity, to name a few, in order to succeed in the era of machines, robots and artificial intelligence such as the ChatGPT. Pölönen explains how.

FUTURE SKILLS challenges assumptions about the future and provides insightful and thought-provoking observations – there’s a lot to digest. With the world developing so fast, we should not focus on what is changing but rather find what is not going to change. What makes us different from machines, makes us happy.

FUTURE SKILLS has become an instant bestseller in Finland where its readers have reported to have changed their career paths and found meaning in their current jobs. It is a book that gives hope. Pölönen is a bright young mind whose personal experiences and stories make the book lively and engaging, and you will find yourself laughing and sobbing. When nothing is certain, everything is possible.

FUTURE SKILLS
TULEVAISUUDEN LUKUJÄRJESTYS
Otava, 2020, 192 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English PDF

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ALBANIA: Publishing House “Jakup Ceraja”
HUNGARY: Anna Inkeri Pap
INDONESIA: PT Pustaka Alvabet
PORTUGAL: Bertrand
SOUTH KOREA: BP Publishers
TURKEY: Büyükada
UNITED STATES (audio): Recorded Publishing
UNITED STATES: Start Publishing

About author


Perttu Pölönen

Perttu Pölönen is a futurist, inventor and an inspirational speaker. In the Finnish media, Perttu has been called a gentle highbrow and fearless inventor. Future Skills has been an instant bestseller in Finland – where Perttu has become one of the most sought-after speakers inspiring thousands of people in his lectures.

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2024, Personal Growth & Lifestyle

Do You Follow? How to Have a Less Toxic Relationship with Social Media

Perttu Pölönen


2021, Personal Growth & Lifestyle

Future Identities

Perttu Pölönen


2020, Personal Growth & Lifestyle

Future Skills

Perttu Pölönen

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I’LL BECOME A RESEARCHER sold to Sweden!

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We are happy to announce that the Swedish rights for the non-fiction title I’LL BECOME A RESEARCHER by Tero Mielonen and Mari Ahokoivu have been acquired by Swedish publisher Epix! The deal was closed by Anna Kappauf at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Previously sold to Bulgaria and Latvia, I’LL BECOME A RESEARCHER shows children how they can turn their interests into careers in science and research, proofing that everyone can be a scientist!

Praise for I’LL BECOME A RESEARCHER:

“I’ll Become a Researcher tells you the basics of every discipline with accuracy and precision. Even If a preschooler will not understand all words, the excellent illustrations can help bring the research equipment and objects of investigation to life.  The presentation was also approved by my 12-year-old son, who is a little older than the target group. The comic in the end of the book gets a special commendation. Clear demonstration, I liked it!”
– Elina Lindfors, Tähdet ja Avaruus -magazine, Finland

We have a full English pdf for you to read and the rights are still available in UK, US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Korea etc!

Download the full English pdf for I’LL BECOME A RESEARCHER here!

 

Maailman tutkijat
Ursa, 2021, 53pp

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Ursa (orig.)
BULGARIA: Enthusiast
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
SWEDEN: Epix

Reading materials:
Full English pdf

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 won the Puupäähattu Comic Book Award 2023, and together with Laura Ertimo, they won the Tieto-Lauri Award 2022 and were nominated for the Finlandia Prize 2021 for WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO?!

Read more

About author


Tero Mielonen

Tero Mielonen (PhD) is an atmospheric scientist and a comic book enthusiast. He studies the role of atmospheric aerosols in climate change at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. He also enjoys public outreach in its various forms.

Mielonen has written a children’s book, I'll Become a Researcher (illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu) which gives introductions to several scientific fields and shows how you can still do the things you enjoyed as a child when you become a scientist. A graphic novel written by Mielonen, The Ozone Diary, was shortlisted for Comic/Graphic Novel at the British Fantasy Awards 2020. Mielonen lives in Kuopio and is partial to cycling everywhere.

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Rockefellers, Windsors, Toyodas – THE 50 MOST DANGEROUS FAMILIES IN THE WORLD by Hannu Sokala published this week!

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We are thrilled to let you know that THE 50 MOST DANGEROUS FAMILIES IN THE WORLD by Hannu Sokala will be published in Finland this week by Otava/Nemo!

Many of the most important big companies around the world are still owned or controlled by their founding families. However, despite wielding significant economic and political power, these families would rather like to remain away from the limelight. What kinds of challenges might these families present for equality and democracy?

In THE 50 MOST DANGEROUS FAMILIES IN THE WORLD, investigative journalist Hannu Sokala presents a unique insight into the possessions of 50 different families all over the world. The reader might already be familiar with the Rockefellers, the al-Sauds, the Windsors and the Toyodas, but many others, including the Quandts, the Safras, and the al-Nahyans, remain mostly unknown. Hannu Sokala’s book reads like a thriller novel and reveals the twists and turns in the history of these absurdly wealthy and powerful families.

THE 50 MOST DANGEROUS FAMILIES IN THE WORLD is an independent sequel to THE 50 MOST DANGEROUS COMPANIES IN THE WORLD, written by Hannu Sokala and Juha-Pekka Raeste and originally published in Finland in 2021, which has been sold to 8 territories!

As reading materials, we now have the full Finnish manuscript and English sample chapters available.

Download materials for THE 50 MOST DANGEROUS FAMILIES IN THE WORLD here!

The 50 Most Dangerous Families in the World

Hannu Sokala

They like to stay in the shadows. Who are the families that wield the most power in the world?

Worse than the Roys
Did you think the Roy family in Succession was distressing? Truth is stranger than fiction. Read about the real-life Roys, the Murdoch family.

How did the BMW owners get rich?
The main owner of the German automaker are the Quandt family. They made their first fortune by supplying the German army with uniforms during World War 1. In the 1930s, they started to collaborate with the Nazis.

What is the greatest ever fortune squandered?
Cornelius Vanderbilt amassed the largest American fortune in the world in the 19th Century. His offspring demolished their fortune by building grand mansions and throwing opulent jet-set parties.

The stories of the families in this book contain larger-than-life characters, unbelievable plots, and numerous conflicts, tragedies, and successes. This non-fiction book by the experienced business journalist Hannu Sokala offers a comprehensive and surprising perspective on the world’s most important – and dangerous families.

THE 50 MOST DANGEROUS FAMILIES IN THE WORLD
MAAILMAN 50 VAARALLISINTA SUKUA
Otava/Nemo, 2023, 428 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample chapters
Table of contents

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava/Nemo (orig.)

About author


Hannu Sokala

Hannu Sokala has worked as a financial journalist for over 30 years, starting at the daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and, lastly, as an investigative reporter for the Finnish National Broadcasting Company YLE. He enjoys digging into the biggest banks and corporations and the most powerful industries.

Hannu’s latest books (The 50 Most Dangerous Companies in the World, with co-author Juha-Pekka Raeste, and The 50 Most Dangerous Families in the World) are bestsellers in Finland.

Hannu resides with his wife, daughter, and two huskies in Tuusula, a 40-minute train ride north of Helsinki. The four seasons start at the front door of their house, which is surrounded by big trees.

