Japanese reprint of THE LIFE AND ART OF TOVE JANSSON!

We are happy to announce that Japanese publisher Kawade Shobo Shinsha will publish and reprint Tuula Karjalainen’s acclaimed global bestseller  TOVE JANSSON: WORK AND LOVE later this year. The deal was closed by Elina Ahlbäck at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Tove Jansson: Work and Love is the definitive biography of one of the most unique and beloved children’s authors of the 20th century, the creator of the Moomins. Tove Jansson (1914-2001) led a long, colourful and productive life, impacting significantly the political, social and cultural history of 20th-century Finland.

Click here to download the English PDF of TOVE JANSSON: WORK AND LOVE.

Publication Info:
Tove Jansson tee työtä ja rakasta, Tammi 2013, 300 pp.

Rights Sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
CHINA: CITIC
DENMARK: Turbine forlaget
ESTONIA: Varrak Publishers
GERMANY: Urachhaus GmbH
JAPAN: Kawade Shobo Shinsha Ltd, Publishers
RUSSIA: AST Publishers /Mainstream
SOUTH KOREA: Munhak Dogne Publishing Group
UKRAINE: Prometey
UNITED KINGDOM: Penguin Press

Reading Materials:
English edition

About author


Tuula Karjalainen

Dr. Tuula Karjalainen is a Finnish art historian and non-fiction writer who has previously worked as a director of the Helsinki Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki. As the author of Tove Jansson’s biography, Tuula Karjalainen has become an expert not only on Jansson’s works but also on her several decades of personal correspondence and journals.

Bibliography


2013, General Nonfiction, Memories & Biographies

Tove Jansson: Work and Love

Tuula Karjalainen

THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO will be published in China!

We are very excited to share, that the internationally bestselling THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO written by Aalto’s grandson, Heikki Aalto-Alanen, has been sold to China! The deal was closed by Elina Ahlbäck at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Lens Media will publish the Chinese edition in December 2025, with publisher Algae Xue Wang editing and translators Zhang Lei and Li Yi bringing the iconic design duo’s story to Chinese readers.

This beautiful title, based on unpublished correspondence of Aino and Alvar Aalto, has now been sold to 8 territories – with Solar Films developing a feature film, a love story about the union between Aino and Alvar, two passionate artists, but very different people.

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.

International Praise:

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

A love story, enriched not just by personal photographs and images of their modernist designs, but by the couple’s letters to each other.
– NPR.org

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

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

The rights are still available in e.g. Germany, Sweden, World Spanish, Denmark, etc.

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

THE STORY OF AINO AND ALVAR AALTO publication info:
Rakastan sinussa ihmistä
Otava, August 2021, pp. 460, Approx. 50-80 photographs & drawings

Rights sold: 
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
CHINA: Lens Media
ESTONIA: Postimees
HUNGARY: Európa Könyvkiadó
FRANCE: Phaidon Press
ITALY: Salani
JAPAN: Soshisha
WORLD ENGLISH: Phaidon Press
FILM & TV RIGHTS: Solar Films Inc.

Reading materials: English edition, Italian edition and French edition

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.

Bibliography


2021, General Nonfiction, Memories & Biographies

The Story of Aino and Alvar Aalto

Heikki Aalto-Alanen

Bloomsbury acquires World English rights to PUTIN’S WORLD WAR!

We are thrilled to announce, that Bloomsbury USA has acquired World English rights to Jessikka Aro’s critically acclaimed and timely bestseller PUTIN’S WORLD WAR: Russia’s Covert Operations to Destroy the West, slated for publication in Spring 2026, with Richard Robinson translating. The deal was closed by Elina Ahlbäck at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Michael KernsSenior Publisher for Politics & International Relations at Bloomsbury USA, shared his enthusiasm:

“I loved this project immediately as a compelling narrative that humanizes the real-world consequences of Russia’s global propaganda war against the West. Putin’s World War is a piece of fascinating storytelling by an award-winning journalist — Jessikka Aro unpacks the details behind Russia’s hybrid-war propaganda machine and sheds light on how Putin uses disinformation as a potent weapon against Western values, the international community, and democratic governance. Her relentless investigative journalism provides readers with an invaluable perspective on a war of words, a war of ideas that might otherwise be overlooked amidst countless security threats across the world. We are excited to bring Jessikka’s important work to English readers everywhere.”

PUTIN’S WORLD WAR is a highly topical book featuring horrifying true stories about the secret operations of Putin’s intelligence services. Jessikka Aro is the winner of the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Courage of Journalism Award and her previous book, Putin’s Trolls, was sold to 16 territories and will be turned into a TV series!

Putin’s World War

Jessikka Aro

Russia is threatening the West with World War III, even though it has been waging it for years. As its weapons, the Kremlin uses agents of chaos, a covert operation, fake priests spreading hate speech, hackers recruited from prison, and the gullibility of people.

Jessikka Aro’s new non-fiction book about the Kremlin’s world war presents the secret operations of Putin’s intelligence services in detail.

The book takes the reader on a breath-taking journey from the lobby of the Helsinki Courts of Appeal to the controversial Bronze Soldier statue in Tallinn, from the media center run by the Russian military intelligence from Berlin to the Russian troll factory that operated in Ghana in West Africa.

Publication Info:
Putinin maailmansota, Johnny Kniga 2024, 352 pp

Rights Sold:
FINLAND: WSOY/Johnny Kniga (orig.)
GERMANY: Goldmann Verlag
HUNGARY: Corvina Books
ITALY: Neri Pozza
LITHUANIA: Briedis
POLAND: Transatlantic Foundation
SWEDEN: Sensor Förlag
WORLD ENGLISH: Bloomsbury USA

Reading Material:
English sample & summary & table of contents, German pdf, Finnish edition

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.

Bibliography


2025, General Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, History & Politics

Putin's USA

Jessikka Aro


2019, General Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, History & Politics

Putin's Trolls

Jessikka Aro

SUMMER AT VILLA HILDA continues to conquer the world: Hungarian rights sold!

We are excited to let you know that the Hungarian rights for Summer at Villa Hilda, the upcoming feel-good novel by Michaela von Kügelgen, have been acquired by Athenaeum! The deal was closed by Sten-Erik Tammemäe at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Pitched as Mamma Mia vibes at Swedish archipelago, Summer at Villa Hilda follows Louise, a former celebrity chef and Thomas, a journalist, as they both move to the island of Halsterö in the Stockholm archipelago and start working in the Villa Hilda guesthouse. Both have had their fair share of misfortunes on the mainland, so a summer on an idyllic island feels like a chance to start over. Although the villa isn’t going to treat them as easily as they’d expect, the island and its inhabitants eventually help them to find their way back to life.

This latest sale to Hungary marks the 6th pre-publication deal for Summer at Villa Hilda! Previous sales include four-way auction for the Dutch rights, three-book deals by the Danish, German, and Norwegian publishers, and a deal to Estonia. Summer at Villa Hilda will be published simultaneously in Finland and Sweden on June 10th and will kickstart the Villa Hilda trilogy with book #2 slated to be published in February 2026 and book #3 in September 2026.

Athenaeum praised Summer at Villa Hilda for being a hope-instilling and optimistic title for all times:

This is a sort of ’sunshine’ novel, even though it involves difficult topics like dementia or #metoo. The story gives the reader hope that their life can turn for the better, just as the lives of the characters in the novel. A heartwarming and healing novel, that one can enjoy reading at any time.
– Viktória Dian, managing director, Athenaeum, Hungary

Rights are still available in the UK, the US, France, Italy, Poland, Italy, France, Czechia, Japan, Greece…

Download materials for SUMMER AT VILLA HILDA here!

Summer at Villa Hilda

Michaela von Kügelgen

Many people dream of a second chance in life, but how many dare to take it?

Far out in the Stockholm archipelago lies the island of Halsterö. Journalist Thomas and former celebrity chef Louise travel there to work at the Villa Hilda guesthouse. They are both broken after many setbacks and are hoping for a fresh start. But setting up a summer paradise is not as easy as one might think, not even on the idyllic Halsterö island.

One day Louise stumbles across a collection of old love letters. Who wrote them, and what stories does Villa Hilda hide in its dusty attic? And how will Thomas manage to take care of his dementia-stricken mother while setting up an archipelago guesthouse?

Summer at Villa Hilda is about how difficult it is to be human among other people, but also about how, with the help of others, one can find one’s way back to life.

This novel is the first part of the Villa Hilda series and will be published in June 2025. The following titles will concentrate on the people living on the picturesque Halsterö island and will tentatively be published in February 2026 and September 2026.

SUMMER AT VILLA HILDA
SOMMAR PÅ VILLA HILDA
Schildts & Söderströms, 2025, 285 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample
English synopsis
Swedish edition
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Schildts & Söderströms (orig. Finland-Swedish, Finnish)
DENMARK: Lindhardt og Ringhof Forlag
ESTONIA: Hea Lugu
GERMANY: Aufbau Verlage
HUNGARY: Athenaeum
NETHERLANDS: Singel Uitgevers
NORWAY: Aschehoug
SWEDEN: Schildts & Söderströms

About author


Michaela von Kügelgen

Michaela "Kugge" von Kügelgen (1986) has three published titles under her belt. Her debut novel, Vad heter ångest på spanska?, was published in 2017. Her most recent work, Kickstarta ditt skrivande, is a non-fiction guide to writing. Since 2020, Kugge offers highly regarded online writing courses, which have attracted participants from both Sweden and Finland. Kugge has a master’s degree in communication and has been a freelance journalist for over 10 years. Her newsletters on writing and entrepreneurship have over 1,600 subscribers. In the newsletters she shares her journey, offering encouragement to others while candidly discussing her own challenges and triumphs. Together with author Anne Hietanen, Kugge is working on a crime novel series with book #1, The Last Word slated to be published in 2026.

