S. K. Rostedt wins the Best Book of the Year 2024 Award in fiction and interviewed by big Finnish broadcaster Yle!

We’re so proud of S. K. Rostedt who just won the Best Book of the Year Award for her debut romantasy, DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS! The award is by Finland’s biggest bookstore chain Suomalainen Kirjakauppa. Daughter of Two Bloods is already a bestseller, a debut novel with sales closer to 4,000 copies in one month!

The author was discovered on TikTok after gathering tons of hype for her book, which is the first Finnish romantasy. Unique to DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS is the influence of Finnish mythology, such as settings and characters from the Kalevala.

She was recently interviewed by the broadcasting company Yle, termed “the BBC of Finland” for her bestseller status and the way she caught the eye of Otava, one of Finland’s biggest publishers. An instant bestseller, DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS!

(Second featured photo: Thomas Hagström/Yle)

YLE pierces to the heart of the story, with the praise:
“The discrimination experienced by Moorna mirrors the bullying and culture of discrimination visible in society. On the other hand, Rostedt’s work wants to offer a moment’s escape from reality.”

Featured Praise for DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS:

This is a fast-reading and engaging fantasy where the pages turn almost by themselves. The world, and especially its demons, are wonderfully imaginative and the description is adequate. There is just the right ratio of gloom and humor. There are many tough topics and events, such as all kinds of violence, death and inequality, but also banter and silly situations. Of course, that romance is also present to an appropriate extent.
Kirjahullun Päiväkirja book blog

Daughter of Two Bloods is a wonderful novel for lovers of more entertaining fantasy, and I hope that its success will create even more space for romantasy in the Finnish literary scene.
Siniset helmet book blog

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

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.

Click here to access all reading materials for DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS!

Publication Info:
Kahden veren tytär, Otava 2024, 509 pp

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

Rights for DAUGHTER OF TWO BLOODS still available in Germany, France, Italy…

Reading Materials:
English sample & synopsis, Finnish edition

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Wolf Cub

Johanna Holmström

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

– Bella Stenberg, Ystads Allehanda newspaper, Sweden

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

– Bengt Eriksson, Opulens magazine, Sweden

 

Our Last Game

Riikka Pulkkinen

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

– Maija Alander, Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

 

Daughter of Two Bloods

 S. K. Rostedt

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

– Kirjoihin kadonnut bookstagram

 

The Kristinestad Murders #1: Revenge

 Kaisu Tuokko

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

– Taika Dahlbom, Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

 

The Kristinestad Murders #2: Alone

 Kaisu Tuokko

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

– Sarah Mainke, Editor, Aufbau Verlage, Germany

 

Milo

Max Seeck

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

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

– Amman lukuhetki blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

About author


Johanna Holmström

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

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

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

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

About author


Kaisu Tuokko

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

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

About author


Max Seeck, New York Times Best Selling Author

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

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

Big Hollywood film & TV news coming soon!

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

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

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

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

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

About author


Riikka Pulkkinen

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

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

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

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

About author


S. K. Rostedt

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