In addition to books, Hannu is into music (he is only one short of seeing 30 Bruce Springsteen concerts; his most recent big favourite is the amazing Welsh artist Ren), television (do not get him started, but everything by Stephen Poliakoff and Dennis Potter, in addition to Heimat, Seinfeld, The Sopranos, Gomorrah, Lost, Better Call Saul, etc.), and movies (just don’t).

His ambition is to write nonfiction in a way that inspires people to get interested in the big questions about money, economics, and democracy.

Read more

Bibliography


2023, General Nonfiction

The 50 Most Dangerous Families in the World

Hannu Sokala

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GENTLE POWER is conquering the world: Rights sold in Latvia, US, China and Thailand!

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We are thrilled to announce that the Latvian rights for GENTLE POWER: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu by Emilia Elisabet Lahti, PhD, have been acquired by Zvaigzne ABC! The deal was closed by Sten-Erik Tammemäe at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency. Originally published in the US in January 2023 by Sounds True, the title has also been sold to China to Cheers Publishing, and Thailand to Amarin.

Life is an ultramarathon. The best path is to access your sisu and keep your heart open. Author, and founder of Sisu Lab and Gentle Power Academy, Emilia Elisabet Lahti, PhD, describes GENTLE POWER:
“Love is our base element of life and love has always been there waiting for us to remove the veils that conceal it. Power is our base element too, and together with love it lays the blueprint for how we express our energy and potential in life. I call their harmonious expression gentle power.  This book is the result of my lifelong struggle to learn about love and power through trial and error. Every failure I meet reveals itself as a lesson in love and power.”

GENTLE POWER has garnered excellent reviews by critics and experts and generated a lot of media interest in both Lahti and her book:

“The book prompts readers to consider how they might develop their own compassionate power, urging them to be curious about what’s actually happening in a given conflict and to approach interactions with others without preconceived ideas. When we embody our sisu, Lahti says, we “open our eyes wide to whatever is at hand … with curiosity and courage that are soft around the edges.” – Spirituality & Health Magazine

Read Emilia Elisabet Lahti’s cover feature and 7-page interview for Spirituality & Health here: https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/running-on-gentle-power
Listen to Forging Mettle Podcast: The yin and yang of gentleness and power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Sv5GJjUAI

“In this beautiful book, Elisabet shows us how strength and toughness are not the same thing. A much-needed antidote to the myth of mind over matter, and a touching, honest story of one woman’s journey to discover the true origins of grit and fulfillment.” ―Angela Duckworth, PhD, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and New York Times bestselling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

“Gentle Power is a brilliant and refreshing idea. Lahti is a rare combination of real-life adventurer and scientist. With the warmth and authenticity typical to her writing, she outlines an inviting path toward our highest expression through the power of everyday relationships.” ―Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD

Download the English PDF for GENTLE POWER here!

GENTLE POWER: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu

Emilia Elisabet Lahti

The Finnish philosophy of sisu shows us a new way to look at power—not as force and domination but as the harmonious expression of human character in everyday actions. With Gentle Power, Finnish-born Dr. Emilia Elisabet Lahti shares an illuminating guide to an emerging shift in the way we define true strength—an approach that balances resolve with reason, grit with compassion, and personal success with service to the collective good. Lahti explores sisu, world traditions, and modern research to provide a new way to approach leadership, resilience, and our power to create change.

Power is fundamental in our lives—we express it in every conversation, relationship, and choice we make. All too often, we equate force and domination with power, while gentleness and compassion are considered “soft” or “weak.” The destructive nature of this skewed perspective has never been more obvious, yet there is reason to hope.

GENTLE POWER: A REVOLUTION IN HOW WE THINK, LEAD, AND SUCCEED USING THE FINNISH ART OF SISU
Sounds True, 2023, 194 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
WORLD ENGLISH: Sounds True (orig.)
CHINA: Cheers Publishing Company
LATVIA: Zvaigzne ABC
THAILAND: Amarin Printing and Publishing

About author


Emilia Elisabet Lahti

Emilia Elisabet Lahti (PhD, MSc, MAPP), who goes by Elisabet, is an awarded educator, applied psychology researcher, and founder of Sisu Lab that helps create communities and work cultures based on everyday leadership as an expression of courage and compassion. Elisabet holds a master’s degree in social psychology from the University of Tampere in Finland and a master’s in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied under Professors Martian Seligman and Angela Duckworth. Since initiating the research on the Finnish construct of sisu in 2012, Elisabet’s doctoral work has involved exploring the limits of her own sisu through ultra-endurance running and Eastern martial arts. Her work on sisu has been featured by The New Yorker, Business Insider, BBC, Forbes, and more. Born and raised in Finland, she has lived and taught internationally and given talks at Fortune 500 companies, TEDx, Stanford University, and UC Berkeley.

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Polish rights sold for HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN by Prof. Kimmo Rentola!

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We are thrilled to announce that the Polish rights for HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN: From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950 by Professor Kimmo Rentola (orig. Stalin ja Suomen kohtalo, Otava) have been acquired by REBIS! The deal was closed by Sten-Erik Tammemäe at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency. Previously, the World English rights were sold to Yale University Press for publication in November 2023 and the Greek rights to Papadopoulos Publishers. Full English manuscript is available!

The Polish publisher REBIS praised the book for being a timely and highly informative title:

“A brilliant and original analysis of the political side of Finnish-Soviet relations under Stalin’s rule, based on excellent knowledge of diplomatic and intelligence sources. Important and alarmingly timely in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the revolutionary decision of the Finns to join NATO.”
– Tomasz Szponder, co-founder and president of the board, REBIS, Poland

Praise by Yale University Press:

‘I am thrilled to be publishing Kimmo Rentola’s important work on Finland and Stalin. As the leading scholar on Soviet-Finnish relations, his intimate understanding of the intelligence history during this crucial period makes for a uniquely fascinating and revelatory read. And of course this story has huge resonance at the present time, with Finland joining NATO and the parallels between the Winter War and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yale University Press will be proud to publish Kimmo’s book in English in November 2023.’ 
– Julian Loose, Editorial Director Trade & Academic, Yale University Press London

Download the full English manuscript for HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN here!

How Finland Survived Stalin: From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950

Kimmo Rentola

A dramatic and timely account of Stalin’s failed invasion of Finland in 1939, and the decade of wars and fraught relations that followed.

✓  Winner of the Lauri Jäntti Prize for non-fiction literature! 
✓  Full English manuscript with updated introduction available!

How did Finland evade Joseph Stalin’s crosshairs three times? Did Stalin have a special relationship with Finland and the Finns? Why didn’t he continue the Soviet onslaught on Finland during the Winter War in 1940? Why did the dictator back down from his aspirations and demands towards Finland during the peace negotiations in 1944? Why did 1948 remain the year of an unfulfilled coup in Finland?

The answers lie in the relations between Finland and Russia. Joseph Stalin has been one of the individuals with the most influence on the history of independent Finland. The book focuses on the decisions of Stalin in which the entire existence or, at the very least, the essential nature of that existence, of Finland was at stake.

HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN: FROM WINTER WAR TO COLD WAR, 1939-1950
STALIN JA SUOMEN KOHTALO
Otava, 2016, 240 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English manuscript

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Äripäev
GREECE: Papadopoulos Publishers
POLAND: REBIS
WORLD ENGLISH: Yale University Press

About author


Kimmo Rentola

Kimmo Rentola (b. 1953), PhD, is a historian and professor emeritus of political history, at the University of Turku from 2006 to 2014 and at the University of Helsinki since 2014. In his research, Rentola has specialized in the history of the Cold War, the relationships between Finland and the Soviet Union, and both Finnish and Nordic communism. His other research areas are the youth movements of the 1960s and the history of intelligence agencies.

His latest title, HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN, won the Lauri Jäntti Award for non-fiction literature in 2017, while his previous book Vallankumouksen aave (‘The Ghost of the Revolution’) won the Scholarly Book of the Year Award in Finland in 2007.

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First foreign sale for LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY: The Finnish Way by Asko Känsälä!

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We are thrilled to announce that the Estonian rights for LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY: The Finnish Way by Asko Känsälä (orig. Johtajasta mestariksi) have been acquired by Ühinenud Ajakirjad! The deal was closed by Sten-Erik Tammemäe at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

This is the first foreign sale for this unique book on Finnish perspective of leadership combining art and craftsmanship, like the great Finnish master architect Alvar Aalto. Full English translation is available – join the success of the Finnish Way of Leadership!

Ühinenud Ajakirjad are aiming to publish LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY in Estonian in January 2024. They praised the book for its personal and unique approach to leadership:

“Decades-long career in leadership has made Asko Känsälä understand leadership as a handicraft skill that you can improve upon, up until mastery. [This book is a] human and inspiring personal experience that reveals leadership as a profession from a wholly new perspective and shows that it is possible to become a good leader through learning, learning, and learning. And in order to become a good leader, one has to learn how to lead oneself.”
– Tiina Lebane, Head of Book Department, Ühinenud Ajakirjad, Estonia

Download the full English manuscript for LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY here!

 

Endorsement:

“Leadership is often thought of as a quality of the individual, but in this LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY we learn it is more of an art form to be mastered.  We develop to be an exceptional leader through cycles of practice and reflection, just like the mastery of any other complex skill.”
– Jeffrey K. Liker, PhD, author of international bestseller The Toyota Way

 

LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY: The Finnish Way

Asko Känsälä

The Finnish way of leadership combines art and craftsmanship, like the great Finnish master architect Alvar Aalto.

  • Discover a new, Nordic perspective of leadership!
  • Find out what makes a company beautiful?
  • Growing up as a leader: craftsman’s path from apprentice to professional

What does craftsmanship have to do with leadership? What makes a company beautiful? And what can the Japanese culture contribute to a good working life and good leadership? Asko Känsälä spent his career building successful businesses and coaching new leaders. He has refined his leadership experience of more than 20 years into a vision of leadership as a craft. Leadership as Mastery: The Finnish Way presents the thinking patterns, tools of the leader-craftsman that good leadership requires.

Johtajasta mestariksi
Tammi, January 2023, 174 pp.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ESTONIA: Ühinenud Ajakirjad
Reading materials:
Full English manuscript

About author


Asko Känsälä

Asko Känsälä (b. 1957) is a Finnish business builder and leader with a successful career as deputy CEO in the Finnish market leading telecommunication and digital services company Elisa; coach, investor, and grandfather to 10 grandchildren. He is passionate about inspirational leadership and has worked in manufacturing industry, public administration, banking, and ICT, as well as for four years in Japan.

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2023, General Nonfiction

Leadership as Mastery: The Finnish Way

Asko Känsälä

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Greek rights to HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN sold to Papadopoulos Publishers!

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We’re thrilled to announce a Greek deal for Professor Kimmo Rentola’s award-winning non-fiction book  HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN: From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950 (orig. Stalin ja Suomen kohtalo, Otava, 2016, 240 pp.): Papadopoulos Publishers has acquired the rights in a pre-empt! The deal was closed by Elsa Lindström at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

The planned publication for the Greek edition is spring 2024. Previously, the World English rights were sold to Yale University Press:

‘I am thrilled to be publishing Kimmo Rentola’s important work on Finland and Stalin. As the leading scholar on Soviet-Finnish relations, his intimate understanding of the intelligence history during this crucial period makes for a uniquely fascinating and revelatory read. And of course this story has huge resonance at the present time, with Finland joining NATO and the parallels between the Winter War and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yale University Press will be proud to publish Kimmo’s book in English in November 2023.’ 
– Julian Loose, Editorial Director Trade & Academic, Yale University Press London

Download the English manuscript for HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN here!

HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN: From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950

By Kimmo Rentola
A dramatic and timely account of Stalin’s failed invasion of Finland in 1939, and the decade of wars and fraught relations that followed.

✓  Winner of the Lauri Jäntti Prize for non-fiction literature! 
✓  Full English manuscript with updated introduction available!

How did Finland evade Joseph Stalin’s crosshairs three times? Did Stalin have a special relationship with Finland and the Finns? Why didn’t he continue the Soviet onslaught on Finland during the Winter War in 1940? Why did the dictator back down from his aspirations and demands towards Finland during the peace negotiations in 1944? Why did 1948 remain the year of an unfulfilled coup in Finland?
The answers lie in the relations between Finland and Russia. Joseph Stalin has been one of the individuals with the most influence on the history of independent Finland. The book focuses on the decisions of Stalin in which the entire existence or, at the very least, the essential nature of that existence, of Finland was at stake.

Stalin ja Suomen kohtalo
orig. publisher  Otava, October 2016, 240 pp.

Rights sold:
Finland: Otava (orig.)
Estonia: Äripäev
Greek: Papadopoulos Publishers
World English: Yale University Press

Reading material:
English manuscript

About author


Kimmo Rentola

Kimmo Rentola (b. 1953), PhD, is a historian and professor emeritus of political history, at the University of Turku from 2006 to 2014 and at the University of Helsinki since 2014. In his research, Rentola has specialized in the history of the Cold War, the relationships between Finland and the Soviet Union, and both Finnish and Nordic communism. His other research areas are the youth movements of the 1960s and the history of intelligence agencies.

His latest title, HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN, won the Lauri Jäntti Award for non-fiction literature in 2017, while his previous book Vallankumouksen aave (‘The Ghost of the Revolution’) won the Scholarly Book of the Year Award in Finland in 2007.

Read more

Bibliography

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Introducing Ahlback Agency NON-FICTION Spring 2023 Rights Guide!

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We are thrilled to present our Non-Fiction Catalogue for Spring 2023!

Are you ready to learn the Finnish way of leadership as craftsmanship? Or learn more about why our efforts to halt the current ecological crisis are bound to fail? Or find out about the Finnish hot and cold contrast therapy that boosts your physical and mental health?

From our new catalogue, we’ve picked some of the hottest titles for you – take a look at them below!

View the Spring 2023 Non-Fiction Catalogue here!

Leadership as Mastery: The Finnish Way

Asko Känsälä

Lead like a Finn! The Finnish way of leadership combines art and craftsmanship, like the great Finnish master architect Alvar Aalto.

What does craftsmanship have to do with leadership? What makes a company beautiful?

Full English ms. in March 2023!

