Estonian rights acquired for Saara Turunen’s IRRATIONAL THINGS

We are extremely happy to announce that Estonian rights for Saara Turunen’s IRRATIONAL THINGS  have been acquired by Eesti Raamat!

Eesti Raamat is one of the most important publishing houses in Estonia, having published over 900 literary titles.

They are also Estonian publishers for Thomas Mann, Kjell Westö, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Herman Melville, Sigrid Undset, Selma Lagerlöf, Gustave Flaubert etc.


Saara Turunen’s IRRATIONAL THINGS discusses not only love but also writing about it. Is love a suitable subject to deal with if you want to be taken seriously? And what is love really? Is it comparable to the class system, a way of controlling property and heritage, or something else, something difficult to explain but unavoidable, for all of us to deal with at some point of our lives.

The narrator of the book, a nameless woman, travels to Barcelona. She meets a foreign man and falls in love with him. The man is the total opposite of her in many ways. Where she has been brought up to exert control, to plan and to master her life, he is sort of a free soul. He doesn’t want to worry about tomorrow; rather, he just drifts freely, taking things as they come.

Read more here

Download the English materials for IRRATIONAL THINGS here.

IRRATIONAL THINGS
Järjettömiä asioita
Tammi, March 2021, 270pp

RIGHTS SOLD:

FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat
LITHUANIA: BALTO

About author


Saara Turunen

Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. Much of her work examines the themes of art, identity and social norms. Turunen is known for her three highly acclaimed novels - Irrational Things (2021), The Bystander (2018) and Love/Monster (2015), but also for her work in theatre. Her plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed all around the world. Turunen has received the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015, the Finland Prize in 2016, the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018 and the Lea-Prize in 2020, all high-profile awards given in Finland.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Hyena Days

Saara Turunen


2021, Literary Fiction

Irrational Things

Saara Turunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Bystander

Saara Turunen


2015, Literary Fiction

Love/Monster

Saara Turunen

IRRATIONAL THINGS has now sold over 10 000 copies in Finland!

2 months after publication, IRRATIONAL THINGS by Saara Turunen has now sold over 10 000 copies in Finland!

We are happy to let you know that IRRATIONAL THINGS by award-winning author and playwright Saara Turunen has now surpassed 10 000 copies sold.

The title that was only published on 17th of March climbed the bestseller lists immediately and has sold in amazing numbers.

A young woman from a Nordic country meets a Catalan man in Barcelona. A smart, modern love story ensues.

IRRATIONAL THINGS asks is it a contradiction if you are a strong independent woman, but also falling madly in love – so much in love that you are willing to change everything in your life for someone else?

When the main character falls in love with a Catalan man, they first try living in Spain, then the try Finland, and when things don’t work out they try breaking up. But the bond between them is so strong, that they have to keep inventing new ways to be together.

The novel also discusses writing about love. Is love a suitable subject to deal with if you want to be taken seriously?

Download the English and Spanish sample and synopsis here.

PRAISE:

“Even though love is complicated, it is never irrational. This, and other ideas Turunen carefully depicts with her lovable style that pays attention even to the smallest of details.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper 17.3.

“Like Saga Noren dropped in the middle of Los Serranos!”  – Etelä-Suomen Sanomat newspaper 17.3.

“In a short time Turunen has become the most interesting contemporary Finnish writer.” – Ilta-Sanomat newspaper 17.3.

“I love the way Turunen writes about seemingly mundane details, but they actually represent structures or pain points of the society. Her language is straightforward, and the humor is seen in the contrasts of what is said and what happens. “ – Turun Sanomat newspaper 17.3.


IRRATIONAL THINGS by Saara Turunen
Tammi, March 2021, 340 pp.Autofictive story of love, death and life between two countries. Turunen’s funny, witty and melancholic voice examines the contradiction of sense and sensibility.

What if you are in love with a good man – a man you have always wanted to fall in love with? But what if this man lives in one country and you in another? Should you be sensible and leave the man to be free and independent? Or should you follow your heart, burn the bridges behind, and go after him?

The narrator travels to Barcelona to study theatre. After a few weeks she falls in love with a local man. Thus begins an intensive relationship that tears her between two countries and two cultures. She learns that relationships are between two individuals who have their own ways of expressing love to others and to themselves.

Turunen’s novel paints a relatable picture of relationships, breakups and the constant battle between fear and love. It is a beautiful picture of a woman growing up and trying to balance between social expectations, commitment and freedom.


Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director.