In addition to her writing career, Kugge plays handball, has recently developed a passion for second-hand fashion, and slow travels to Berlin whenever she can — after having lived there for two years.

Bibliography


2026, Crime & Suspense

The Last Word

Michaela von Kügelgen


2025, Commercial/Upmarket, Romance

Summer at Villa Hilda

Michaela von Kügelgen

DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS sold to Norway!

We are excited to announce that the Norwegian rights for Daughter of Two Bloods, an award-winning and bestselling romantasy novel written by S. K. Rostedt, were pr-empted by TNT, a new imprint of Bonnier Norsk Forlag! The deal was closed by Martti Berner at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Considered as the first Finnish romantasy novel, Daughter of Two Bloods has sold closer to 10,000 copies to date, it won the 2024 Best Book of the Year Award by Suomalainen Kirjakauppa, the biggest bookstore chain in Finland, and it was chosen by the readers as one of the Top 100 Finnish books of the 21st century!

The Nordic setting, weaving Finnish mythology, including elements from Kalevala brings a fresh voice to the romantasy genre, and gives the series a wide international appeal. The second book is set to be published in October

Previously Daughter of Two Bloods has been sold to France, to Robert Laffont, at auction.

Rights are available in, e.g., Germany, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands…

Click here to request reading materials for DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS!

About DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS

A debut enemies-to-lovers romantasy novel oozing with fae, demons, and hot romance for fans of  Sarah J. Maas, Victoria Aveyard, and Jennifer L. Armentrout…

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

DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS
KAHDEN VEREN TYTÄR
Otava, 2024, 509 pp.

Reading materials: English sample and synopsis, Finnish edition

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
FRANCE: Robert Laffont
NORWAY: TNT / Bonnier Norsk Forlag

About author


S. K. Rostedt

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

Bibliography


2024, Romance, Fantasy & Science Fiction

Daughter of Two Bloods

S. K. Rostedt

Longanesi acquires Italian rights to Martta Kaukonen’s MEET ME IN THE DARKNESS!

We’re starting the week with fantastic news about Martta Kaukonen’s internationally bestselling Follow the Butterfly trilogy.

Following the announcement that German publisher Heyne acquired the rights to the upcoming third book FREE, we are thrilled to share that Longanesi has now acquired the Italian rights to book two, Meet Me in the Darkness!

Longanesi published the first book in the trilogy, Follow the Butterfly, this January with a great success! The book has sold over 20,000 copies and stayed several weeks on the bestseller list.

Follow the Butterfly has been sold to 16 territories!

Rights are available in, e.g., France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Spain, Romania…

Click here to request reading materials for FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY trilogy!

Book #1: Follow the Butterfly

Martta Kaukonen

Can she cure a killer? An addictive psychological thriller in the spirit of Gillian Flynn!

Ira, 20, a serial killer who was abducted as a child, starts therapy with celebrity therapist Clarissa. Only one of them knows that they share a mutual secret from the past. Will the other one realize it before she gets murdered?

Clarissa is a middle-aged psychotherapist, the best in her field. She is familiar to everyone from her TV appearances and from glossy magazines. For her, every patient is a princess. And someone only she can save. Or can she? Clarissa already has one suicide to answer for; a teenage boy’s death never seizes to haunt her.

When Ira becomes Clarissa’s patient, a cat-and-mouse game begins in which rules are followed by no one. The kind of game that never ends well.

Book #2: Meet me in the Darkness

Martta Kaukonen

Nothing is as it seems.

Four years have passed since the events of Follow the Butterfly. Ira and Arto have teamed up, and both work as crime journalists for the Helsinki Today. Everything’s going nicely, until Ira starts suspecting there’s a serial killer on the loose in Helsinki.

The murders are investigated by Senior Crime Inspector Kerttu Leppänen, who leads the murder unit and eagerly waits for retirement. Unsolved cases haunt Kerttu, who is unable to forgive herself.

The past catches up with all of them – if they were ever free from its clutches in the first place…

 

Book #3: Free

Martta Kaukonen

Is it worth digging up the truth?

It’s 1995. Detective Chief Inspector Kerttu Leppänen and her spouse, Inspector Esko Koivuvyö, are tasked with investigating the murder of a middle-aged woman. However, the crime scene presents a mystery that complicates the investigation: beside the body, there is a bloody knife on a pillow, even though it cannot be the murder weapon.

Thirty years later, Ira is determined to uncover the truth about her parents’ marriage. Why did her mother Marja fear her father Arto? And why does Arto refuse to answer Ira’s questions? Across different decades, Kerttu and Ira each come to the same realization: if you uncover the truth, you must be prepared to face its consequences.

Meet me in the Darkness
HENGISSÄ
WSOY, 2023, 272 pp.

Reading materials:
German edition, unedited English manuscript

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
CROATIA: Znanje
CZECHIA: Albatros Media
DENMARK: Forlaget Falco
ESTONIA: Hea Lugu
FILM & TV: Legendary Tobis TV
GERMANY: Heyne (3 books)
GREECE: Psichogios (2 books)
HUNGARY: Partvonal Kiadó (2 books)
ICELAND: Storytel (3 books)
ITALY: Longanesi (2 books)
LATVIA: Jumava
LITHUANIA: Obuolys
POLAND: Czarna Owca (2 books)
UNITED KINGDOM: Pushkin Press (2 books)
UNITED STATES: Pushkin Press (2 books)
WORLD ARABIC: Al Arabi Publishing
WORLD ENGLISH (Audio): Audible

About author


Martta Kaukonen

Martta Kaukonen (1976) lives in Helsinki. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a film critic, whose reviews have been published in both Finland’s biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and a popular women’s weekly magazine Me Naiset. Martta has a master’s degree in arts. She has interviewed the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Justin Bieber. Martta met her husband at his second hand bookshop and fell in love. Alongside writing, Martta loves psychological thrillers, film noir, flea markets, abandoned houses and travelling. 

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Free

Martta Kaukonen


2023, Crime & Suspense

Meet Me in the Darkness

Martta Kaukonen


2022, Crime & Suspense

In Your Shadow

Martta Kaukonen


2021, Crime & Suspense

Follow the Butterfly

Martta Kaukonen

Norwegian rights to SUMMER AT VILLA HILDA pre-empted by Aschehoug!

We’re thrilled to share that Norwegian rights to Michaela von Kügelgen’s Villa Hilda trilogy have been pre-empted by Aschehoug! The deal was closed by Martti Berner at Elina Ahlbäck Literary Agency.

This acquisition marks the fifth pre-publication deal. It follows a four-way auction for Dutch rights, which concluded with Singel Publishers securing publication rights for both the Netherlands and Belgium. Rights previously sold at auction in Estonia to Hea Lugu, and three book pre-empts in both Denmark and Germany by Lindhardt & Ringhof and Aufbau Verlage.

Here’s what the acquiring team had to say:

“An utterly wonderful novel, just the kind of escapistic read you want to dive into on a warm sunny day – reading in the hammock without a care in the world. I loved spending time at Villa Hilda: the atmosphere, the surroundings – the people and the secrets the house is hiding. This book has everything you want in a feelgood: Great characters, a romantic plot, great scenery and just the right amount of mysteries and complications along the way. And of course: a satisfying ending. Both Louise and Thomas are described as characters one can relate to, and I can easily see both of them and their romantic story being played out in a movie or TV-series as well. “
– Anne Margrethe Hummelsgård Aandahl, Acquiring Editor, Aschehoug

Days after finishing the last page of this irresistible novel (which I wish had lasted me longer), I can still smell the cinnamon and flowers and feel the spray of seawater on my skin. And I feel more than a little sad that I cannot plan an actual visit to Villa Hilda this summer. Still, I would be immensely proud to take part in bringing this magical place to many, many Norwegian readers. As for myself, I am eagerly awaiting the next volume. Will Louise and Thomas work as a creative team, or is there trouble on the horizon? And is there love in store for handsome Martin? And a book within a book, I mean, what’s not to love?”
Annette Orre, Editor-in-Chief, Aschehoug

The first book, Summer at Villa Hilda, publishes in Sweden and Finland on June 10th. This heartwarming, feel-good trilogy set on the idyllic Swedish island of Halsterö – where second chances, fresh starts, and cinnamon buns await.

Rights are still available in the UK, the US, Poland, Italy, France, Latvia, Ukraine, Greece…

Request materials for VILLA HILDA trilogy here!

Summer at Villa Hilda

Michaela von Kügelgen

Many people dream of a second chance in life, but how many dare to take it?

Far out in the Stockholm archipelago lies the island of Halsterö. Journalist Thomas and former celebrity chef Louise travel there to work at the Villa Hilda guesthouse. They are both broken after many setbacks and are hoping for a fresh start. But setting up a summer paradise is not as easy as one might think, not even on the idyllic Halsterö island.

One day Louise stumbles across a collection of old love letters. Who wrote them, and what stories does Villa Hilda hide in its dusty attic? And how will Thomas manage to take care of his dementia-stricken mother while setting up an archipelago guesthouse?

Summer at Villa Hilda is about how difficult it is to be human among other people, but also about how, with the help of others, one can find one’s way back to life.