“Leadership is often thought of as a quality of the individual, but in Asko Känsälä’s book LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY we learn it is more of an art form to be mastered.  We develop to be an exceptional leader through cycles of practice and reflection, just like the mastery of any other complex skill.”
– Jeffrey K. Liker, PhD, author of international bestseller The Toyota Way

Hot and Cold. From Sauna to Sea: The Finnish Way

Katja Pantzar and Carita Harju

Hot and cold contrast therapy is fast becoming the must-do wellness experience. This new book by two experts inspires readers with insights into the powerful Finnish method of alternating between a hot and cold environment to boost health and happiness and delves into how experiencing these contrasting extremes of temperature can change your outlook, your wellbeing and your life. The Finnish secret of happiness!

Yellow Kite Executive Publisher Liz Gough said, “I have been so struck by the growing interest in cold- water swimming and saunas and the powerful health impact of contrast bathing to help promote happy hormones, soothe away stress, build resilience and promote wellbeing and good mental health. When I started to explore this area more, what became clear was that the Finns have had the right idea all along! I am really excited about this acquisition and about helping Yellow Kite readers build some Finnish fortitude into their own lives to help them thrive.”

Whale in a Glass Bowl

Maria Katajavuori

Join the journey of a whale and a woman and uncover the keys to sustainability – the Earth can be saved with tools of human behavioral biology.

Humans are like a whale in a glass bowl, trapped despite our big brains.

Finlandia Prize jury’s motivations for nomination:
“An uncompromising statement about the current state and future of nature that brings even the most environmentally conscious reader to admit their responsibility in overconsumption. Willpower, intelligence, and any amount of research are not enough if they do not lead to political decisions and action in organized democracies. Information, emotion, and respectable literary activism.”

Back to Nature Finland: Explore Nature, Myths, and Ancient Wisdom

Reetta Ranta and Antti Huttunen

BACK TO NATURE FINLAND is a calming, relaxing experience that takes you on a journey throughout Finnish nature, with a touch of ancient wisdom, mythology and local history. Based on the internationally acclaimed TV show!

Full English PDF available!

The book presents 24 beautiful travel locations in Finnish nature. It reveals stories about Finnish mythology related to those locations, and provides delicious local food tips to enjoy when visiting. Learn the secrets of the Archipelago Sea, discover Lohja’s groves and caves, and meet the most beautiful tree in Finland. Travel with us from the Åland Islands, across the Nordic archipelago’s seashores and dunes, to the mysteries of lake Saimaa. Join us as we follow the origins of the Finnish national epic, Kalevala; climb to the top of Pyhä-Nattanen, the Mountain of the Gods; and explore some of the many sacred sites of Finnish Lapland.

The 50 Most Dangerous Companies in the World

Hannu Sokala

They like to stay in the shadows. Who are the families that wield the most power in the world?

Very few of us know the Lees, the al-Nahyans, the Quandts, the Safras or the Wertheimers. We all know, however, their companies Samsung, Manchester City, BMW, Chiquita, and Chanel. Many of the world’s most influential companies are still family businesses, and many of these families go back many generations, some even to the 18th Century. Many of them operate around the world, and some are worth tens of billions of dollars. Still, we know astonishingly little about these families.

The stories of the families in this book contain larger-than-life characters, unbelievable plots, and numerous conflicts, tragedies, and successes. This non-fiction book by the experienced business journalist Hannu Sokala offers a comprehensive and surprising perspective on the world’s most important – and dangerous families.

How Finland Survived Stalin

Kimmo Rentola

A meticulously researched insight into critical points in the history of relations between Finland and the Soviet Union.

World English rights sold to Yale University Press!

How did Finland evade Joseph Stalin’s crosshairs three times? Did Stalin have a special relationship with Finland and the Finns? Why didn’t he continue the Soviet onslaught on Finland during the Winter War in 1940? The answers lie in the relations between Finland and Russia which remain highly timely to this day.

Yale University Press Editorial Director Julian Loose says: “I am thrilled to be publishing Kimmo Rentola’s important work on Finland and Stalin. As the leading scholar on Soviet-Finnish relations, his intimate understanding of the intelligence history during this crucial period makes for a uniquely fascinating and revelatory read. And of course this story has huge resonance at the present time, with Finland joining NATO and the parallels between the Winter War and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yale University Press will be proud to publish Kimmo’s book in English in the spring of 2024.“


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Breaking news! Yellow Kite, Hodder & Stoughton has acquired World English rights for HOT AND COLD by Katja Pantzar and Carita Harju!

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We are now sharing our secret to how the world’s happiest nation, Finland, keeps calm and carries on – no matter what life throws at us. Now you too can learn our secrets, as we are sharing this brilliant news from the UK:

World English rights of the Finnish hot and cold method boosting happiness, a title called HOT AND COLD. From Sauna to Sea: The Finnish Way to a Happy, Healthy Life were today acquired by Liz Gough at Yellow Kite, Hodder & Stoughton for publication in 2024. The deal was negotiated by Elina Ahlbäck at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

This definitive guide is written by two experts. Katja Pantzar is a Helsinki-based writer and journalist who swims in the Baltic Sea almost every day – all year round. Katja is the author of The Finnish Way, translated into 24 languages. Carita Harju is a Finnish sauna experience expert and marketing professional whose mission is to share the Finnish sauna’s positive health and wellness benefits with the world. Congratulations, Katja, Carita and Yellow Kite!

Yellow Kite Executive Publisher Liz Gough said:
“I have been so struck by the growing interest in cold-water swimming and saunas and the powerful health impact of contrast bathing to help promote happy hormones, soothe away stress, build resilience and enhance wellbeing and encourage good mental health. When I started to explore this area more, what became clear was that the Finns have had the right idea all along! Alternating between hot and cold environments is a way of life in Finland and in Hot and Cold Katja Pantzar and Carita Harju will explain the science, give insights into their own experiences, and offer readers practical guidance so that they too can reap the benefits and improve their health. I am really excited about this acquisition and about helping Yellow Kite readers build some Finnish fortitude into their own lives to help them thrive.”

Hot and cold contrast therapy is fast becoming the must-do wellness experience. Be among the first ones, forerunners of this trend, and acquire the rights to HOT AND COLD to boost wellness and happiness around the world!

Download the materials for HOT AND COLD here!

Hot and Cold. From Sauna to Sea: The Finnish Way to a Happy, Healthy Life

Katja Pantzar and Carita Harju

Hot and cold contrast therapy is fast becoming the must-do wellness experience. This new book inspires readers with insights into the powerful Finnish method of alternating between a hot and cold environment in order to boost health and happiness and delves into how experiencing these contrasting extremes of temperature can change your outlook, your wellbeing and your life.

  • Inspiration and practical tools for creating a wellness retreat at home using the Nordic contrast bathing method, wherever you are in the world.
  • The Finnish hot and cold method boosts happiness by increasing wellbeing and encouraging connection with nature

The sauna was recently ranked as the No. 1 global wellness trend by the Global Wellness Summit. Cold-water swimming is also a growing trend and is being proposed as a cure for all manner of things – from improving mental health to boosting immunity. But why is being hot good for you, and why is submerging into icy water good for you? And what about alternating between the two? What exactly is hot and cold therapy and why is it so vital for physical and mental health?

Dive into the unique world of hot and cold via Finland, where a good steam and an icy dip in a lake or the sea are the foundations of wellbeing for mind, body and soul.