Turunen has previously authored two highly acclaimed novels, Love/Monster 2015 and The Bystander 2018. Her debut novel Love/Monster won the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015.
She is known for her bold and direct style and much of her work examines the themes of identity and social norms. Her newest novel Irrational Things (Spring 2021) is a story of love, death and life between two countries.

In addition to her work as a novelist, Turunen is also known for her plays, that have been translated into  English, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, German, French, Russian, Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Estonian, Greek and Lithuanian and performed all around the world. Turunen was granted with the Finland Prize in 2016, a high profile award given by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, and with the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018.

About author


Saara Turunen

Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. Much of her work examines the themes of art, identity and social norms. Turunen is known for her three highly acclaimed novels - Irrational Things (2021), The Bystander (2018) and Love/Monster (2015), but also for her work in theatre. Her plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed all around the world. Turunen has received the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015, the Finland Prize in 2016, the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018 and the Lea-Prize in 2020, all high-profile awards given in Finland.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Hyena Days

Saara Turunen


2021, Literary Fiction

Irrational Things

Saara Turunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Bystander

Saara Turunen


2015, Literary Fiction

Love/Monster

Saara Turunen

Emmi Itäranta wins Tähtivaeltaja Award and Saara Turunen goes to #1 on the Finnish Bestseller List!

Fantastic news from the Fantasy world: with her book MOONDAY LETTERS, Emmi Itäranta has received The Tähtivaeltaja Award for the Best Finnish Science Fiction Book 2020!

According to the jury composed of experts, MOONDAY LETTERS has a style that is clear and crisp and very fluent. The jury says: “The author’s strong vision of the solar system shows us the direction we are heading at. Simultaneously it poses the question: are we changing while our everyday and our place of living change and what kind of a price are we paying for all this.” “Another poignant theme in the book is ecology. The vista into a collapsed and abandoned crust that humans have sucked empty, is cautionary and prophetic. This makes MOONDAY LETTERS astutely topical.”

Praise:

“Itäranta’s language is beautiful, and depictions almost poetic. The story grows, as emotions, clues, past, secrets and truth open like flowers. The plot flows forward and the mystery keeps readers hooked up. And it is a pleasure to read.” – Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

Download full English manuscript

With her fresh new novel IRRATIONAL THINGS, Saara Turunen tops the official Finnish Bestseller list and goes to No.1

Praise:

“We are honored to be the first foreign publishers of this masterly Work by Saara Turunen. We believe that its subject is a matter of great relevance in the face of the modern life-style and the readers will relate with and feel for the main heroine.”-Ieva Savukynaitė-Dubicka, BALTO, Lithuania

Download materials from here.


Only 2 weeks left to apply to FILI translation grants from Finnish and Finland Swedish!

Apply now:
The unique translation grant system in Finland gives you an opportunity to finance your translation costs up to 70%  read more here:  https://fili.fi/en/grants/

The Spring application period started on 1st of April and will be closed on 1st of May.

Please note that only translations from Finnish or Finnish-Swedish to foreign languages will be supported.

Translators:
We will advise you to find the best possible translators, and in some cases, you can also translate from English.  Find more information about translators here: https://kaantopiiri.fi/en/search-translators/

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MOONDAY LETTERS
Teos, 2020

Rights sold:
FINLAND Teos (orig.)

Reading materials:
Full English manuscript

 

 

IRRATIONAL THINGS
Tammi, 2021

Rights sold:
FINLAND:Tammi (orig.)
LITHUANIA: Balto

Reading materials:
Long English sample, synopsis

About author


Emmi Itäranta

Emmi Itäranta (b.1976) holds two MA degrees, one in Drama and another in Creative Writing. Her award-winning debut novel Memory of Water (Teemestarin kirja) was published in Finland in 2012 to great accolades, followed by The Weaver (Kudottujen kujien kaupunki) in 2015. Her latest novel The Moonday Letters (Kuunpäivän kirjeet) was published in September 2020.

Itäranta’s writing has been compared to that of Ursula K. Le Guin. Her honours include the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize 2013, the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize 2012 and first place in the Teos Fantasy and Sci-Fi Literary Contest 2011.

Memory of Water has sold to over 25 languages to date, and it has also been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award recognizing the best science fiction novel published in the UK in 2014, and the Golden Tentacle award. In addition, Itäranta has been included on the Honor List of the Otherwise Award (formerly James Tiptree, Jr. Award).

Itäranta’s CV is an eclectic mix of writing-related activities, including stints as a columnist, theatre critic, press officer and dramaturge. Her poems, short stories, articles and essays have appeared in anthologies, film magazines and science fiction magazines in the UK and Finland. She now lives in Finland after 14 years in the United Kingdom.