SUMMER AT VILLA HILDA
SOMMAR PÅ VILLA HILDA
Schildts & Söderströms, June 2025,

VILLA HILDA #2
Schildts & Söderströms, February 2026

VILLA HILDA #3
Schildts & Söderströms, September 2026

READING MATERIALS
English sample
English synopsis
Swedish edition
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Schildts & Söderströms (orig. Finland-Swedish, Finnish)
ESTONIA: Hea Lugu
DENMARK: Lindhardt og Ringhof Forlag
GERMANY: Aufbau Verlage
NETHERLANDS: Singel Uitgevers
NORWAY: Aschehoug
SWEDEN: Schildts & Söderströms

About author


Michaela von Kügelgen

Michaela "Kugge" von Kügelgen (1986) has three published titles under her belt. Her debut novel, Vad heter ångest på spanska?, was published in 2017. Her most recent work, Kickstarta ditt skrivande, is a non-fiction guide to writing. Since 2020, Kugge offers highly regarded online writing courses, which have attracted participants from both Sweden and Finland. Kugge has a master’s degree in communication and has been a freelance journalist for over 10 years. Her newsletters on writing and entrepreneurship have over 1,600 subscribers. In the newsletters she shares her journey, offering encouragement to others while candidly discussing her own challenges and triumphs. Together with author Anne Hietanen, Kugge is working on a crime novel series with book #1, The Last Word slated to be published in 2026.

In addition to her writing career, Kugge plays handball, has recently developed a passion for second-hand fashion, and slow travels to Berlin whenever she can — after having lived there for two years.

Bibliography


2026, Crime & Suspense

The Last Word

Michaela von Kügelgen


2025, Commercial/Upmarket, Romance

Summer at Villa Hilda

Michaela von Kügelgen

Hollywood News: THE FAITHFUL READER series adaptation moving to production with Stampede Ventures!

We’re thrilled to announce that Max Seeck’s internationally bestselling thriller THE FAITHFUL READER (The Witch Hunter), a New York Times and Spiegel bestseller, is being adapted into a English-language TV series by Greg Silverman’s Stampede Ventures.

This gripping Nordic Noir series is set in Helsinki, Finland. It follows Jessica Niemi as she investigates a disturbing copycat killer, one that forces her to confront haunting memories and a chilling ancestral secret.

Max’s agent, Elina Ahlbäck, shares her excitement:

“Finally, we can share the amazing news that Greg Silverman, CEO of Stampede Ventures will produce Max Seeck’s New York Times and Spiegel Bestseller THE FAITHFUL READER (The Witch Hunter) alongside John-Paul Sarni, Max Seeck, and Gudrun Giddings as an English-language series. Brilliant team, Brilliant TV Show! We are so excited and grateful. Huge congratulations, Max Seeck!”

Max Seeck added:

“I’m very honoured to have the chance to work on the Jessica Niemi TV series with Stampede Ventures and Greg Silverman. I couldnt think of a better home for my novels. Thanks especially to JP Sarni, my agent Elina Ahlbäck and Gudrun Giddings.”

Originally published in Finland by Tammi (orig. Uskollinen lukija, 2019), New York Times and Spiegel bestselling author Max Seeck’s books have sold over 1 million copies, and published in 41 countries.

The Faithful Reader series is earmarked for a production start in Europe later this year. Stampede Ventures initially optioned the rights in 2019 and eventually purchased the book. “We couldn’t be more excited to have Chris and Maria adapting this phenomenal piece of IP,” said Silverman. “Their mastery of the genre will enthral audiences as we explore the gripping and suspenseful world Seeck has created.”

Stampede Ventures is an independent entertainment media company founded by Greg Silverman, the former President of Warner Bros. Pictures. Read more from Screendaily.

Further inquiries:
CEO & Agent Elina Ahlbäck, elina@ahlbackagency.com

“One of the best books I have read. Ever. Absolutely thrilling, well-written, and oh-so-hard to put down.”

—Emelie Schepp, author of Slowly We Die

The Witch Hunter

Max Seeck

A book-inspired serial killer is on the loose. Jessica Niemi – a detective with a mysterious past – steps up. A chase for the faithful reader has begun.

Detective Jessica Niemi is called to investigate a murder case that is out of ordinary. The wife of a famous writer, Roger Koponen, seems to have been killed in a bizarre ritual. As more ritual murders occur, it becomes obvious that Jessica is after a serial killer.
But the murders are not random – they follow a pattern taken from Roger’s bestselling trilogy. Has a fan gone mad, or is this case more personal? How can Jessica stop a criminal who knows every detail of the book even better than the author?

The Faithful Reader is the first book of the four part Jessica Niemi series.

Join the success story of FAITHFUL READER and click here to request the full English PDF.

THE WITCH HUNTER / THE FAITHFUL READER
Uskollinen lukija
Tammi, 2019, 400 pp.

Reading materials:
English edition and synopsis

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ALBANIA: Muza
AZERBAIJAN: Alatoran
BULGARIA: EMAS
CROATIA: Fokus
CZECH REPUBLIC: Grada
DENMARK: Gutkind
ESTONIA: Pegasus
FILM & TV RIGHTS: Stampede Ventures
FRANCE: Michel Lafon
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe GmbH & Co. KG
GREECE: Livanis
HUNGARY: Animus
ICELAND: Forlagid
ISRAEL: Tchelet Books/ Steimatzky
ITALY: Edizioni Piemme S.p.a
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
LITHUANIA: Baltos lankos
NETHERLANDS & BELGIUM: A.W. Bruna
NORTHERN MACEDONIA: MATICA MAKEDONSKA dooel
NORWAY: Aschehoug
POLAND: Sonia Draga
PORTUGAL: Bertrand Editora Lda
ROMANIA: GRUP MEDIA LITERA
RUSSIA: AST Publishers
SERBIA: Vulkan
SLOVAKIA: Motyl
SLOVENIA: Didakta
SOUTH KOREA: Cheongmirae
SPAIN & LATIN AMERICA: Maeva Ediciones
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag
TURKEY: Doğan Kitap
UK: Welbeck Publishing
UKRAINE: Family Leisure Club
USA & CANADA: Berkley / Penguin Random House
WORLD ARABIC: Arab Scientific Publishers, Inc.

About author


Max Seeck, New York Times Best Selling Author

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

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

Big Hollywood film & TV news coming soon!

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

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

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

His Jessica Niemi series landed him on the New York Times Bestseller list! 2024 will see the release of his independent novel MILO, which is already creating buzz internationally with several rights pre-empts ahead of the Finnish publication!

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

Bibliography


2024, Crime & Suspense

Milo

Max Seeck


2022, Crime & Suspense

Ghost Island

Max Seeck


2021, Crime & Suspense

The Last Grudge

Max Seeck


2020, Crime & Suspense

The Ice Coven

Max Seeck


2019, Crime & Suspense

The Witch Hunter

Max Seeck


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Mephisto Touch

Max Seeck


2018, Crime & Suspense

The Call of Hades

Max Seeck


2016, Crime & Suspense

Angels of Hammurabi

Max Seeck

Chinese rights renewed for MONSTER NANNY TRILOGY by Tuutikki Tolonen and Pasi Pitkänen!

We’re happy to let you know that Beijing Children and Juvenile Publishing House has renewed the Chinese rights for the MONSTER NANNY trilogy, the award-winning and internationally bestselling middle-grade title written by Tuutikki Tolonen and illustrated by Pasi Pitkänen! The deal was closed by Elina Ahlbäck at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency in collaboration with Clare Chi at Grayhawk Agency.

In MONSTER NANNY, the three children of the Hellman family – Halley, Koby, and Mimi – are left at home to be taken care of by a nanny, but their nanny turns out to be, well, a monster named Grah who doesn’t talk and is mesmerized by the family’s TV. As other children in their neighborhood have been left in the care of similar monsters, the Hellman children try to find out more about the monsters and why they have appeared in human homes in the first place.

MONSTER NANNY trilogy has been an international success story: the rights to the trilogy have been sold to 37 countries and a feature film based on the series is in development by Scott Free Productions!

Download materials for MONSTER NANNY here!

Monster Nanny

Tuutikki Tolonen, illustrated by Pasi Pitkänen

Mary Poppins meets Where the Wild Things Are in this prize-winning series.

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

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

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

MONSTER NANNY
MÖRKÖVAHTI
Tammi, 2015, 303 pp.

MONSTER ROUTE
MÖRKÖREITTI
Tammi, 2016, 300 pp.

MONSTER MESSAGE
MÖRKÖVIESTI
Tammi, 2020, 300 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English edition (Book #1)
English sample and synopsis (Books #2 and #3)
German editions (Books #2 and #3)
French editions (Books #2 and #3)
Finnish editions (all books)

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
AUSTRALIA: Allen & Unwin
ALBANIA: Westprint
BOSNIA: Šahinpašić
BRAZIL: DarkSide Books
BULGARIA: Robertino
CHINA: Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CROATIA: Znanje
CZECHIA: Portál
DENMARK: Turbine
ESTONIA: Tiritamm
FRANCE: Editions Robert Laffont
GERMANY: Carl Hanser Verlag
GREECE: Patakis
HUNGARY: Tessloff Babilon
ITALY: Salani/Mauri Spagnol
JAPAN: Sekaibunka
KOREA: Seosawon
LATVIA: Zvaigzne
LITHUANIA: Nieko Rimto
NETHERLANDS: (print) Luitingh-Sijthoff
NETHERLANDS: (audio) Saga Egmont
NEW ZEALAND: Allen & Unwin
NORWAY: Gyldendal Norsk
OCEANIA: Allen & Unwin
POLAND: Vesper
PORTUGAL: Asa Editiones/Leya
ROMANIA: Univers
RUSSIA: Rosman
SERBIA: Laguna
SLOVAKIA: Arkus
SLOVENIA: Mladinska knjiga
SPAIN (Spanish): La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan): La Galera
SWEDEN: Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY: SEV Redhouse Kidz
UKRAINE: School Publishing House
VIETNAM: Nha Nam
WORLD ENGLISH: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
FILM RIGHTS: Scott Free Productions

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

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

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

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

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

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Cerkabella acquires the Hungarian rights to Siri Kolu’s Twin World Series #1: Saving Atlantis!

We are very excited to tell you, that the Hungarian rights for Siri Kolu‘s middle-grade novel TWIN WORLD SERIES: SAVING ATLANTIS were acquired by Cerkabella in a deal closed by Sten-Erik Tammemäe at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Congratulations to Siri Kolu and Cerkabella!