HOT AND COLD. From Sauna to Sea: The Finnish Way to a Happy, Healthy Life
Yellow Kite / Hodder & Stoughton, 2024, approx. 45,000 words

READING MATERIALS
Book proposal
Sample chapters in Spring 2023
Full English manuscript in Fall 2023

RIGHTS SOLD:
WORLD ENGLISH: Yellow Kite / Hodder & Stoughton (orig.)

About author


Carita Harju

Carita Harju is a Finnish sauna experience expert and marketing professional whose mission is to share the Finnish sauna’s positive health and wellness benefits with the world. She is the founder and executive director of Sauna from Finland, which represents an international network of more than 200 sauna industry companies. The organization’s mission is to create the world’s best sauna experiences, and Harju loves her work, because it allows her to advance an idea that she is personally so passionate about. Carita Harju has always enjoyed saunas, goes to sauna with her family nearly every day and gives talks all over the world.

Her first illustrated guide, Sauna - The Way of Finnish Life (2016), has been published in four languages, including German and Chinese. Her second book, Soul of the Sauna, was released in Japanese and Hungarian, while her newest title Saunafulness (Hyvää oloa saunomalla/2021) was published in Finnish and will be published in Estonian and Japanese in 2023.

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About author


Katja Pantzar

Helsinki-based writer, editor and journalist Katja Pantzar was raised in Canada with stints in New Zealand and the UK. Pantzar’s The Finnish Way has been translated into 24 languages. She is the author of three guides to the Finnish capital: The Hip Guide to Helsinki, Helsinki by Light and 100 Things to Do in Helsinki. Pantzar’s writing has appeared in a wide range of media, from The Globe and Mail to Elle. Her work has been widely covered around the world, including in Le Figaro, Le Monde, El País, Vogue, Real Simple, and more.

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Celebrating today the US publication date of GENTLE POWER by Emilia Elisabet Lahti!

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Celebrating today the US publication date of GENTLE POWER by Emilia Elisabet Lahti!

Warmest congratulations, Emilia Elisabet Lahti, for the US publication of GENTLE POWER by Sounds True! GENTLE POWER: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu is being released in the US today, January 24th.  You can join us in the celebrations by listening to Elisabet Lahti at The Courageous Life – Interview and Podcast where she wonderfully explains and talks about Gentle Power:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1SKciXFvY0ml71mVtCSbAD

The book prompts readers to consider how they might develop their own compassionate power, urging them to be curious about what’s actually happening in a given conflict and to approach interactions with others without preconceived ideas. When we embody our sisu, Lahti says, we “open our eyes wide to whatever is at hand … with curiosity and courage that are soft around the edges.” – Spirituality & Health Magazine

Read the full review here:  https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/reviews/books/2022/12/28/book-review-gentle-power

Nobody has taught me more about sisu than Emilia Elisabet Lahti. In this beautiful book, Elisabet shows us how strength and toughness are not the same thing. A much-needed antidote to the myth of mind over matter, and a touching, honest story of one woman’s journey to discover the true origins of grit and fulfillment.” —Angela Duckworth, PhD, MacArthur Fellow, Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and New York Times bestselling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

This captivating and heartfelt book invites readers on a compelling journey to their fullest expression of power and leadership.” —Emma Seppälä, PhD, Yale School of Management, author of The Happiness Track

A beautiful book written by one of the most important voices in positive psychology. Part balm and part rallying call, this book is a deep well for the weary positive champions who are searching for a way to transform the lives of others and to discover a more powerful path to an empowered, connected, and hopeful world.” —Shawn Achor, New York Times bestselling author of Big Potential and The Happiness Advantage

Gentle Power is a brilliant and refreshing idea. Lahti is a rare combination of real-life adventurer and scientist. With the warmth and authenticity typical to her writing, she outlines an inviting path toward our highest expression through the power of everyday relationships.” —Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD, host of The Psychology Podcast and Founder and Director of the Center for Human Potential

Lahti examines how attachment styles can be employed to understand ourselves and others with more compassion and thereby assist us into evolved forms of leadership. Throughout Gentle Power, Lahti kindly nudges us toward bold self-inquiry and genuine, life-changing empowerment.” —Diane Poole Heller, PhD, author of Crash Course, The Power of Attachment, and Healing Your Attachment Wounds

Emilia Elisabet Lahti is a pioneering researcher and rising star in the new human potential movement. Gentle Power, her first book, is a bold invitation into what’s possible as a human being. Infused with a powerful combination of backbone, heart, and original research, Lahti gently but persuasively challenges readers to question perceived limitations and, ultimately, transform barriers into frontiers.” —Joshua Steinfeldt, host of The Courageous Life podcast, mindfulness teacher, and professional coach

Congratulations, Emilia Elisabet and Sounds True!

The rights of Gentle Power have also been sold to China and Thailand. Rights for all other languages are still available – join the gentle revolution!
Download the materials here!

GENTLE POWER: A Revolution In How We Think, Lead and Succeed Using The Finnish Art Of Sisu (Sounds True, Jan. 2023) 

By Emilia Elisabet Lahti, PhD
The Finnish philosophy of sisu shows us a new way to look at power—not as force and domination but as the harmonious expression of human character in everyday actions. Finnish-born Emilia Elisabet Lahti explores sisu, world traditions, and modern research to provide a new way to approach leadership, resilience, and our power to create change.

Power is fundamental in our lives—we express it in every conversation, relationship, and choice we make. All too often, we equate force and domination with power, while gentleness and compassion are considered “soft” or “weak.” The destructive nature of this skewed perspective has never been more obvious, yet there is reason to hope. With Gentle Power, Dr. Emilia Elisabet Lahti shares an illuminating guide to an emerging shift in the way we define true strength—an approach that balances resolve with reason, grit with compassion, and personal success with service to the collective good.

GENTLE POWER: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu

Original publication: Sounds True, January 24, 2023, 194 pp.

Rights sold:

WORLD ENGLISH: Sounds True (orig.),
CHINA: Cheers Publishing Company,
THAILAND: Amarin Printing and Publishing

About author


Emilia Elisabet Lahti

Emilia Elisabet Lahti (PhD, MSc, MAPP), who goes by Elisabet, is an awarded educator, applied psychology researcher, and founder of Sisu Lab that helps create communities and work cultures based on everyday leadership as an expression of courage and compassion. Elisabet holds a master’s degree in social psychology from the University of Tampere in Finland and a master’s in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied under Professors Martian Seligman and Angela Duckworth. Since initiating the research on the Finnish construct of sisu in 2012, Elisabet’s doctoral work has involved exploring the limits of her own sisu through ultra-endurance running and Eastern martial arts. Her work on sisu has been featured by The New Yorker, Business Insider, BBC, Forbes, and more. Born and raised in Finland, she has lived and taught internationally and given talks at Fortune 500 companies, TEDx, Stanford University, and UC Berkeley.

Read more

Bibliography

Related news

World English rights to “WINTER WARRIORS: How Finland Survived Stalin” sold to Yale University Press

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Breaking news for the new year 2023!

YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS has acquired World English rights to Professor Kimmo Rentola’s award-winning non-fiction book “WINTER WARRIORS: How Finland Survived Stalin” (working title)  (“Stalin ja Suomen kohtalo, Otava, 2016). WINTER WARRIORS will be published in Spring 2024 simultaneously in the UK YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS UK  and in the US  YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS US. The deal was closed by Elina Ahlback at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Editorial Director Julian Loose adds:

‘I am thrilled to be publishing Kimmo Rentola’s important work on Finland and Stalin. As the leading scholar on Soviet-Finnish relations, his intimate understanding of the intelligence history during this crucial period makes for a uniquely fascinating and revelatory read. And of course this story has huge resonance at the present time, with Finland joining NATO and the parallels between the Winter War and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yale University Press will be proud to publish Kimmo’s book in English in the spring of 2024.’ 
– Julian Loose, Editorial Director Trade & Academic, Yale University Press London

Download the materials for WINTER WARRIORS: How Finland Survived Stalin HERE!

WINTER WARRIORS: How Finland Survived Stalin (working title)
orig. publication: Stalin ja Suomen kohtalo
orig. publisher Otava, October 2016, 240 pp.

Rights sold:
Finland: Otava (orig.)
World English: Yale University Press
Estonia: Äripäev

Reading material:
Finnish edition
English manuscript

About author


Kimmo Rentola

Kimmo Rentola (b. 1953), PhD, is a historian and professor emeritus of political history, at the University of Turku from 2006 to 2014 and at the University of Helsinki since 2014. In his research, Rentola has specialized in the history of the Cold War, the relationships between Finland and the Soviet Union, and both Finnish and Nordic communism. His other research areas are the youth movements of the 1960s and the history of intelligence agencies.

His latest title, HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN, won the Lauri Jäntti Award for non-fiction literature in 2017, while his previous book Vallankumouksen aave (‘The Ghost of the Revolution’) won the Scholarly Book of the Year Award in Finland in 2007.

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Bibliography

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Italian rights to THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO sold to Salani!

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We are happy to announce that Salani in Italy has now acquired th rights to THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO, written by Aaltos’ grandson Heikki Aalto-Alanen. We are truly happy for an Italian deal, as Italy was an important country for both Aaltos, who spent a great deal of time there – Italy was also the destination for their honeymoon! The deal was closed by Elina Ahlbäck and Elsa Lindström at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

This beautiful title, based on unpublished correspondence of Aino and Alvar Aalto, has now been sold to 7 territories, having previously acquired by Európa Könyvkiadó in Hungary, Phaidon for World English market and for French market, Soshisha in Japan and Postimees in Estonia! 

The title was published in Estonia in April 2022 to great reception, the Japanese edition will be pubished by Soshisha in Summer 2023, and the Phaidon English and French editions are planned for publication in Fall 2023!

“When we think about great minds, we tend to see more of the result of their work than the people behind it. Aino and Alvar Aalto’s work in the field of design and architecture has had a great impact worldwide, representing beauty, harmony, and comfort. There are books and studies which can tell us many things about it, but I believe that none of them can ever be as personal and intimate as their own love story – written by their grandson. One can only imagine how much their creativity was nourished by their personal relationship. It will be extremely exciting to read their story and to get to know both of them almost as close as they knew each other. The fact that their creations have proven to be timeless since the day they were born is proof in itself of extraordinary, unbreakable love.”
– Piret Veigel, Senior Editor at Postimees Publishing House, Estonia

The rights are still available in e.g. Germany, Sweden, World Spanish, Poland, etc.
Request the materials here!

 

THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO 

By Heikki Aalto-Alanen

The love story of the world-famous, pioneering design couple Aino and Alvar Aalto, written by the Aaltos’ grandson

Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino are internationally celebrated for their architecture, furniture, glassware, and other interior design, but their personal lives have been relatively unknown – until now. This book, written by the Aaltos’ grandson, stands apart from countless other works on the Aalto’s lives and careers. It contains photos, sketches, and personal letters between Aino and Alvar, beautifully illustrating how inseparable this couple was both in work and love, and bringing a deeply human element to their story.

“Countless books have been written about Alvar Aalto’s architecture and other works. Recently, Aino Marsio-Aalto has also received the recognition she deserves in her own right as well as in her role as the partner of Alvar Aalto in his rise as one of the leading architects of the 20th century,” says Heikki Aalto-Alanen. “The voice in this book is personal. I want to tell the story of Aino’s and Alvar’s unique partnership, relationship, and their joint life work from the perspective of a family member. I also want their own voices to be heard.”

In addition to the photographs from the family archive, the book is illustrated with Aino’s and Alvar’s drawings of each other and of their children, along with architectural drawings and photographs.

Rakastan sinussa ihmistä
Otava, August 2021, pp. 460

Reading Material:
Full English MS

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Postimees
HUNGARY: Európa Könyvkiadó
FRANCE: Phaidon Press
ITALY: Salani
JAPAN: Soshisha
WORLD ENGLISH: Phaidon Press

About author


Heikki Aalto-Alanen

Heikki Aalto-Alanen is the grandson of architects Aino and Alvar Aalto, who has previously served as vice chairman of the Alvar Aalto Foundation, been a member of Artek’s Board of Directors, member of the Alvar Aalto Academy Board, and held other positions maintaining Aino and Alvar Aalto’s artistic work and heritage. Today he is serving as the chairman of the Paimio Sanatorium Foundation, established in 2020 to preserve Aino and Alvar Aalto's early masterpiece. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Alvar and Aino Aalto Estate Ltd. Heikki Aalto-Alanen is a lawyer by profession and has worked in the nordic financial market.

His book tells the story of Aino and Alvar Aalto, depicted through their previously unpublished correspondence from 1921-1949, photographs and drawings.

Read more

Bibliography


2021, General Nonfiction, Memories & Biographies

The Story of Aino and Alvar Aalto

Heikki Aalto-Alanen

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French rights to THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO acquired by Phaidon Press!

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We are happy to announce that PHAIDON PRESS has now acquired the French rights to THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO, written by Aaltos’ grandson Heikki Aalto-Alanen! The deal was closed by Elina Ahlback at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

This beautiful title, based on unpublished correspondence of Aino and Alvar Aalto, has now been sold to 6 territories, having previously acquired by Európa Könyvkiadó in Hungary, Phaidon for World English market, Soshisha in Japan and Postimees in Estonia! 

We are very proud to have acquired the rights for the English and French editions of Heikki Aalto Alanen’s book on Aino and Alvar Aalto. It is an honour to publish the great story of two talented individuals, who changed forever the course of modern architecture and design.”
– Emilia Terragni, Associated Publisher, Phaidon Press London.

The title was published in Estonia in April 2022 to great reception, and the Phaidon English and French editions are planned for publication in Fall 2023!

The rights are still available in e.g. Germany, Italy, Sweden, World Spanish, Poland, etc.
Download the materials here!

THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO 

By Heikki Aalto-Alanen
The love story of the world-famous, pioneering design couple Aino and Alvar Aalto, written by the Aaltos’ grandson

Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino are internationally celebrated for their architecture, furniture, glassware, and other interior design, but their personal lives have been relatively unknown – until now. This book, written by the Aaltos’ grandson, stands apart from countless other works on the Aalto’s lives and careers. It contains photos, sketches, and personal letters between Aino and Alvar, beautifully illustrating how inseparable this couple was both in work and love, and bringing a deeply human element to their story.

