Loukko by 
THE SAPHROPHILE by Anna-Kaari Hakkarainen has been nominated for the Jarkko Laine Prize! The Jarkko Laine Prize recognizes all genres of fiction and will be awarded for the seventh time. The prize is given to a challenging Finnish work of fiction published within the previous three calendar years. The jury has selected seven nominees from works of fiction published between 2023 and 2025 for the 2026 prize.
This is what the jury says about The Saphrophile:
Anna-Kaari Hakkarainen’s The Saphrophile is a multifaceted work of literary fiction exploring the multidimensional nature of the self, womanhood, surrendering to love, and self-sacrifice for male-dominated art-making. The narrative also addresses manipulation, the boundaries of personality, self-determination, and mistreatment. Through Ingmar Bergman’s film Persona, The Saphrophile examines the human tendency to mask one’s identity. First, the mask must be seen in order to perceive the person beneath it.
The winner will be announced on Thursday, May 21st. The literary prize administered by the Jarkko Laine Society is funded by the Otava Book Foundation, the Finnish Writers’ Union, the City of Turku, the University of Turku, and the WSOY Literary Foundation. The prize is worth 10,000 euros.
The Saphrophile was also nominated for the Finlandia Prize in 2024.
DOWNLOAD MATERIALS FOR THE SAPHROPHILE HERE
A brilliant novel that dives deep into the human psyche, explores themes such as power, passion, and the world of Ingmar Bergman, and is a reflection on being human through art
An island.
An author. Two women.
Ingmar Bergman.
The main characters of a film who are planning to escape.
The Saprophile is a hypnotic treatise on power and writing. It is the autopsy of a novel, a hybrid that seeks to go where genres end. It is a novel about Ingmar Bergman’s films, about a desire that refuses to obey, about an island, about how easy it is to lose yourself in another person, and how difficult it is to find your way back.
Like a saprophile, an organism that lives and thrives on dead or decaying organic matter, The Saprophile is like a literary organism that eats away at age-old concepts and structures.
THE SAPHROPHILE
Marraseliö
Tammi 2024, 672 pp.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
Reading materials:
Finnish edition
English sample & synopsis