About author


Saara Turunen

Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. Much of her work examines the themes of art, identity and social norms. Turunen is known for her three highly acclaimed novels - Irrational Things (2021), The Bystander (2018) and Love/Monster (2015), but also for her work in theatre. Her plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed all around the world. Turunen has received the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015, the Finland Prize in 2016, the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018 and the Lea-Prize in 2020, all high-profile awards given in Finland.

IRRATIONAL THINGS by Saara Turunen published today with rave reviews!

We are happy to announce the publication of award-winning author and playwright Saara Turunen’s third novel “Irrational Things” – the 1st print run already sold out!

A young woman from a Nordic country meets a Catalan man in Barcelona. A smart, modern love story ensues.
“Irrational Things” asks is it a contradiction if you are a strong independent woman, but also falling madly in love – so much in love that you are willing to change everything in your life for someone else?

When the main character falls in love with a Catalan man, they first try living in Spain, then the try Finland, and when things don’t work out they try breaking up. But the bond between them is so strong, that they have to keep inventing new ways to be together.

The novel also discusses writing about love. Is love a suitable subject to deal with if you want to be taken seriously?

PRAISE:

“Even though love is complicated, it is never irrational. This, and other ideas Turunen carefully depicts with her lovable style that pays attention even to the smallest of details.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper 17.3.

“Like Saga Noren dropped in the middle of Los Serranos!”  – Etelä-Suomen Sanomat newspaper 17.3.

“In a short time Turunen has become the most interesting contemporary Finnish writer.” – Ilta-Sanomat newspaper 17.3.

“I love the way Turunen writes about seemingly mundane details, but they actually represent structures or pain points of the society. Her language is straightforward, and the humor is seen in the contrasts of what is said and what happens. “ – Turun Sanomat newspaper 17.3.


IRRATIONAL THINGS by Saara Turunen
Tammi, March 2021, 340 pp.

Autofictive story of love, death and life between two countries. Turunen’s funny, witty and melancholic voice examines the contradiction of sense and sensibility.

What if you are in love with a good man – a man you have always wanted to fall in love with? But what if this man lives in one country and you in another? Should you be sensible and leave the man to be free and independent? Or should you follow your heart, burn the bridges behind, and go after him?

The narrator travels to Barcelona to study theatre. After a few weeks she falls in love with a local man. Thus begins an intensive relationship that tears her between two countries and two cultures. She learns that relationships are between two individuals who have their own ways of expressing love to others and to themselves.

Turunen’s novel paints a relatable picture of relationships, breakups and the constant battle between fear and love. It is a beautiful picture of a woman growing up and trying to balance between social expectations, commitment and freedom.


Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director.

Turunen has previously authored two highly acclaimed novels, Love/Monster 2015 and The Bystander 2018. Her debut novel Love/Monster won the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015.
She is known for her bold and direct style and much of her work examines the themes of identity and social norms. Her newest novel Irrational Things (Spring 2021) is a story of love, death and life between two countries.

In addition to her work as a novelist, Turunen is also known for her plays, that have been translated into  English, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, German, French, Russian, Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Estonian, Greek and Lithuanian and performed all around the world. Turunen was granted with the Finland Prize in 2016, a high profile award given by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, and with the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018.

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
LITHUANIA: BALTO

About author


Saara Turunen

Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. Much of her work examines the themes of art, identity and social norms. Turunen is known for her three highly acclaimed novels - Irrational Things (2021), The Bystander (2018) and Love/Monster (2015), but also for her work in theatre. Her plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed all around the world. Turunen has received the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015, the Finland Prize in 2016, the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018 and the Lea-Prize in 2020, all high-profile awards given in Finland.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Hyena Days

Saara Turunen


2021, Literary Fiction

Irrational Things

Saara Turunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Bystander

Saara Turunen


2015, Literary Fiction

Love/Monster

Saara Turunen

EALA Spring 2021 Fiction Rights Guide

We are happy and proud to share our spring 2021 Fiction Rights Guide and announce amazing new titles from bestselling crime to award-winning literary fiction and heartwarming feel-good!

Browse our full Spring 2021 Fiction Rights Guide here.

 


Cargo by A.M. Ollikainen
Winner of National Crime Novel Competition

The first in a fast-paced and addictive Nordic Noir series. A.M. Ollikainen is Finland’s Lars Kepler!