The latest title by award-winning children’s and YA author Siri Kolu, Saving Atlantis introduces the readers to 12-year-old Elektra who starts to dream about a ringed city that is destroyed in a tsunami. As she and her friend Maxxam start looking into this mystery, they realize that Elektra is dreaming of Atlantis. At the same time, Elektra Elpida of Atlantis starts dreaming of a future filled with glass towers and flying planes. She also sees in the future hints of how to escape the impending destruction.

Published in Finland in April, Saving Atlantis is perfect reading for the fans of Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising Sequence and Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson books.

This is the first foreign rights sale for Twin World Series: Saving Atlantis! Rights are available in all other territories!

Download materials for SAVING ATLANTIS here!

Twin World Series #1: Saving Atlantis

Siri Kolu

A myth-busting, suspense-filled series for a late middle grade and early YA audience.

Can Atlantis be saved before disaster strikes?

12-year-old El(ektra) starts sleepwalking and has recurring nightmares of masses of water under which there is no escape. After doing research with her friends Maxxam and Cal, El discovers that the underwater city in her nightmares is ancient Atlantis.

In the city of Atlantis, young Elektra has strange dreams at night about tall glass towers and flying planes. With inventor genius Dobro, Elektra begins to test whether the visions could be real. Based on the dreams, they build a submarine called a wave diver.

Can the Elektras help each other? Can they be rescued from under the waves…and what would it cost?

TWIN WORLD SERIES: SAVING ATLANTIS
ALLE AALLON
Tammi, 2025, 331 pp.

Reading materials:
English sample and synopsis, Finnish edition

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.), HUNGARY: Cerkabella

About author


Siri Kolu

Siri Kolu (born July 18, 1972) is a writer, performance dramaturg, director, and theater teacher. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Theatre Arts and Bachelor of Arts degree as Drama Instructor (BA). Prior to her theater studies, she pursued literature and theater studies at the University of Helsinki.

With her funny and original adventure Me and the Robberssons Kolu won the children’s novel and film script competition in the fall of 2009. The book was published in April 2010, and won the Finlandia Prize in Children’s & YA literature. The film adaptation hit theaters in the fall of 2014. Me and the Robberssons has been translated into over 20 languages.

Me and the Robbersons has also won the Silver Slate Pencil Award in the Netherlands and has been listed twice for the The English Pen Award. She has also been honored with the Laivakello Prize by the Finnish Institute for Children’s Literature, Topelius Prize and Kaarina Helakisa Literary Prize.

Bibliography


2025, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Twin World Series: Saving Atlantis

Siri Kolu

Norwegian audiobook deal for PUTIN’S TROLLS by Jessikka Aro!

We are thrilled to announce that audiobook rights of the Norwegian edition of Jessikka Aro’s PUTIN’S TROLLS have been sold to publisher Cappelen Damm! The deal was closed by Martti Berner.

Cappelen Damm will publish the audiobook this summer!

Jessikka Aro is currently writing her third book titled PUTIN’S USA – How Russia divides and rules the United States to be published in October 2025. 

PUTIN’S TROLLS has 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, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Egypt, Greece, etc.

Request reading materials for PUTIN’S TROLLS here

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.

 

PUTIN’S USA – How Russia divides and rules the United States
by Jessikka Aro
Johnny Kniga, October 2025, approx. 400 pp.

Putin’s USA is a page-turner you wish wasn’t true. 

A highly topical nonfiction book on Russia’s cyberwarfare against the United States and democracy, unfolding like a thriller.

Putin’s Russia is waging an increasingly aggressive cold war against the West. The weapons used in cyberspace and the information domains seem straight out of science fiction movies.

In journalist and author Jessikka Aro’s third book investigating Russia’s covert operations, the focus is on patriotic hackers, honey traps infiltrating the Republican Party, connections between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign team and Putin’s spies, and electronic weaponry.

The book provides a close-up look at how systematically the Kremlin has been preparing its society for a major war against the United States and the entire democratic West. In Russia, even universities have been turned into tools for shaping young people into agents of Putinism.

It is worse than the Cold War!

 

Putinin trollit
Tositarinoita Venäjän infosodan rintamilta
Johnny Kniga, November 2019, 453 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Johnny Kniga/WSOY (orig.)
ALBANIA: Muza
BULGARIA: Ciela Norma
CZECH REPUBLIC: Denik N
ESTONIA: Menu Meedia/Stratkom
GEORGIA: Media Development Foundation
GERMANY (Print and e-book): Goldmann Verlag
GERMANY (Audiobook): 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
TV & FILM: Onerva Pictures

Reading materials: English edition

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.

Bibliography


2025, General Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, History & Politics

Putin's USA

Jessikka Aro


2019, General Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, History & Politics

Putin's Trolls

Jessikka Aro

TANGLED ROOTS by Maria Turtschaninoff won the Magnesia Litera Award in Czechia!

We are very excited to tell you, that Maria Turtschaninoff has won this year’s Magnesia Litera Award, the most important prize in the Czech literary scene, in the Best Translation category with her novel Tangled Roots (aka Inherited Land), translated by Marie Voslářová and published by Argo.

Turtschaninoff is known for crafting lyrical, historically inspired fantasy stories that feature strong female protagonists. In addition to other awards and prizes, she has won the Svenska Yle Literary Prize 2023 and the Eeva Joenpelto Literary Prize 2024 for her literary masterpiece Tangled Roots.

Marie Voslářová also has a long line of translations under her belt. Her translations have won both the Muriel Award and the Tomáš Hrách Prize.

Warm congratulations to the translator, author, and publisher, on this prestigious recognition!

Tangled Roots has been sold to 23 territories!
Rights are available in, e.g., Spain, Greece, Japan, Lithuania, Slovakia…

Download materials for TANGLED ROOTS here!

Tangled Roots (aka Inherited Land)

Maria Turtschaninoff

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

An old soldier carves a croft out of the Finnish forest and calls it home, but try as he might to tame the land, its wild magic endures. For centuries his descendants will work the farm, through days of plenty and famine, love and war, their fates entangled with the rhythms of the ancient wilderness, where mysterious shapes flit between the trees and danger lurks in the treacherous fen…

Like dragonflies darting over the marsh, their lives glimmer briefly and then are gone: a young girl entranced by the forest folk, a faithless fiancé who meets his match beneath the age-old branches, a farmhand with a strange obsession…

What endures is the wild, and the certainty that wherever we put down roots, the land will grow roots in us too.

TANGLED ROOTS
Arvejord
Förlaget, 2022, 371 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English edition
Swedish manuscript
Finnish translation

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Förlaget (orig. Finland-Swedish), Tammi (Finnish)
AZERBAIJAN: Alatoran
BULGARIA: Izida
CHINA: Rentian Ulus
CROATIA: Hena Com
CZECHIA: ARGO
DENMARK: Alpha Forlag
ESTONIA: Rahva Raamat
FRANCE: Éditions Paulsen
GERMANY: Rowohlt
HUNGARY: L’Harmattan
ISRAEL: Hakibbutz Hameuchad – Sifriat Poalim Publishing House
ITALY: Bompiani
NETHERLANDS: Uitgeverij Atlas Contact
NORWAY: Bonnier Norsk Forlag
POLAND: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie
ROMANIA: Editura Univers
TURKEY: Timas
UKRAINE: Old Lion Publishing House
WORLD ENGLISH: Pushkin Press

About author


Maria Turtschaninoff

Maria Turtschaninoff is known for crafting lyrical, historically inspired fantasy stories starring strong female protagonists. In addition to J.R.R. Tolkien, she counts Philip Pullman, Ursula K. Le Guin and C.S. Lewis among her favorite authors. She is a two-time winner of the Society of Swedish Literature Prize, winner of the Swedish YLE Literature Prize, winner of the Thank You for the Book Award, a nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2020-2024), and winner of the 2014 Finlandia Junior Prize. In 2024, Maria Turtschaninoff won the Eeva Joenpelto Literary Prize (10,000 euro award) for her literary masterpiece Tangled Roots.

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

Bibliography


2024, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

The Manticore

Maria Turtschaninoff


2022, Literary Fiction

Tangled Roots

Maria Turtschaninoff


2018, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Maresi: Red Mantle

Maria Turtschaninoff


2016, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Naondel

Maria Turtschaninoff


2014, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Maresi

Maria Turtschaninoff

Dutch four-way auction closes for Michaela von Kügelgen’s VILLA HILDA trilogy!

We are over the moon to let you know that the four-way auction for Dutch rights to Michaela von Kügelgen’s Villa Hilda trilogy has now ended!

After strong interest and wonderful enthusiasm from all participating publishers, we’re excited to announce that we’ve found the perfect home for the series in the Netherlands and Belgium — congratulations to Singel Uitgevers. The deal was closed by Martti Berner at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Publisher Elik Lettinga shared her thoughts:

This trilogy immediately appealed to me and my colleagues. The pitch alone had a relaxing effect, which was confirmed by the lively warmth of the narration. The combination of a big old house, food and interesting characters, all thrown together on an island, is quite delightful.

This follows the previous deals in Estonia, Denmark and Germany. The Estonian rights of the first book were sold to Hea Lugu at auction, while both the Danish and German rights were pre-empted in three-book-deals by Lindhardt & Ringhof and Aufbau Verlage. All of the deals are closed pre-publication!

Villa Hilda trilogy is charming and heartwarming series set on the Swedish island of Halsterö, where second chances, new begginning and cinnamon buns await.

The first book will be published by Schildts & Söderströms this June, and followed by book #2 in February 2026 and book #3 in September 2026. In addition to this feel-good series, Michaela, together with author Anne Hietanen, is working on a crime novel series that is set to debut in 2026 with book #1, The Last Word.

Download materials for VILLA HILDA trilogy here!

