Finnish crime rules: Max Seeck, Elina Backman, and Vera Vala news!

Exciting news! Max Seeck, the New York Times bestselling author with his crime novels, has sold over 300 000 copies in Finland in all formats! Warmest congratulations, Max and Tammi!

His newest title THE ARCHIPELAGO (Loukko, September 2022) is Finland’s #1 Fiction Bestseller, with over 20 000 copies sold, and received a starred review in Finland’s biggest daily:

“The fourth instalment of the Jessica Niemi series of detective novels is the best to date and proves Seeck’s mastery of the genre’s traditions.“
– Pertti Avola in Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

Download materials for the JESSICA NIEMI series here!
Furthermore, Elina Backman’s second title STILL WATERS RUN DEEP has been nominated in Sweden for the Best Translated Crime Novel of the Year 2022  by the Swedish Crime Writer’s Academy! We are so thrilled – this is the second time Elina receives this honour!

Elina Backman’s bestselling Saana Havas series, pitched as Tana French meets Jo Nesbo, have sold over 60 000 copies in Finland and rights have been sold to 16 territories and counting.  An international TV-series based on Elina Backman’s books is in development by Aurora Studios. ‘
Rights are still available in e.g. Spain, France, UK, USA, and Latvia.

Download materials for the SAANA HAVAS series here!
ITALIAN GAME by Vera Vala – Elena Ferrante meets Jo Nesbo

And if you’re looking for a new and exciting crime series with a strong female protagonist, complex characters, vivid descriptions and a gripping plot, why not take a look at Vera Vala’s new Salla Kotka series!

Pitched as Elena Ferrante meets Jo Nesbo, this series created a lot of buzz in Frankfurt and is an official bestseller in Finland! Readers love the psychological aspects and the strong female character.

The Italian Game begins a new crime series, and this opening title is impressing, the language and style are polished, and the narration keeps one in its grip until the end.” – Satakunnan Kansa newspaper

Download materials for the SALLA KOTKA series here!

THE ARCHIPELAGO
Loukko

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

DENMARK: Gutkind
ESTONIA: Kirjastus Pegasus
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe
NORWAY: Aschehoug
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag
UK: Welbeck
USA: Berkley / Penguin Random House
FILM & TV: Stampede Ventures, Hollywood

THE LAST GRUDGE
Kauna

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)

ALBANIA: Muza
ARABIC: Arab Scientific Publishers
BULGARIA: EMAS
DENMARK: Gutkind
ESTONIA: Pegasus
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe
HUNGARY: Animus Kiadó Kft.
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
NETHERLANDS: A.W. Bruna
NORWAY: Aschehoug
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag
UK: Welbeck
USA: Berkley / Penguin Random house
FILM & TV: Stampede Ventures, Hollywood

 

 

BEFORE THE POLAR NIGHT FALLS
Ennen kuin tulee pimeää

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

DENMARK: Gyldendal

STILL WATERS RUN DEEP
Kun jäljet katoavat

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

DENMARK: Gyldendal
ESTONIA: Varrak Publishers
GERMANY: Piper
HUNGARY: Maxim
ITALY: Newton Compton Editori
NETHERLANDS: Cargo
NORWAY: Cappelen Damm AS
POLAND: Czarna Owca
RUSSIA: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber
SLOVAKIA: Arkus
SWEDEN: Bokfabriken

 

 

ITALIAN GAME
Italialainen peli

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)

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 1955. 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


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


Vera Vala

Vera Vala’s roots are in Finnish forests, but her soul belongs to Italy, where she has been living for over 25 years. She has an infinite thirst for knowledge that has taken her to study various academic subjects from Physics to Assyriology and Romance Languages, and the information acquired during those years has been useful as background research for her novels.

Vera’s adventurous spirit has taken her from diving with sharks while living in Seychelles to rafting in Italian Alps and exploring the shadier parts of her former hometown, Rome: the diverse experiences have come in handy while creating intriguing plot twists.

Currently, Vera lives with her family in Milan where she is studying to become a clinical psychologist with a special interest in Forensic Psychology. Vera creates novel scenes in her mind while cooking Italian meals, and she loves slow chess games and meditation.

FILI grants and latest reviews

We wish to remind you that the final FILI grant application period is open from 1st October to 1st November!

In the previous application period of Spring 2022, over 90 projects received the FILI grant with over 150 000 EUR awarded in total! See the previously awarded projects here.

Up to 70% of translation costs from Finnish, Finland-Swedish and Sámi languages can be covered by a FILI translation grant. There are three application periods per year, and the fall application period is 1.10.-1.11.2022.

This is a perfect time to acquire exciting new Finnish titles – see some of our fall highlights below, and access our whole catalogue here!

Inherited Land by Maria Turtschaninoff

Following in the tradition of family sagas like One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.

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

Maria Turtschaninoff’s first adult fiction novel Inherited Land explores a current topic, climate crisis, in a unique way. It depicts human relationship with nature across centuries, across generations and is a reminder of human’s relationship to the nature and what it could possibly look like in the future.

 The book is beautiful like a piece of jewellery and rich like a forest. [–] The episodic grip and the enormous reach of time makes Inherited Land a string of stories rather than one single one. In this world, Turtschaninoff paints the weight of historical reality heavier than that of fantasy even though there are fantasy elements too.”
Freja Rudels, Åbo Underrättelser newspaper

Download the English materials for INHERITED LAND here!

 

The Enchantment by Riikka Pulkkinen

This shiningly beautiful novel is an autopsy of girlhood, power, and truth.