“Countless books have been written about Alvar Aalto’s architecture and other works. Recently, Aino Marsio-Aalto has also received the recognition she deserves in her own right as well as in her role as the partner of Alvar Aalto in his rise as one of the leading architects of the 20th century,” says Heikki Aalto-Alanen. “The voice in this book is personal. I want to tell the story of Aino’s and Alvar’s unique partnership, relationship, and their joint life work from the perspective of a family member. I also want their own voices to be heard.”

In addition to the photographs from the family archive, the book is illustrated with Aino’s and Alvar’s drawings of each other and of their children, along with architectural drawings and photographs.

Rakastan sinussa ihmistä
Otava, August 2021, pp. 460

Reading Material:
English sample, table of contents, info, Full Finnish PDF

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

ESTONIA: Postimees
FRANCE: Phaidon Press
HUNGARY: Európa Könyvkiadó
JAPAN: Soshisha
WORLD ENGLISH: Phaidon Press

About author


Heikki Aalto-Alanen

Heikki Aalto-Alanen is the grandson of architects Aino and Alvar Aalto, who has previously served as vice chairman of the Alvar Aalto Foundation, been a member of Artek’s Board of Directors, member of the Alvar Aalto Academy Board, and held other positions maintaining Aino and Alvar Aalto’s artistic work and heritage. Today he is serving as the chairman of the Paimio Sanatorium Foundation, established in 2020 to preserve Aino and Alvar Aalto's early masterpiece. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Alvar and Aino Aalto Estate Ltd. Heikki Aalto-Alanen is a lawyer by profession and has worked in the nordic financial market.

His book tells the story of Aino and Alvar Aalto, depicted through their previously unpublished correspondence from 1921-1949, photographs and drawings.

Read more

Bibliography


2021, General Nonfiction, Memories & Biographies

The Story of Aino and Alvar Aalto

Heikki Aalto-Alanen

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GENTLE POWER by Emilia Elisabet Lahti sold in Thailand in pre-empt to Amarin Books!

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GENTLE POWER by Emilia Elisabet Lahti sold in Thailand in pre-empt to Amarin Books!

A much-needed antidote to the myth of mind over matter, and a touching, honest story of one woman’s journey to discover the true origins of grit and fullfilment.”
– Angela Duckworth, PhD, author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, #1 New York Times Bestseller.

We are over the moon to announce a wonderful pre-empt deal in Thailand for Emilia Elisabet Lahti’s beautiful book GENTLE POWER: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu (Sounds True, Jan. 2023). Thailand’s No. 1 Publisher Amarin Printing and Publishing acquired the Thai rights for publication in 2024.  The original English language edition of GENTLE POWER will be published in the US by  Sounds True  on January 24, 2023.  In China, Cheers Publishing Company will publish GENTLE POWER in 2023.

Amarin Books, the Thai publisher, loves this unique book, a gift to the world:

Gentle Power is now more than ever of the essence in powerful leadership and in successful life in general. We are so excited and honored to bring the important messages from this great highly relevant book to Thai audience nationwide.”
– AMARIN Printing and Publishing

Hooray and Congratulations, Emilia Elisabet! Join the happy family of Gentle Power Publishers! World Rights available (excl. China, English, Thai).
Download the materials here!

GENTLE POWER: A Revolution In How We Think, Lead and Succeed Using The Finnish Art Of Sisu (Sounds True, Jan. 2023) 

By Emilia Elisabet Lahti, PhD
The Finnish philosophy of sisu shows us a new way to look at power—not as force and domination but as the harmonious expression of human character in everyday actions. Finnish-born Emilia Elisabet Lahti explores sisu, world traditions, and modern research to provide a new way to approach leadership, resilience, and our power to create change.

Power is fundamental in our lives—we express it in every conversation, relationship, and choice we make. All too often, we equate force and domination with power, while gentleness and compassion are considered “soft” or “weak.” The destructive nature of this skewed perspective has never been more obvious, yet there is reason to hope. With Gentle Power, Dr. Emilia Elisabet Lahti shares an illuminating guide to an emerging shift in the way we define true strength—an approach that balances resolve with reason, grit with compassion, and personal success with service to the collective good.

GENTLE POWER: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu

Sounds True 2023, 194 pp.
Rights sold: WORLD ENGLISH: Sounds True (orig.), CHINA: Cheers Publishing Company, THAILAND: Amarin Printing and Publishing

About author


Emilia Elisabet Lahti

Emilia Elisabet Lahti (PhD, MSc, MAPP), who goes by Elisabet, is an awarded educator, applied psychology researcher, and founder of Sisu Lab that helps create communities and work cultures based on everyday leadership as an expression of courage and compassion. Elisabet holds a master’s degree in social psychology from the University of Tampere in Finland and a master’s in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied under Professors Martian Seligman and Angela Duckworth. Since initiating the research on the Finnish construct of sisu in 2012, Elisabet’s doctoral work has involved exploring the limits of her own sisu through ultra-endurance running and Eastern martial arts. Her work on sisu has been featured by The New Yorker, Business Insider, BBC, Forbes, and more. Born and raised in Finland, she has lived and taught internationally and given talks at Fortune 500 companies, TEDx, Stanford University, and UC Berkeley.

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Bibliography

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Georgian rights sold for PUTIN’S TROLLS! Now 16 territories for this eye-opening title!

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We are thrilled to let you know that PUTIN’S TROLLS, the shocking and eye-opening non-fiction title by Jessikka Aro, has just been sold to Georgia, and the publisher is Media Development Foundation! The deal was closed by Elina Ahlbäck and Sten-Erik Tammemäe at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Media Development Foundation is planning to publish PUTIN’S TROLLS in Georgian in collaboration with Ilia State University Press.

With Georgia, PUTIN’S TROLLS has now been sold to a total of 16 territories and the Film & TV rights have also been sold!
The rights are still available in Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, France, Spain, Egypt, Greece, etc.

Download the full English PDF for PUTIN’S TROLLS here!

PUTIN’S TROLLS has just been published in Germany, in print and e-book formats by Goldmann and as an audiobook by Sound Neverrest.
The title has received excellent praise:

“Aro’s shocking insider reports are a wake-up call. I hope that her book finds many readers and guardians of democracy.”
– Ärzte Woche magazine, Germany

“A book every journalist should read [—] Even if Sweden was not forced to deal with “Putin’s trolls”, the in-depth understanding given by the Finnish expatriates as well as the introductions to how Russian influence works is enough to call this book a must-read.”
– Hynek Pallas, Göteborg Posten newspaper, Sweden

“By exposing Putin’s institutionalized trolling operations, Jessikka Aro has gone where no one has had the courage to go before and has done so at great peril. Ms. Aro has done the world a huge service by showing us how these tactics work so we can better defend ourselves going forward.”
– Bill Browder, New York Times bestselling author, Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice, USA

“A terrifying analysis of evil. [—] The havoc wreaked by Putin’s trolls is the leitmotif of Aro’s book—illustrated by more than a dozen chapters detailing a variety of case studies… For anyone who reads [Aro’s] lively book, her words should sound a piercing alarm.”
– Walter Clemens, New York Journal of Books, USA

PUTIN’S TROLLS
by Jessikka Aro
Johnny Kniga, November 2019, 453 pp.