A cargo container is found in Helsinki with a dead body inside.The container and the property where it’s found belongs to one of the most notorious businessmen in Finland. As Police Commissioner Paula Pihlaja begins to investigate the case, traces lead back to the businessman’s family, revealing decades of suspicious business ventures in Africa.

Reading materials coming in April

 

Bad Blood (Jessica Niemi #3) by Max Seeck
New York Times Bestselling Author
A prominent business executive Eliel Rosenström is found brutally murdered in his home in Helsinki. The murder motive become less clear, when the police finds out that the murderer had other targets as well. The only clue the police has is a photo of Rosenström with three other men, whose faces are all scratched off. Who are the faceless men, and why can’t the police identify them? Are they other victims? Or something more sinister?

Full English coming in September

 

Still Waters Run Deep by Elina Backman
A standalone sequel to All the King’s Men
Is evil lurking beneath the calm waters? Three young men are making a documentary film about a mystical hermit, living in the Isle of Sheep in Helsinki. First one of them disappears, then another one. When one of them is found dead in the nearby nature reserve, the police becomes involved.

Download the English synopsis from here

 

 Bechi by Koko Hubara

A groundbreaking debut novel from one of the most interesting authors of the generation. This is the story of a simultaneously close and destructive relationship between a mother and a daughter, and of a desire to belong somewhere while also wanting to break free.

Bechi is in her thirties, and lives in Helsinki, where she is trying to finish her master’s thesis. Her mother Shoshana is a writer of Yemeni Jewish heritage. Her autobiographical novel shocked readers in Finland, but she has also burned all the bridges between her family in Israel.

When Bechi tells her mother about her pregnancy, many years of tension come to a head. How can two people remember everything so differently? More importantly, what are the things that they would rather forget?

English sample coming soon!

 

Irrational Things by Saara Turunen

Autofictive story of love, death and life between two countries. Turunen’s funny, witty and melancholic voice examines the contradiction of sense and sensibility.

What if you are in love with a good man – a man you have always wanted to fall in love with? But what if this man lives in one country and you in another? Should you be sensible and leave the man to be free and independent? Or should you follow your heart, burn the bridges behind, and go after him?

Download 100-page English sample & synopsis from here

 

Homestead by Ann-Luise Bertell
Finlandia Prize and Runeberg Award Nominee 2020
When Elof is ten years old, his father dies, leaving him and his little brother Ivar alone at the mercy of their relatives. Elof learns that he must never show fear, especially not in front of others and never to his wife Olga, whom he never really gets close to. Pride is the most important thing to Elof, as is their homestead, Heiman, which is all the family has ever truly owned.

Download English sample and synopsis from here or request the Swedish ms

Arctic Mirage by Terhi Kokkonen
Winner of the Debut Novel competition 2020

Literary mystery with a “Twin Peaks” vibe set in Finnish Lapland.

Karo and Risto go on holiday in Lapland to give themselves time to fix their stressful marriage. However, on their way back home, they’re involved in a car accident and are subsequently forced to stay at the only accommodation in the area; Hotel Arctic Mirage. Once inside, they find that the hotel has a rather strange atmosphere and it starts to have a peculiar effect on them. Karo begins to doubt her own memories and tries her best to escape the snowbound hotel holiday village whereas Risto starts to feel strange and refuses to leave.

Download English sample and synopsis from here

 

My Friend Natalia by Laura Lindstedt
US Debut in March 23rd, 2021 by W.W. Norton/Liveright

A bold, and brave novel about young woman’s sexuality, the power of narration, and identity.

Natalia starts to see a therapist to help solve the problems in her sex life. It is clear from the beginning that she is not going to play by the rules of the therapy. The weekly sessions combine art, philosophy, literature, childhood memories, and erotic experiences as a method of treatment, and slowly they make Natalia lose all her inhibitions. She starts to enjoy the therapy – maybe too much?

Download the full English pdf from here

 

Charming Duke by Sara Medberg

Bridgerton meets Jane Austen in 19th century Sweden

The lady of Blackthorn Castle, beautiful Arabella, has been widowed and fallen into poverty. In the midst of all adversity, she is encouraged by Jane Austen’s literary heroines. However, the shadows of the past won’t leave Arabella alone: she encounters a dazzling English duke who claims to know a fatal secret about Arabella’s late spouse.

Download the English synopsis from here – sample coming soon

About author


A.M. Ollikainen

A. M. Ollikainen is a pseudonym for author duo Aki and Milla Ollikainen. Aki Ollikainen has published three novels and won the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2012. He has also been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and Prix Femina in 2016. Milla Ollikainen has published three crime novels and won Like Publishing and the Finnish Detective Society’s Crime novel writing competition in 2012. Cargo is their first novel together and the Winner of a National Crime Novel Competition. 