Reading materials available:

  • Full Swedish manuscript (Book 1)

  • English sample & synopsis (Book 1)

  • English synopsis (Book 2)

And don’t forget: FILI (Finnish Literature Exchange) supports translations also from Finnish-Swedishcovering 50–70% of translation costs. The current grant round is open until May 1st!

Summer at Villa Hilda

Michaela von Kügelgen

Many people dream of a second chance in life, but how many dare to take it?

Far out in the Stockholm archipelago lies the island of Halsterö. Journalist Thomas and former celebrity chef Louise travel there to work at the Villa Hilda guesthouse. They are both broken after many setbacks and are hoping for a fresh start. But setting up a summer paradise is not as easy as one might think, not even on the idyllic Halsterö island.

One day Louise stumbles across a collection of old love letters. Who wrote them, and what stories does Villa Hilda hide in its dusty attic? And how will Thomas manage to take care of his dementia-stricken mother while setting up an archipelago guesthouse?

Summer at Villa Hilda is about how difficult it is to be human among other people, but also about how, with the help of others, one can find one’s way back to life.

SUMMER AT VILLA HILDA
SOMMAR PÅ VILLA HILDA
Schildts & Söderströms, June 2025,

VILLA HILDA #2
Schildts & Söderströms, February 2026

VILLA HILDA #3
Schildts & Söderströms, September 2026

READING MATERIALS
English sample
English synopsis
Swedish edition
Finnish PDF

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Schildts & Söderströms (orig. Finland-Swedish, Finnish)
ESTONIA: Hea Lugu
DENMARK: Lindhardt og Ringhof Forlag
GERMANY: Aufbau Verlage
NETHERLANDS: Singel Uitgevers
SWEDEN: Schildts & Söderströms

About author


Michaela von Kügelgen

Michaela "Kugge" von Kügelgen (1986) has three published titles under her belt. Her debut novel, Vad heter ångest på spanska?, was published in 2017. Her most recent work, Kickstarta ditt skrivande, is a non-fiction guide to writing. Since 2020, Kugge offers highly regarded online writing courses, which have attracted participants from both Sweden and Finland. Kugge has a master’s degree in communication and has been a freelance journalist for over 10 years. Her newsletters on writing and entrepreneurship have over 1,600 subscribers. In the newsletters she shares her journey, offering encouragement to others while candidly discussing her own challenges and triumphs. Together with author Anne Hietanen, Kugge is working on a crime novel series with book #1, The Last Word slated to be published in 2026.

In addition to her writing career, Kugge plays handball, has recently developed a passion for second-hand fashion, and slow travels to Berlin whenever she can — after having lived there for two years.

Bibliography


2026, Crime & Suspense

The Last Word

Michaela von Kügelgen


2025, Commercial/Upmarket, Romance

Summer at Villa Hilda

Michaela von Kügelgen

3rd book in FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY trilogy by Spiegel Bestselling author Martta Kaukonen sold to Germany!

We are very excited to announce that Spiegel bestselling author Martta Kaukonen’s 3rd Follow the Butterfly thriller, Free, has been acquired by her German publisher Heyne in a pre-publication dealThe deal was closed by Martti Berner.

Congratulations to Martta Kaukonen, and Heyne! The anticipated third book in FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY trilogy will be published in Finland in May 2025.

Published as Therapiert in Germany, the first book has sold close to 30,000 copies and it hit the Spiegel bestseller list. The sequel, Traumatisiert, was just published in March.

Film and TV rights have been acquired by Legendary Tobis. Martta Kaukonen’s work has received glowing starred reviews everywhere it has been published. Last year Follow the Butterfly was nominated for Germany’s Viktor Crime Award  and for the prestigious Danish Glass Key Award.

 

Praise from UK authors of FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY:

“The premise is highly original and flawlessly executed, with an unexpected, ingenious twist at the end. The play between the patient and serial killer, Ida and her celebrity therapist, Clarissa, is deftly crafted, luring the reader in and entangling them in their web of deception. It is an utterly compelling, gripping read with an explosive conclusion.
Danielle Ramsay, author novel the Perfect Husband

“Dark, clever and hugely suspenseful, Follow the Butterfly is a breathtakingly fast-paced, original debut with vivid, intriguing characters and a masterfully constructed, compelling plotline that sinks its teeth into you from the first and doesn’t let go. Kaukonen’s writing is flawless, poignant and addictive, while the ending blew me away.”
-A. A. Chaudhuri, bestselling author of Under Her Roof

“Surprising, fresh and almost indecently fun, with two brilliantly original female leads and a sinuous plot that keeps you guessing until the very last page.”
-Tammy Cohen, author of The Wedding Party

“Breathlessly plotted, deviously constructed, and brought to vivid, twisted life by an antiheroine for the ages, FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY is an utterly beguiling debut. This isn’t just a thriller you sink your teeth into—it’s a thriller that sinks its teeth right back into you.”
-Elizabeth Little, author of Pretty as a Picture

 

Want to be part of this phenomenon? Rights are still available in Sweden, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Japan, Ukraine and more!

Click here to request reading materials for FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY trilogy!

 


Book #1: FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY

by Martta Kaukonen

An addictive psychological thriller in the spirit of Gillian Flynn

Ira, 20, a serial killer who was abducted as a child, starts therapy with celebrity therapist Clarissa. Only one of them knows that they share a mutual secret from the past. Will the other one realize it before she gets murdered?

Clarissa is a middle-aged psychotherapist, the best in her field. She is familiar to everyone from her TV appearances and from glossy magazines. For her, every patient is a princess. And someone only she can save. Or can she? Clarissa already has one suicide to answer for; a teenage boy’s death never seizes to haunt her.

When Ira becomes Clarissa’s patient, a cat-and-mouse game begins in which rules are followed by no one. The kind of game that never ends well.

Book #2: MEET ME IN THE DARKNESS
by Martta Kaukonen

Nothing is as it seems.

Four years have passed since the events of Follow the Butterfly. Ira and Arto have teamed up, and both work as crime journalists for the Helsinki Today. Everything’s going nicely, until Ira starts suspecting there’s a serial killer on the loose in Helsinki.

The murders are investigated by Senior Crime Inspector Kerttu Leppänen, who leads the murder unit and eagerly waits for retirement. Unsolved cases haunt Kerttu, who is unable to forgive herself.

The past catches up with all of them – if they were ever free from its clutches in the first place…

Book #3: FREE
by Martta Kaukonen

Is it worth digging up the truth?

It’s 1995. Detective Chief Inspector Kerttu Leppänen and her spouse, Inspector Esko Koivuvyö, are tasked with investigating the murder of a middle-aged woman. However, the crime scene presents a mystery that complicates the investigation: beside the body, there is a bloody knife on a pillow, even though it cannot be the murder weapon.

Thirty years later, Ira is determined to uncover the truth about her parents’ marriage. Why did her mother Marja fear her father Arto? And why does Arto refuse to answer Ira’s questions? Across different decades, Kerttu and Ira each come to the same realization: if you uncover the truth, you must be prepared to face its consequences.

Book #1: Follow the Butterfly
TERAPIASSA
WSOY, 2021, 471 pp.

Reading materials: English edition, German Edition

Book #2: Meet me in the Darkness
HENGISSÄ
WSOY, 2023, 272 pp.

Reading materials: German edition, unedited English manuscript

Book #3: Free
POISSA
WSOY, 2025, 300 pp.

Reading materials: English synopsis, Finnish edition

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
CROATIA: Znanje
CZECHIA: Albatros Media
DENMARK: Forlaget Falco
ESTONIA: Hea Lugu
FILM & TV: Legendary Tobis TV
GERMANY: Heyne (3 books)
GREECE: Psichogios (2 books)
HUNGARY: Partvonal Kiadó (2 books)
ICELAND: Storytel (3 books)
ITALY: Longanesi (2 books)
LATVIA: Jumava
LITHUANIA: Obuolys
POLAND: Czarna Owca (2 books)
UNITED KINGDOM: Pushkin Press (2 books)
UNITED STATES: Pushkin Press (2 books)
WORLD ARABIC: Al Arabi Publishing
WORLD ENGLISH (Audio): Audible

 

About author


Martta Kaukonen

Martta Kaukonen (1976) lives in Helsinki. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a film critic, whose reviews have been published in both Finland’s biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and a popular women’s weekly magazine Me Naiset. Martta has a master’s degree in arts. She has interviewed the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Justin Bieber. Martta met her husband at his second hand bookshop and fell in love. Alongside writing, Martta loves psychological thrillers, film noir, flea markets, abandoned houses and travelling. 

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Free

Martta Kaukonen


2023, Crime & Suspense

Meet Me in the Darkness

Martta Kaukonen


2022, Crime & Suspense

In Your Shadow

Martta Kaukonen


2021, Crime & Suspense

Follow the Butterfly

Martta Kaukonen

700,000 copies sold for ITTY BITTY PRINCESS books by Hannele Lampela!

We are so happy to tell you all that the Itty Bitty Princess books by Hannele Lampela, illustrated by Ninka Reittu have sold nearly 700,000 copies in Finland! Lampela also has two new Itty Bitty Princess books coming out in 2025. The Itty Bitty Princess film was released in 2024 and second one is now in development!

Itty Bitty Princess is a mischievous, bold, and kind-hearted little girl with a mind of her own. Whether it’s finding out where babies come from or fixing “mistakes” and injustices in fairy tales, Itty Bitty never shies away from a challenge!