A journalistic nonfiction book that reads like a real-life spy thriller and reveals the methods of the Kremlin’s modern information warfare

Putin’s Trolls is a first-hand memoir/reportage account by award-winning Finnish journalist Jessikka Aro who was bullied out of her country by Putin’s internet trolls, revealing the true face of an invisible threat that is only growing in power. Russia wages war against civilians online. Every critical voice is an enemy.

Putin’s Trolls presents the criminal smearing campaign, launched and approved by the Kremlin against private individuals around Western countries. It is a chilling account of Russia’s modern tools of information warfare, shedding light on the individuals and organizations behind the Kremlin’s coordinated, military-style social media psy-ops.

PUTININ TROLLIT
Tositarinoita Venäjän infosodan rintamilta
Johnny Kniga, November 2019, 453 pp.

READING MATERIALS
Full English PDF

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Johnny Kniga (orig.)
ALBANIA: Muza
BULGARIA: Ciela Norma
CZECH REPUBLIC: Denik N
ESTONIA: Menu Meedia/Stratkom
GEORGIA: Media Development Foundation
GERMANY (print and e-book): Goldmann
GERMANY (audio): Sound Neverrest
HUNGARY: Corvina
LATVIA: Pētergailis
LITHUANIA: Briedis
NORWAY: Mangschou Forlag
POLAND: Sine Qua Non
ROMANIA: Lebada Neagra
SWEDEN: Sensor Förlag
WORLD ENGLISH: IG Publishing
WORLD ENGLISH (audio): Blackstone Audio
FILM & TV: Onerva Pictures Oy

About author


Jessikka Aro

Jessikka Aro is an award-winning reporter with Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, specializing in Russia, extremism and information warfare. In 2014 and 2015, she published a series of articles on pro-Kremlin social media trolls and their influence outside of Russia’s borders. Due to her investigations, Jessikka became the target of a severe and still ongoing international propaganda and hate speech campaign, which she recounts in Putin’s Trolls.

In 2019, the US State Department awarded Jessikka the International Women of Courage Award, but the award was mysteriously rescinded by the Trump administration, allegedly due to her social media criticism of then President Trump. On December 1, 2020 Jessikka Aro received the International Women’s Media Foundation Courage in Journalism Award, presented in partnership with the Washington Post and hosted by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. Jessikka was recognized for her award-winning investigative reporting of Russian information warfare. Jessikka lives in Helsinki, Finland.

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2024, Narrative Nonfiction

Putin's World War: Russia's Covert Operations to Destroy the West

Jessikka Aro


2019, General Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, History & Politics

Putin's Trolls

Jessikka Aro

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Introducing: EALA Fall 2022 Non-Fiction Catalogue!

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We are thrilled to present our Non-Fiction Catalogue for Fall 2022: Are you ready to experience meaningful work? Or learn more about Finland’s most beloved artist or about the destructive power of money in football?

From our new catalogue, we’ve picked some hot titles for you – take a look at them below!

View the full Fall 2022 Non-Fiction Catalogue here!

The Meaning Manifesto

by Frank Martela

Are you ready to experience meaningful work and make it possible? Start your journey with this book!   

Work occupies a more central role in our lives than just a way of making ends meet. At best, work fills our lives with meaningfulness, making our whole existence more worth living. At worst, it is a desperate toil that alienates us from who we are and what’s good in life.

How, then, can we make work more meaningful? In principle, the recipe for meaningful work is surprisingly simple: do personally interesting and engaging things, while making a positive contribution to other people. However, making that into reality is the tough part.

THE MEANING MANIFESTO by Frank Martela, the acclaimed author of the internationally-bestselling A WONDERFUL LIFE, helps you navigate modern work life towards a more purposeful career and meaningful everyday work experience.

 

Ella – Helene Schjerfbeck

by Mari Tossavainen

The story of the most well-known Finnish artist in the world, supplemented by previously unpublished correspondence

Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946) is one of the most well-known Finnish artists in the world. Her modernist and realist works have been on display in galleries all over Europe, North America and Asia, a biographical film based on her life was released in 2020, and her birthday, July 10th, is a national day for the painted arts in Finland.

This fascinating book, drawing on previously unpublished correspondence and archival materials, paints a far more multithreaded picture of the life of Helene Schjerfbeck and brings into light the significance of previously forgotten people in her creative work. In her letters, Schjerfbeck divulged both her works and her thoughts not only to fellow artists, but also to people outside the artistic world.

 

The Black Book of Football

by Hannu Aaltonen and Tapio Keskitalo

A critical depiction of the destructive power of money in professional association football

During the 2000s, international association football has become a pompous, money-driven business. ‘The Beautiful Game’ has developed into a playing field with its own laws where oligarchs, sheikhs, and American billionaires run amok.

This startling book delves into the outrageously wealthy and powerful football clubs that do not abide by football’s own economic rules. Influential football bosses and governing bodies have become bogged down in bribe scandals, while small football countries like Finland have to count pennies.

The grotesque development culminates with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where the authorities and organizers do not care about costs or construction worker deaths.

 

Stalin and the Fate of Finland

by Kimmo Rentola

A meticulously researched insight into critical points in the history of relations between Finland and the Soviet Union.

Winner of the Lauri Jäntti Prize for non-fiction literature!

How did Finland evade Joseph Stalin’s crosshairs three times? Did Stalin have a special relationship with Finland and the Finns? Why didn’t he continue the Soviet onslaught on Finland during the Winter War in 1940? The answers lie in the relations between Finland and Russia which remain highly timely to this day.

Joseph Stalin has been one of the individuals with the most influence on the history of independent Finland. There are few who have made so many far-reaching decisions as Stalin: he decreed the beginning and the end of the Winter War, the Moscow Armistice of 1944 that ended the Continuation War was signed with his authorization, and when, in 1948, it was time to decide whether Finland would become a ‘people’s republic’ or not, he initially pushed forward but eventually backed down. All of these decisions can be seen as pivotal to the fate of Finland, its society, its independence, the life and death of the Finnish people.

The book focuses on the decisions of Stalin in which the entire existence or, at the very least, the essential nature of that existence, of Finland was at stake.

About author


Frank Martela

Frank Martela, PhD, is a philosopher and researcher of psychology specializing in the question of meaning in life. His articles have appeared in Scientific American Mind, Harvard Business Review, Salon, CNBC and his work has been featured on Quartz and on the BBC. His research has been published extensively in numerous academic journals such as Nature Human Behaviour, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Journal of Personality, Metaphilosophy, Southern Journal of Philosophy, and Academy of Management Review. He has spoken to more than one hundred audiences worldwide, including invited lectures in universities on five continents, including Stanford University and Harvard University. He’s been interviewed by the New York Times, Discover Magazine, New Scientist, Vice News, Fox News, and Monocle Observer among others. He is University Lecturer at Aalto University in Helsinki.

Outside of work, Frank is a father to three lovely children, an amateur-level soccer player, with an occasional skiing trip in the winters. He is made in Green Bay, so Packers holds a special place in his heart.

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