About author


Ann-Luise Bertell

Ann-Luise Bertell is an author and a theater director, born 1971 in Oravais, Finland. She has graduated from the Finnish Theater Academy, and debuted as a writer in 1997 with the collection of poems, 'Rus av gul', and has since written poems, short stories, a children's book, plays and two novels. Longing (Vänd om min längtan, 2016), was awarded the Yle Prize and the Choreus Prize. Her second novel Homestead (Heiman) was published in 2020 and was nominated for the Finlandia Prize, and her third novel Yearning (Glöm Bort Din Saknad) was published 2022.

Ann-Luise has been Wasa Theatre's director since 2020, but is also a mother of three, dog owner, hiker, seeker, spy and bookworm.

About author


Elina Backman

Elina Backman is an author and a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki. Elina loves books (all sorts), traveling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club. She is a creative soul with a commercial mind, and her goal is to find readers globally.

Her debut novel All the King's Men was published in 2020 and immediately gained an enormous amount of attention from the Finnish media, including a praising review by the biggest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. The Havas series is now a best-selling series in Finland and an international TV series is in development. Elina's books have sold over 100 000 copies in Finland.

Together with Heidi Holmavuo, Elina has also narrated the true crime podcast Ratkaisematon (Unsolved), which turned into a full-length audio book as the two crime writers started investigating the murder of a young girl in 1967. They were able to uncover new evidence and their research led the police to reopen the investigation. This story is narrated in the book Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo.

About author


Koko Hubara

Koko Hubara (MSSc., 1984) is the founder of Brown Girls Media (Ruskeat Tytöt Media), the first for us by us media for people of color in Finland. She is the first editor-in chief of color in the history of Finland. She is also a freelance journalist, essayist, translator and creative writing teacher. Hubara is a native of Vantaa, with origins in Vyborg, Karelia; Kemijärvi, Lapland, Israel and Yemen. Her debut work, the essay collection Brown Girls (Ruskeat Tytöt – Tunne-esseitä), was released in 2017, and has been translated into Swedish. Hubara has won many awards for her antiracist work in the Finnish context. She is working on her PhD on narratives of Brown daughters of White mothers at the University of Turku. Bechi is Hubara’s first novel.

About author


Laura Lindstedt

Laura Lindstedt (b. 1976) became a critical darling with her adoption-themed debut novel Scissors (Sakset, Teos 2007), which earned her a nomination for the Finlandia Prize, the country’s most prestigious literary honour. Lindstedt’s second novel Oneiron (Teos 2015), a work of speculative fiction that takes place in the mysterious moments that follow one’s death, earned her the coveted Finlandia Prize of 2015 and was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 2017. Lindstedt’s success has continued with My Friend Natalia (Teos 2019) which has earned critical acclaim and has been sold to 12 territories. Together with author Sinikka Vuola, she has authored 101 tapaa tappaa aviomies (101 Ways to Kill Your Husband, Siltala 2022) which has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize of 2024.

She is currently completing her Ph.D. thesis on French author Nathalie Sarraute.

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.

“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 debut trilogy following protagonist Daniel Kuisma sold over 40,000 copies in Finland. 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


Saara Turunen

Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. Much of her work examines the themes of art, identity and social norms. Turunen is known for her three highly acclaimed novels - Irrational Things (2021), The Bystander (2018) and Love/Monster (2015), but also for her work in theatre. Her plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed all around the world. Turunen has received the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015, the Finland Prize in 2016, the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018 and the Lea-Prize in 2020, all high-profile awards given in Finland.

About author


Sara Medberg

Sara Medberg is a historian currently writing her doctoral dissertation about the education of highborn girls in the 18th century. The ideas for her novels come from her research. In her thesis she studies young womens' conduct manuals in Sweden in the 18th century from the perspective of the modernising ideals for women and the upbringing of girls.

Sara has received academic scholarships from the Swedish Cultural Foundation, Waldemar von Frenckell's Foundation and the Swedish Literature Society. Including others, her literary work is sponsored by the Finnish Author Association and Otava's Book Foundation.

Medberg enjoys costume dramas, fashion from the past, castles, mansions, shopping and running. In Finland, her novels have already sold over 43,500 copies.

About author


Terhi Kokkonen

Terhi Kokkonen (1974) is a Helsinki-based musician and pop lyricist. She is known for the band Scandinavian Music Group, as well as being one of the singers of the band Ultra Bra. Kokkonen has studied dramaturgy at the Theater Academy and screenwriting and film editing at the Department of Cinematography and Stage Design at Aalto University. Arctic Mirage is her debut novel, and it was awarded as the best debut novel of 2020.