Itty Bitty Princess books available:

Itty Bitty Princess picture books (3+):
Itty Bitty Princess and the Truth About Babies (2022)
Itty Bitty Princess’s Teeny Bit Terrific Fairy Tales (2022)

Itty Bitty Princess chapter books (40 pp-80 pp, 5+):
Itty Bitty Princess (2016)
Itty Bitty Princess’s Winter (2017)
Itty Bitty Princess’s Slightly Better Bedtime Stories (2018)
Itty Bitty Princess and The Horrible Injustice (2019)
Itty Bitty Princess’s Summer (2020)
Itty Bitty Princess’s Slightly Better Singalongs (2020)
Itty Bitty Princess Takes Over the World (2021)
Itty Bitty Princess and The Amazing Amusement Park (2023)
How many more sleeps until Christmas, Itty Bitty Princess? (2024)

 

Itty Bitty Princess and the Truth About Babies

Where do annoying little siblings come from? Itty Bitty Princess figures out the truth about babies in her own bold manner.

Of course, Itty Bitty Princess knows that babies grow in mothers’ tummies. But how did they end up there? And how do they get out? And most importantly: why on earth would parents want a baby that poops a lot and wakes them up in the middle of the night?

This charming picture book by Hannele Lampela, illustrated by Ninka Reittu, provides answers to children’s puzzling questions about babies, but also touches on the emotions that big sisters and brothers go through when they hear a baby is on the way.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

 

Itty Bitty Princess’s Teeny Bit Terrific Fairy Tales

Have you ever thought of how a witch feels when her magnificent gingerbread house is eaten? Or the fairy who doesn’t get invited to a birthday party? Indeed, probably not so good.

Itty Bitty Princess has noticed that the ones who are already kind are the ones who always win the battles. Like her little brother. That’s why she has decided to tell a few stories from the side of the scoundrels, like the dragon that gets constantly poked by swords. After all, Itty Bitty Princess knows what it’s like to be kind and naughty at the same time.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

 

Itty Bitty Princess and The Amazing Amusement Park

Itty Bitty Princess has a sleepover at her friend’s place. How exciting! What should she pack? And what should the princesses play? The sleepover itself feels exciting, but it gets even more fun when imagination takes flight and they end up visiting an amusement park at nighttime! Are there ghosts lurking about? And if there are, could they be kind?

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

 

How many more sleeps until Christmas, Itty Bitty Princess?

Itty Bitty Princess is impatiently waiting for Christmas. And believe it or not, every single night a little elf peeks in the window and looks to see what Itty Bitty Princess has been up to!

The days counting down to Christmas can fit magic, cakes, and gingerbread – and many, many questions. Among other things, about elves, kindness and why some get much bigger gifts than others or why some get to be angels in the Christmas play and others have to be donkeys.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

ITTY BITTY PRINCESS AND THE TRUTH ABOUT BABIES
PRINSESSA PIKKIRIIKKI JA (KAAMEA) TOTUUS VAUVOISTA
Otava, 2022, 32 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
Full English PDF

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
DENMARK: Turbine Forlaget
ESTONIA: Kirjastus Elust Enesest
ITALY: Fabbri Editori
WORLD SPANISH: Planeta Mexico

 

ITTY BITTY PRINCESS’ TEENY BIT TERRIFIC FAIRY TALES
PRINSESSA PIKKIRIIKIN HIUKKASEN HURJAT SADUT
Otava, 2022, 80 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
Full English text

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

 

ITTY BITTY PRINCESS AND THE AMAZING AMUSEMENT PARK
PRINSESSA PIKKIRIIKKI JA HURMAAVA HUVIPUISTO
Otava, 2023, 40 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
English synopsis, Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Kirjastus Elust Enesest

 

HOW MANY MORE SLEEPS UNTIL CHRISTMAS, ITTY BITTY PRINCESS?
MONTAKO YÖTÄ VIELÄ, PRINSESSA PIKKIRIIKKI?
Otava 2024, 80 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
English synopsis, Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

About author


Hannele Lampela

Hannele Lampela's lovable works have been praised above all for their rich humor and ability to truly show the world from a child's perspective. She has the ability to enchant her readers, and that is why both children and adults love her stories. Lampela's works have been dramatized for example by the Finnish National Theater, Kuopio City Theater and YLE's radio plays. She has been awarded the prestigious Kaarina Helakisa Prize for her work and she has been nominated for Runeberg Junior award in 2019 and for Storytel Award, and Arvid Lydecken Award four times, most recently in 2023.

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

About author


Ninka Reittu

Ninka Reittu is an illustrator and children's book writer.

Reittu lives in an old clergy house in Liperi, Finland, with her son and carpenter husband. Their family also includes two cats, several dogs, and a flock of sheep.

In addition to her own picture books Messi ja Mysteeri and Sinä olet superrakas, she has illustrated the titles of Hannele Lampela (The Itty-Bitty Princess) and Kreetta Onkelin.

13,000 copies sold for CRIMSON WEB by Aamos Honka!

We are excited to report that Aamos Honka‘s espionage thriller Crimson Web has sold more than 13,000 copies in Finland!

Originally published in Finland in January, Crimson Web has been one of the bestselling fiction titles in Finland and has received outstanding reviews from the critics and the readers:

Did the best domestic thriller of 2025 arrive on the very first day of the year? Or at least the best debut novel? It’s possible, because Aamos Honka’s Crimson Web is quite a punch for fans of thrillers based on international politics. – A new star has just appeared in Finland’s thriller sky.”
– Kai Hirvasnoro, Kansan Uutiset newspaper

One rarely encounters as great a debut thriller as [—] Aamos Honka’s literary debut Crimson Web, published in January. [—] In his novel, Honka has succeeded in creating a thrilling and even authentic atmosphere that keeps [the readers] in its grip until the end.”
– Jari Olavi Hiltunen, Satakunnan Kansa newspaper

The book delivers absolutely brilliant intensity. The thriller draws you in and keeps you tightly in its grip. At times, the pace is downright breathtakingly exciting. Aamos Honka seems to really know the ingredients of a good thriller. The reader doesn’t have to be an expert of the field to get a grasp of the novel’s world, and the narration is pleasantly easy to read. [—] in the reader’s mind there is a constant thought that all of this could probably happen in real life as well.
– Luetut.net book blog

”With his debut, Aamos Honka made my blood run cold. – When things get going, they do so with such speed and astonishment that even the most cynical reader is left breathless. – The series starts off quite powerfully, so expectations are high for what follows.
– Kirsin kirjanurkka blog

Additionally, Aamos Honka’s publisher Gummerus has revealed the cover for the sequel to Crimson Web – Article 5 (Viides artikla in original Finnish)!

Slated to be published in Finland in November, Article 5 sees the Finnish intelligence officer Janne Peura discover that Russia is executing a cold, calculated strategy to destabilize NATO’s unity. As geopolitical tensions escalate and the stakes of the operation rise, Peura must find a way to expose Russia’s true plan before it leads to open conflict – but every move could be a deception masking an even greater scheme.

Download materials for CRIMSON WEB here!

Crimson Web

Aamos Honka

A frighteningly topical debut thriller from an insider in the intelligence world, revealing the hidden heart of secrets ops and hybrid warfare.

Planes collide in London. Electricity and information networks are attacked in Finland. Janne Peura from military intelligence and Laura Vesterinen from the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service track down signs of foreign power operations. When Janne and Laura’s lines cross, they take on major roles in a high stakes international game.

Once you read the book, the news headlines will never look the same to you.

Article 5, book #2 in the Janne Peura series, is slated to be published in Finland in November 2025.

CRIMSON WEB
PUNAINEN VERKKO
Gummerus, 2025, 489 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample (chapters 1-6)
German sample (chapters 7-12)
English synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Gummerus (orig.)

About author


Aamos Honka

Aamos Honka has been a part of the Finnish intelligence community for over a decade and continues to work for the Finnish government. Drawing from his professional expertise, Aamos crafts gripping and realistic thrillers that delve deep into the high-stakes world of international espionage. He lives with his family in the picturesque Finnish archipelago, where he finds inspiration for his writing. In his free time, Aamos enjoys hunting and ice swimming.

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Crimson Web

Aamos Honka

FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY by Martta Kaukonen a bestseller in Italy!

We are excited to let you know that Butterfly, the Italian edition of Martta Kaukonen‘s international bestseller Follow the Butterfly, has sold more than 20,000 copies in Italy!

On top of this excellent sales success, Martta Kaukonen was interviewed by fellow crime and thriller author Nadine Matheson on her The Conversation with Nadine Matheson podcast! They discussed topics such as Martta’s original inspiration for the main character of her novel Follow the Butterfly and how we are often stopped from pursuing our dreams by obstacles that we have set ourselves.

You can listen to the podcast her: Martta Kaukonen: The Voice in –The Conversation with Nadine Matheson – Apple Podcasts

Follow the Butterfly has been sold to 16 territories!
Rights are available in, e.g., France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Spain, Romania…

Download materials for FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY here!

Follow the Butterfly

Martta Kaukonen

Can she cure a killer? An addictive psychological thriller in the spirit of Gillian Flynn!

Ira, 20, a serial killer who was abducted as a child, starts therapy with celebrity therapist Clarissa. Only one of them knows that they share a mutual secret from the past. Will the other one realize it before she gets murdered?

Clarissa is a middle-aged psychotherapist, the best in her field. She is familiar to everyone from her TV appearances and from glossy magazines. For her, every patient is a princess. And someone only she can save. Or can she? Clarissa already has one suicide to answer for; a teenage boy’s death never seizes to haunt her.

When Ira becomes Clarissa’s patient, a cat-and-mouse game begins in which rules are followed by no one. The kind of game that never ends well.

FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY
TERAPIASSA
WSOY, 2021, 471 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English edition
German edition
Italian edition
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
CROATIA: Znanje
CZECHIA: Kniha Zlin/Albatros
DENMARK: Falco
ESTONIA: Hea Lugu
GERMANY: Heyne
GREECE: Psichogios
HUNGARY: Partvonal
ITALY: Longanesi
ICELAND: Storytel
LATVIA: Jumava
LITHUANIA: Obuolys
POLAND: Czarna Owca
UNITED KINGDOM: Pushkin Press
UNITED STATES: Pushkin Press
WORLD ARABIC: Al Arabi Publishing
WORLD ENGLISH (Audio): Audible

About author


Martta Kaukonen

Martta Kaukonen (1976) lives in Helsinki. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a film critic, whose reviews have been published in both Finland’s biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and a popular women’s weekly magazine Me Naiset. Martta has a master’s degree in arts. She has interviewed the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Justin Bieber. Martta met her husband at his second hand bookshop and fell in love. Alongside writing, Martta loves psychological thrillers, film noir, flea markets, abandoned houses and travelling. 

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Free

Martta Kaukonen


2023, Crime & Suspense

Meet Me in the Darkness

Martta Kaukonen


2022, Crime & Suspense

In Your Shadow

Martta Kaukonen


2021, Crime & Suspense

Follow the Butterfly

Martta Kaukonen

Bestseller titles from the Ahlback Agency!

Titles represented by the Ahlback Agency have been on the official bestseller lists of Finland in March 2025!

What Finland Reads is a monthly statistic compiled by the Booksellers’ Association of Finland, which brings together the best-selling literature in Finland. The list includes literature in print form as well as audio and e-books.

 

Dad Man and the Mysterious Puppet Master by Arttu Unkari and Kai Vaalio is included in both All Genres and Children’s and Young Adult lists.

In Finnish literature list you can find Crimson Web by Aamos Honka, which has been one of the most purchased books in Finland since it’s release in January!

Stop Chasing Happiness: A Pessimist’s Guide to a Good Life by Frank Martela can be found on the most purchased Non-Fiction books list.

Traces by Anna Harju is one of the most purchased print books. Traces has been on the best selling lists since it’s release in January!

Princess Rascal and the Dark Fairy by Elina Hirvonen and Mervi Lindman is one of the most purchased Children’s and Young Adult books in e-book form.

 

Dad Man and the Mysterious Puppet Master

BY ARTTU UNKARI AND KAI VAALIO

The quirkiest cop in town! The Dad Man Series offers fast-paced adventures and humour for all ages – especially lower middle grade.

✓ Bestselling series: over 200,000 copies sold in Finland!

✓ Rights sold to Germany (2 books) and Denmark (2 books)!

✓ Perfect for reluctant readers and for fans of David Walliams and Captain Underpants

✓ All books in the series have been nominated for the Storytel awards Best children’s audiobook prize!

✓ Books in the series have also been recognized with Best Newcomer of the Year 2020, and the Runeberg Prize 2023!

✓ Bold and fresh 4-colour comic-book style artwork that add visual jokes to the narration

✓ Work as standalones and can be read in any order!

The wackiest cop in town is messing up again! A fast-paced adventure full of humor for elementary school readers.

A supervillain calling himself the Mysterious Puppet Master robs the Museum of Ancient Diseases and threatens to unleash deadly germs if the city’s smartest detective doesn’t complete the tasks he’s assigned.

Who else but Dadman rises heroically to the challenge, dragging Oona and the gang back into action. They must solve the Puppet Master’s riddles before it’s too late — and before Dadman ruins everything. Because those tasks? They’re not quite as heroic as Dadman thought..

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

 

Crimson Web

BY AAMOS HONKA

A frighteningly topical debut thriller from an insider in the intelligence world, revealing the hidden heart of secrets ops and hybrid warfare.

Planes collide in London. Electricity and information networks are attacked in Finland. Janne Peura from military intelligence and Laura Vesterinen from the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service track down signs of foreign power operations. When Janne and Laura’s lines cross, they take on major roles in a high stakes international game.

Once you read the book, the news headlines will never look the same to you.

The sequel to Crimson Web, book #2 in the Janne Peura series, is slated to be published in Finland in November 2025.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

 

Stop Chasing Happiness: A Pessimist’s Guide to a Good Life

BY FRANK MARTELA

A guide to finding happiness by Finland’s leading happiness expert UK publication on March 20, 2025!

✓  World English rights sold to Allen & Unwin, German rights to Knesebeck, and Finnish rights at auction to Gummerus!

✓ Full English manuscript available!

✓  Frank Martela, PhD, is Finland’s #1 internationally bestselling non-fiction author – his previous title, A Wonderful Life, has been sold to 30 countries!

✓  A unique blend of personal stories and quirky anecdotes combined with deep understanding of the latest psychological research on well-being

✓  Finland has been ranked the happiest country 7 times in a row and Frank Martela has explained the secret to Finnish happiness for Fox NewsNew York TimesScientific American and New Scientist.

What if the secret to happiness isn’t finding it—but letting it go?

In a world obsessed with success and self-improvement, the chase for happiness often leaves us feeling lost. The real path to contentment lies in unlearning the habits holding you back: stop obsessing over what others think, stop being so sensitive about your feelings, stop measuring your value by what you have.

In Stop Chasing Happiness, academic and philosopher Frank Martela – hailing from Finland, the world’s happiest country – reveals why our fixation on happiness and achievement is making us miserable. With wisdom rooted in science, philosophy, and personal experience, Martela shows you the path to a life of energized contentment.

Through this transformative book, you’ll discover:

* the courage to free yourself from the pressures of what you should do

* the serenity to accept whatever life throws at you

* the sparkle to energetically pursue whatever you identify as your real values.

Stop the anxious chase. You have already arrived. Start living your own life through accepting the past, enjoying the present, and working towards a better future – it all starts here.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

Traces

BY ANNA HARJU

“Perfect suspense!” – Max Seeck, New York Times bestselling author

The opening of a gripping crime series set in trendy Tampere. Taro Auramo Series #1

There are secrets whose revelation will have fatal consequences. There is no escaping them, no matter how hard you try. Must one always pay for their mistakes?

A well-liked pharmacist is found murdered at his workplace. Suspicion falls on pharmacist Joanna Vihervuori, the last person to see her boss alive. Joanna insists she is innocent, but the case begins to twist around her in a strange way.

For Tampere Police Detective Inspector Taro Auramo, this murder investigation is the place to prove himself. The white dust on the dead pharmacist’s cheek raises doubts about whether his business is completely clean, and soon nothing will be as it seems.

Psychologically astute and utterly addictive, Traces is the first in the Taro Auramo crime series set in Tampere. Book #2 is slated to be published in 2026 and book #3 in 2027.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

Princess Rascal and the Dark Fairy

BY ELINA HIRVONEN AND MERVI LINDMAN

A picture book about being scared of the dark

✓ Shows day-to-day challenges of families with children with a lot of warmth and humor

✓ Rights in series sold into 5 languages

Would a crown of courage or a string of pearls with happy things help in the dark?

Beloved Princess Rascal is a little girl with big feelings and magical powers. The popular picture book series continues!

Princess Rascal stays awake all night, because there’s a monster under her bed. No one believes that, but Princess Rascal knows it’s true. She feels that no one else has such big worries and that no one else is even afraid of anything! Somehow this problem has to be solved: could there be something in Princess Rascal’s toy box that could help?

The Princess Rämäpää series by Elina Hirvonen and Mervi Lindman takes the reader on magical adventures that can be found right in the middle of everyday life, as long as you have enough imagination.

DOWNLOAD READING MATERIALS HERE

DAD MAN AND THE MYSTERIOUS PUPPET MASTER
ISÄMIES JA SALAPERÄINEN NUKKEMESTARI
Otava, 2025, 176 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
Finnish pdfs books 1-6
German edition books 1-2
Danish edition book 1
English sample book 4

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
DENMARK: Bogoo (2 books)
GERMANY: Mixtvision (2 books)

 

CRIMSON WEB
PUNAINEN VERKKO
Gummerus, 2025, 489 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
English sample
English synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Gummerus (orig.)

 

STOP CHASING HAPPINESS: A PESSIMIST’S GUIDE TO A GOOD LIFE
ÄLÄ ETSI ONNEA: EPÄTYYPILLISIÄ ELÄMÄNOHJEITA NYKYIHMISELLE
Allen & Unwin, 2025, 200 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
Full English edition
English chapters

RIGHTS SOLD:
UK: Allen & Unwin (orig.)
FINLAND: Gummerus
GERMANY: Knesebeck
WORLD ENGLISH: Allen & Unwin

 

TRACES
JÄLJET
Tammi, 2025, 382 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
English sample & synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

 

PRINCESS RASCAL AND THE DARK FAIRY
PRINSESSA RÄMÄPÄÄ JA MÖRKÖTAIKA
Tammi, 2024, 44 pp.

READING MATERIALS:
English sample & synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

About author


Aamos Honka

Aamos Honka has been a part of the Finnish intelligence community for over a decade and continues to work for the Finnish government. Drawing from his professional expertise, Aamos crafts gripping and realistic thrillers that delve deep into the high-stakes world of international espionage. He lives with his family in the picturesque Finnish archipelago, where he finds inspiration for his writing. In his free time, Aamos enjoys hunting and ice swimming.

About author


Anna Harju

Anna Harju (b. 1983) enjoys atmospheric detective stories with a compelling, complex plot. By profession, she is a translator and communication multitasker.

Traces is her debut novel and takes place in Tampere, where Harju is from.

About author


Arttu Unkari

Arttu Unkari is a teacher from Helsinki and a Master of Education (University of Helsinki, 2015) who majored in ethics and philosophy.  He combines his educational background and experience as a teacher in his books – his stories are anarchist and zany, but at the same time the humour often revolves around profound and intriguing concepts such as honesty, obedience, and morality in ways that speak to children in their own language. His books are enjoyed by adults as well because they contain layers that open up differently to readers of all ages. This is one of the reasons Dad Man is such a great series for the whole family.