Philippa Laakso, aged seventeen, is found dead in her home yard. Nothing suggests a crime, and everyone who knew her is certain she wasn’t suicidal. On the other hand, everyone who knew her seems to hold a differing view of her. The investigation sees everyone who knew her being interviewed, but behind every view and story there is Philippa’s influence. She still has the people around her in a sharp grip: her friend, ex-boyfriend, teacher, neighbours.   Riikka Pulkkinen’s anticipated novel examines the power and comfort of make-believe and the thin line between love and play.

 I’d want to write long and in-depth about [the novel], but I’ll try to hold myself in check. Simply put: The Enchantment impressed me. [–] The reader is given a lot to think about with both the content and the narration.”
Tuijata culture blog

Download the English materials for THE ENCHANTMENT here! 

 

The Italian Game by Vera Vala

“The heart of darkness is in the human mind.”
Elena Ferrante meets Jo Nesbø in this new crime series!

The Greater Milan area lives in fear. A mysterious stalker is terrorizing people, and a serial killer called the Harlequin is picking their victims, branding them with jewellery. Are the two cases connected?

Salla Kotka, starting her career as a forensic psychologist, gets pulled into the threatening chain of events as she begins working for a defense attorney. Their client is the suspected serial killer, and Salla needs to help the defense uncover the truth.

 The Italian Game is a true cornucopia. I loved the descriptions of Italy, its society and the lifestyle of the Italians. [–] I liked the charaters, they are considerably more well-rounded and psychologically more sound than those usually seen in crime novels. [The Finnish] Salla Kotka is an interesting protagonist both for her intelligence and for her traumas and darkness..”
 Marin kirjaillat blog

Download the English materials for THE ITALIAN GAME here!

 

The Night of Ancient Lights by Hanna Meretoja

For readers of Rachel Cusk and Maggie Nelson

Elea has just heard that she is seriously ill and wants to share with friends the sense of urgency that shakes her to her core. The push-and-pull of hope and despair permeates the narration that flows in the rhythm of the sea, in dialogue with Virginia Woolf’s Waves and Tove Jansson’s Summer Book. It captures the soul of the Finnish archipelago – the world’s largest island labyrinth.

The tensions between the characters live and find new ways, as they need to come face-to-face with painful ideas of loss, ending and the limitations of life. [–] Despite everything, in the night of the ancient lights, there is hope and a strong lust for life.”
Anna Ferrante in Anna Magazine

Download the English materials for THE NIGHT OF ANCIENT LIGHTS here!

 

In Your Shadow by Martta Kaukonen

A new thriller by Martta Kaukonen whose debut Follow the Butterfly sold to 13 territories! 

The harassment of women should be kept silent no longer, a small group of activists declares and demands justice. But at what price?   When #metoo spread through the media like wildfire, many victims of harassment felt hopeful – now we can talk about it, now the change begins. But the fire died and things did not change. Traumas did not disappear and justice is yet to come.

Martta Kaukonen’s In Your Shadow is an irresistibly convincing work. Narratively it’s gripping: the story reveals, in a well-thoughtout order, small pieces of the characters’ past and motives. A recommendation.”
Dekkarihelmenkalastaja bookstagram

Download the English materials for IN YOUR SHADOW here!

INHERITED LAND

Arvejord
Förlaget, August 2020, 371 pp.

Rights sold: FINLAND (Swedish): Förlaget (orig.), FINLAND (Finnish): Tammi, AZERBAIJAN: Alatoran

 

 

THE ENCHANTMENT

Lumo
Otava, September 2022, 383 pp.

Rights sold: FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

 

 

THE ITALIAN GAME

Italialainen peli
WSOY, August 2022, 414 pp.

Rights sold: FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)

 

 

THE NIGHT OF THE ANCIENT LIGHTS

Elotulet
WSOY, June 2022, 462 pp.

Rights sold: FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)

 

 

IN YOUR SHADOW

Sinun varjossasi
WSOY, July 2022, 276 pp.

Rights sold: FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)

About author


Hanna Meretoja

Hanna Meretoja is an internationally renowned literary scholar, a professor of comparative literature, and narrative theorist whose work has been published by prestigious academic publishers. Her monographs include The Ethics of Storytelling: Narrative Hermeneutics, History, and the Possible (2018, Oxford University Press). Her work is mainly in the fields of narrative studies, cultural memory studies, and trauma studies. As a novelist, Meretoja has a unique lyrical voice that seamlessly threads cultural theory and philosophy into a poetic, ruptured narrative with an acute sense of lived experience.

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 Inherited Land.

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

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. Martta’s debut novel FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY was published in March 2021. FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY is an Instagram sensation in Finland, and the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper released a highly-praising review of it. During the first two months, the audiobook was listened to an awe-inspiring 2000 times and over. FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY  has been compared to Gillian Flynn’s novel ‘Gone Girl’. 

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


Vera Vala

Vera Vala’s roots are in Finnish forests, but her soul belongs to Italy, where she has been living for over 25 years. She has an infinite thirst for knowledge that has taken her to study various academic subjects from Physics to Assyriology and Romance Languages, and the information acquired during those years has been useful as background research for her novels.

Vera’s adventurous spirit has taken her from diving with sharks while living in Seychelles to rafting in Italian Alps and exploring the shadier parts of her former hometown, Rome: the diverse experiences have come in handy while creating intriguing plot twists.

Currently, Vera lives with her family in Milan where she is studying to become a clinical psychologist with a special interest in Forensic Psychology. Vera creates novel scenes in her mind while cooking Italian meals, and she loves slow chess games and meditation.