First rights for IRRATIONAL THINGS by Saara Turunen sold to BALTO in Lithuania!

We are extremely happy to announce that Saara Turunen’s IRRATIONAL THINGS has now been acquired by BALTO in Lithuania.

The literary fiction title is an autofictive story of love, death and life between two countries – Spain and Finland. Turunen’s funny, witty and melancholic voice examines the contradiction of sense and sensibility.

The extraordinary title will be published in March 2021 by Finnish publisher Tammi.

We are honored to be the first foreign publishers of this masterly Work by Saara Turunen. We believe that its subject is a matter of great relevance in the face of the modern life-style and the readers will relate with and feel for the main heroine.

-Ieva Savukynaitė-Dubicka, BALTO, Lithuania

Download the English synopsis and sample by clicking here


IRRATIONAL THINGS
by Saara Turunen

What if you are in love with a good man – a man you have always wanted to fall in love with? But what if this man lives in one country and you in another? Should you be sensible and leave the man to be free and independent? Or should you follow your heart, burn the bridges behind, and go after him?

The narrator travels to Barcelona to study theatre. After a few weeks she falls in love with a local man. Thus begins an intensive relationship that tears her between two countries and two cultures. She learns that relationships are between two individuals who have their own ways of expressing love to others and to themselves.

Turunen’s novel paints a relatable picture of relationships, breakups and the constant battle between fear and love. It is a beautiful picture of a woman growing up and trying to balance between social expectations, commitment and freedom.


Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. She is known for her bold and direct style and much of her work examines the themes of identity and social norms. Her forthcoming novel Irrational Things (Spring 2021) is a story of love, death and life between two countries.

Turunen has previously authored two highly acclaimed novels, Love/Monster 2015 and The Bystander 2018. Her debut novel Love/Monster won the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015. In addition to her work as a novelist, Turunen is also known for her plays. They have been translated into 13 languages and performed all around the world. Turunen was granted with the Finland Prize in 2016, a high profile award given by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, and with the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018.

Järjettömiä asioita
Tammi, March 2021, 270pp

RIGHTS SOLD:

FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

LITHUANIA: BALTO

About author


Saara Turunen

Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. Much of her work examines the themes of art, identity and social norms. Turunen is known for her three highly acclaimed novels - Irrational Things (2021), The Bystander (2018) and Love/Monster (2015), but also for her work in theatre. Her plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed all around the world. Turunen has received the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015, the Finland Prize in 2016, the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018 and the Lea-Prize in 2020, all high-profile awards given in Finland.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Hyena Days

Saara Turunen


2021, Literary Fiction

Irrational Things

Saara Turunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Bystander

Saara Turunen


2015, Literary Fiction

Love/Monster

Saara Turunen

2020 Fiction Fall Rights Guide is published!

We are proud to announce that our 2020 Fall Rights Guide is published, and this time it is completely digital.

What’s new: Author videos! 360 views on books
Browse different categories from the top menu, see 360 degree views of the titles and enjoy video clips from our authors. Ask for materials by only clicking a button.

Browse the fiction list here

We are super excited about our list! Below we have introduced our brand-new fiction titles. Take a look and get in touch to register your interest and request English materials!


WHEN THE KING DIES by Elina Backman

Beginning of a new detective series – already an international hit!

  • Rights sold to 8 countries and counting.
  • Immediate bestseller in Finland! Amazing reviews!
  • International TV series in development!

Saana is a former click-bait journalist who spends a summer in a quiet town of Hartola. But when she begins to dig into a case of a teenage girl who died 30 years earlier, the peace of the small town is shaken. Meanwhile in Helsinki a crime investigator Jan Leino is solving a murder at King’s Gate at Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. Saana and Jan continue working on their own cases until their paths cross – for more than one reason.

 

Rights sold in 2-book-deals:  FINLAND: Otava (orig.), CZECH REPUBLIC: Grada (Book 1), ESTONIA: Varrak, GERMANY: Piper Verlag, LITHUANIA: BALTO (Book1), NETHERLANDS: De Bezige Bij/Cargo, NORWAY: Cappelen Damm, SWEDEN: Bokfabriken, FILM & TV RIGHTS: tba

Book 2 coming in Summer 2021.

Reading materials: English sample & synopis – click here to request them

Author bio:
Elina Backman, is a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki, in an old wooden 1920 house with a family of 2 kids and a husband. Elina loves books (all sorts), travelling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club.