As an author Unkari is a Runeberg prize nominee 2023 for the third instalment of the Dadman series: Dad Man and the Horrible Hypnosis (Isämies ja hyytävä hypnoosi, Otava 2022). The Runeberg Prize is a literary prize awarded by the newspaper Uusimaa, the City of Porvoo, the Finnish Writers' Union, the Finnish Critics' Association and the Finland’s-Swedish Writer’s Association. The prize was established in 1986 and it is awarded annually in Porvoo on 5th February, the day when Finland celebrates their national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg.  All of his previous books (Dad Man and the Exploding poop, Dad Man and the Evil Little Brother,  Dad Man and the Horrible Hypnosis and Dad Man and the Impossible Time Warp) have been nominated for best children’s audiobook in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Finnish Storytel awards. He’s also participated in making a Finnish language schoolbook (Loikka 3, Otava 2022).

Unkari is a sought after inspirational speaker in his home country. He’s visited schools all over Finland advocating for the importance of reading.

About author


Elina Hirvonen

Elina Hirvonen is an award-winning author of adults' and children's prose and documentary filmmaker whose works have been translated into many languages. Hirvonen’s debut novel, When I Forgot, made the front page of The New York Times Book Review, and received rave reviews from the Independent, Guardian, Financial Times and Globe and Mail.

Hirvonen has won the Kalevi Jäntti Prize, the Young Aleksis Prize, has been nominated for the prestigious Finlandia Prize. She has received the prestigious 2023 Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö Literary Foundation Award, recognizing the artistic independence and high standard of her writing.

Her new novel, The Logbook of Love, was published in Finland in August 2023. The Logbook of Love is the first part of a trilogy of novels that create their world through conversations.

About author


Frank Martela

Professor 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 Assistant Professor at Aalto University in Finland. 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.

About author


Kai Vaalio

Kai Vaalio (b. 1986) is an illustrator, comic artist, and a bit of a cosmopolitan as well. He’s written and illustrated underground comic books for adults about his travels in South-East Asia and Latin America — the latter won Mondo magazine’s Travel book of the year award back in 2014. Recently he’s ventured into the world of illustrating children’s books mainly with Arttu Unkari’s Dad Man Series. Together they’ve made several books about this goofy detective and his clever little posse. The Dad Man Series has received Storytel Awards and Runeberg Junior 2023 award nominations. Vaalio’s been on and off in the graphic industry since 2005 when he graduated as a graphic designer from Lahti College of Arts and Crafts. In 2018 he got his bachelor’s degree from Lahti University of Applied Science.

Ahlback Agency hot titles for Spring 2025 – Apply now for the FILI grants!

Spring book fair season continues! Best regards from successful and busy London and Bologna book fairs, where Ahlback Agency’s hot titles created a lot of buzz and interest. We are highlighting below the most requested titles, and we are happy to inform you that the FILI Spring 2025 grant application period is now open and will last until 1st of May 2025.

Now is the perfect time to acquire your Finnish bestseller and award-winner!
Check out our Spring Catalogue here: Ahlback Agency Spring 2025 – and latest news here: Ahlback Agency News

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

Summer at Villa Hilda

Michaela von Kügelgen

Many people dream of a second chance in life, but how many dare to take it?

A new feel-good series with Mamma Mia vibes in the Stockholm archipelago!

Far out in the Stockholm archipelago lies the island of Halsterö. Journalist Thomas and former celebrity chef Louise travel there to work at the Villa Hilda guesthouse. They are both broken after many setbacks and are hoping for a fresh start. But setting up a summer paradise is not as easy as one might think, not even on the idyllic Halsterö island.

One day Louise stumbles across a collection of old love letters. Who wrote them, and what stories does Villa Hilda hide in its dusty attic? And how will Thomas manage to take care of his dementia-stricken mother while setting up an archipelago guesthouse?

Summer at Villa Hilda is about how difficult it is to be human among other people, but also about how, with the help of others, one can find one’s way back to life.

This novel is the first part of the Villa Hilda series and will be published in June 2025. The following titles will concentrate on the people living on the picturesque Halsterö island and will tentatively be published in February 2026 and September 2026.

Download materials for SUMMER AT VILLA HILDA here!

 

Crimson Web

Aamos Honka

A frighteningly topical debut thriller from an insider in the intelligence world, revealing the hidden heart of secrets ops and hybrid warfare.

A critical success and an instant bestseller with more than 10,000 copies sold!
✓ Aamos Honka’s work with the Finnish intelligence agencies gives him insider access to the world of national security and foreign intelligence

Planes collide in London. Electricity and information networks are attacked in Finland. Janne Peura from military intelligence and Laura Vesterinen from the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service track down signs of foreign power operations. When Janne and Laura’s lines cross, they take on major roles in a high stakes international game.

Once you read the book, the news headlines will never look the same to you.

Download materials for CRIMSON WEB here!

 

By the Seashore: How Writers Discovered the Sea

Sanna Nyqvist

Follow Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Tove Jansson and other classic writers to the beach and experience the landscape through the eyes of a writer.

Nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize in Non-Fiction

By the Seashore is a fascinating journey through salt-scented cultural history and to the authors’ favourite beaches. Jane Austen adventured along the south coast of England, Marcel Proust returned year after year to the shimmering light of Normandy, and Tove Jansson created her own paradise on an island in the Gulf of Finland. The magic of the beaches is part of our shared experience and our relationship with nature. But how long will we be able to experience our beloved beaches as they are now? This was already being pondered by August Strindberg in the late 19th century, when industry and tourism were shaping the Stockholm archipelago.

By the Seashore is a gripping and surprising account of why beaches have become landscapes of emotion, safe havens as well as  islands of adventure.

Download materials for BY THE SEASHORE here!

 

Deep in the Woods

Päivi Lukkarila

Four very different teens sent on a smartphone-free wilderness expedition… Finlandia Prize-winning and bestselling mystery story for 13+!

Stand by Me meets The Blair Witch Project
✓ More than 10,000 copies sold!

The expedition is only supposed to last three days, but a fateful event changes everything and the teens have to survive in the wild without their guide. They try to entertain each other with ghost stories, and as they tell them, their own frightening childhood experiences come back to haunt them. There seems to be something creepy about their surroundings. What was it in there that spooked all the tourists and will the four be left to wander the wilds until their final days?

Download materials for DEEP IN THE WOODS here!

 

The Marvelous Suitcase

Sanna Sofia Vuori, illustrated by Silja-Maria Wihersaari

A suitcase full of wonders.

A charming and enchanting children’s tale by the Finlandia and Runeberg Prize-nominated author and awarded illustrator

Daria Duck staggered down the hill, kicking up sand and wobbling her bowler hat. She was on her way to see her best friend, Froberta Frog.”

Daria spots a battered suitcase in Froberta’s gateway. What on earth could be in it?

One by one, the neighbours turn up at Froberta’s house to wonder about the strange suitcase. Each visitor invents a story about what might be inside that reflects their own personality. For example, Brynn Brimstone-Butterfly’s imagination is full of fairies and dew beads. Shelley the Snailon the other hand, thinks the contents will be a rockstar’s guitar. Finally, the suitcase is opened and the contents delight everyone!

Download materials for THE MARVELOUS SUITCASE here!

 

Twin World Series: Saving Atlantis

Siri Kolu

A myth-busting, suspense-filled series for a late middle grade and early YA audience.

For the readers of Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising Sequence and Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series!

Can Atlantis be saved before disaster strikes?

12-year-old El(ektra) starts sleepwalking and has recurring nightmares of masses of water under which there is no escape. After doing research with her friends Maxxam and Cal, El discovers that the underwater city in her nightmares is ancient Atlantis.

In the city of Atlantis, young Elektra has strange dreams at night about tall glass towers and flying planes. With inventor genius Dobro, Elektra begins to test whether the visions could be real. Based on the dreams, they build a submarine called a wave diver.

Can the Elektras help each other? Can they be rescued from under the waves…and what would it cost?

Download materials for TWIN WORLD SERIES: SAVING ATLANTIS here!

 

Daughter of Two Bloods

S. K. Rostedt

A debut enemies-to-lovers romantasy novel oozing with fae, demons, and hot romance

Chosen by the readers as one of the Top 100 Finnish books of the 21st century!
✓ More than 10,000 copies sold!
✓ For the fans of Sarah J. Maas, Rebecca Yarros, Victoria Aveyard, and Jennifer L. Armentrout

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

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

Download materials for DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS here!

SUMMER AT VILLA HILDA
SOMMAR PÅ VILLA HILDA
Schildts & Söderströms, 2025, 286 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample
English synopsis
Swedish manuscript

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Schildts & Söderströms (orig. Finland-Swedish, Finnish)
DENMARK: Lindhardt og Ringhof
ESTONIA: Hea Lugu
GERMANY: Aufbau Verlage
SWEDEN: Schildts & Söderströms

 

CRIMSON WEB
PUNAINEN VERKKO
Gummerus, 2025, 489 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample
English synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Gummerus (orig.)

 

BY THE SEASHORE: HOW WRITERS DISCOVERED THE SEA
RANNALLA – MITEN KIRJAILIJAT LÖYSIVÄT MEREN
Tammi, 2024, 283 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample
English synopsis
Author’s vision
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ESTONIA: Rahva Raamat
GERMANY: mareverlag
UKRAINE: Laboratoria

 

DEEP IN THE WOODS
SKUTSI
Nokkahiiri, 2024, 200 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample
English synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Nokkahiiri (orig.)

 

THE MARVELOUS SUITCASE
MERKILLINEN MATKALAUKKU
Tammi, 2025, 40 pp.

READING MATERIALS
Full English text
Sample illustrations
Finnish PDF in May 2025

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

 

TWIN WORLD SERIES: SAVING ATLANTIS
ALLE AALLON
Tammi, 2025, 331 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample
English synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

 

DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS
KAHDEN VEREN TYTÄR
Otava, 2024, 509 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample
English synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
FRANCE: Robert Laffont