IRRATIONAL THINGS by Saara Turunen

Autofictive story of love, death and life between two countries. Turunen’s funny, witty and melancholic voice examines the contradiction of sense and sensibility.

The narrator travels to Barcelona to study theatre. After a few weeks she falls in love with a local man. Thus begins an intensive relationship that tears her between two countries and two cultures. She learns that relationships are between two individuals who have their own ways of expressing love to others and to themselves.

Click here to watch the author video

Reading materials: English sample available in September

Author bio: 
Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. She is known for her bold and direct style and much of her work examines the themes of identity and social norms.


THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD by Emmi Pesonen

Warm, humorous and beautiful debut novel from the point of view of a stepmother. Patchwork family life, and new beginnings.

  • Feature film in development by Aurora Studios

Amanda’s life is revolutionized when Onni curves into her life with a yellow minibus, four children riding along. She has been living an extended youth and cared mainly for her house plants and herself until she met Onni and his kids. Happiness, the laundry pile and the dish mountains grow in their new home. Everything is always lost, and the house is permanently messy, but Amanda firmly believes that love conquers all obstacles. But when Onni’s behavior starts to get weirder, she has to decide if love truly fixes everything.

Click here to watch the author video

Reading materials: English sample and synopsis available in September

Author bio:
Emmi Pesonen is a Helsinki-based writer, screenwriter and actress. She graduated in 2001 as a Master of Theater Arts and has worked as an actor in several in theaters, movies, and TV series. Pesonen is bilingual (Finnish-Swedish) and she has translated and dramatized Swedish-language plays.


THE OTHERS OF US by Mooses Mentula

Meet Jack Kerouc, Charles Bukowski, Edgar Allan Poe and Jane Austen!

To escape the demands and responsibilities, Tino fetches a jar from the closet, digs out a pill, sets it on the back of his tongue, and accelerates the medicine’s journey to his stomach with some coffee.  He sinks into images of lives that are experienced elsewhere, at different times, through the eyes of other people. He suddenly finds himself writing only stories – and not just stories of the world outside, but he is also writing his own life into a story which events he is no longer able to control.

Click here to watch the author video

Rights sold: GERMANY: Weidle Verlag

Reading materials: English sample & synopsis – click here to request materials

Author bio:
Mooses Mentula works as a teacher, but writing is his passion. He strives for intelligence and challenge and aims for a simple surface. Most importantly, all of his books contain hope and warmth. The Others of Us is Mentula’s third novel and some of his works have been translated in German.

About author


Elina Backman

Elina Backman is an author and a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki. Elina loves books (all sorts), traveling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club. She is a creative soul with a commercial mind, and her goal is to find readers globally.

Her debut novel All the King's Men was published in 2020 and immediately gained an enormous amount of attention from the Finnish media, including a praising review by the biggest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. The Havas series is now a best-selling series in Finland and an international TV series is in development. Elina's books have sold over 100 000 copies in Finland.

Together with Heidi Holmavuo, Elina has also narrated the true crime podcast Ratkaisematon (Unsolved), which turned into a full-length audio book as the two crime writers started investigating the murder of a young girl in 1967. They were able to uncover new evidence and their research led the police to reopen the investigation. This story is narrated in the book Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo.

About author


Emmi Pesonen

Emmi Pesonen (1977) is a Helsinki-based writer, screenwriter and actress. She graduated in 2001 as a Master of Theater Arts and has worked as an actor in several in theaters, movies, and TV series. Pesonen is bilingual (Finnish-Swedish) and she has translated and dramatized Swedish-language plays. She is also the screenwriter of a movie The Violin Player (Violinist, Mjölk Movies), which premiered in Finland in 2018, and has toured successfully at more than 20 film festivals around the world (including Gothenburg, Moscow, Singapore, Kaliningrad). The film deals with power structures in the art world, passion and giving up.  The Most Beautiful Word (Otava, August 2020) is Pesonen’s debut novel. The book tells a story of a patchwork family from the point of view of the new step-mother. It’s a story of endless love, irreversible decision and learning new things. The movie rights have been optioned by Aurora Studios and a film is currently being developed.

About author


Mooses Mentula

Mooses Mentula was born in Tuupovaara, Eastern Finland and grew up in Kuhmo, Kainuu. From the age of 16 he worked as a journalist for newspapers and radio for several years. He completed his master’s degree in education at the University of Lapland, worked as a journalist and teacher in the north, and moved to Tuusula, where he has lived with his family for 14 years. He works as a headteacher, but writing is his greatest passion.

For Mentula writing means creating worlds of his own and living in them. He strives for intelligence and challenge and aims for a simple surface. Most importantly, all of his books contain hope and warmth. He likes to think of his style similar to J.M. Coetzee and Haruki Murakami. The Others of Us is Mentula’s third novel and some of his works have been translated in German.

About author


Saara Turunen

Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. Much of her work examines the themes of art, identity and social norms. Turunen is known for her three highly acclaimed novels - Irrational Things (2021), The Bystander (2018) and Love/Monster (2015), but also for her work in theatre. Her plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed all around the world. Turunen has received the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015, the Finland Prize in 2016, the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018 and the Lea-Prize in 2020, all high-profile awards given in Finland.

The Bystander by Saara Turunen sold to Sweden

We are absolutely thrilled to share these news: The Bystander by Saara Turunen is sold to Wahlström & Widstrand in Sweden! This is the first foreign sales for Saara’s novels, and we are confident that there will be many more.

The Swedish publisher was immediately excited when they heard about the book, and they think it will be a perfect fit for their literary list.

“Saara Turunen has written a sharp contemporary reflection on the artistry and the identity, the role of the self in making art, on loneliness and belonging, but also feminism. She has an ability to capture the little moments and yet manages to make something bigger out of it. It is quiet but still outstanding!”
– Maria Såthe, Literary director, Wahlström & Widstrand

The Bystander:
When the narrator of the novel receives the hot-off-the-press copies of her debut novel, she feels like everything has changed. Strangely enough, no one else seems to notice this. All the while the narrator ponders the meaning of it all. Is a life outside the norms of society the price you pay of making art – and more importantly, can it be a happy life?

The Bystander is an important contemporary portrait of how difficult it still is for a young woman to choose otherwise, to take control of one’s own life. At the same time ironic and earnest, it burrows into the issues of making art.

About the author:

Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning author, playwright and director. She is known for her bold and direct style and much of her work examines the themes of art, identity and social norms

Awards:
» City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award 2018
» Finland Prize Winner 2016
» Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize Winner 2015

» Internationally renowned contemporary Finnish playwright with works translated into 14 languages

Click here to request reading materials for The Bystander.

Rights sold:

FINLAND, Tammi (orig.)
SWEDEN, Wahlström & Widstrand

About author


Saara Turunen

Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. Much of her work examines the themes of art, identity and social norms. Turunen is known for her three highly acclaimed novels - Irrational Things (2021), The Bystander (2018) and Love/Monster (2015), but also for her work in theatre. Her plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed all around the world. Turunen has received the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize in 2015, the Finland Prize in 2016, the City of Helsinki’s The Artist of the Year Award in 2018 and the Lea-Prize in 2020, all high-profile awards given in Finland.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Hyena Days

Saara Turunen


2021, Literary Fiction

Irrational Things

Saara Turunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Bystander

Saara Turunen


2015, Literary Fiction

Love/Monster

Saara Turunen

New reviews and new agents!

We’re starting the fall season and eagerly looking forward to the upcoming book fairs: we’ve got many new and exciting books to offer you!

We’ll be at Frankfurt and Gothenburg book fairs, and still have a couple of slots free in our schedules. Get in touch to secure your meeting!

What’s even more exciting, a new agent will be joining our team: Julia Kellums (in picture) starts on 3rd of September and will be handling sales to e.g. Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Welcome to the team, Julia!

Julia has a MA degree in Comparative Literature, which she studied in Helsinki and Amsterdam. After graduation she has been working in a publishing house as an editor, and she has taught Finnish for foreigners. Julia enjoys reading a good detective book as well as a postmodern classic, but stories about the adolescent experience have a special place in her heart.

New editions of our books are being published all over the globe, such as the Icelandic (Forlagid) and Estonian (Pegasus) editions of Max Seeck’s The Angels of Hammurabi.

Finding Sisu by Katja Pantzar has received many praising reviews: “Will make you want to move to Finland ASAP!” warned Hello Giggles (USA) the readers.

The Angry Widow, Minna Lindgren’s newest novel, was praised as a “cheerful success” by Ilta-Sanomat.

The Bystander by Saara Turunen has raised a lot of attention and was called “fascinating and inspiring” by Turun Sanomat.

In Denmark The Guardian Angel by Arto Halonen and Kevin Frazier was published in June by Hr. Ferdinand, and it has received many great reviews: Femina called the book “intriguing and thrilling”.

Don’t forget to ask us for reading materials – and see you at the book fairs!