Month: February 2023

The Undeparted, the new novel by Marja Kyllönen, was awarded the prestigious Runeberg Prize, considered to be second only to Finlandia Prize; the novel was also a nominee for the latter.

According to the jury, The Undeparted is “a linguistically unique novel, which draws its dark elements from the Finnish folklore, horror and Kainuu.”

The story begins in the hardscrabble north of the 1950s, when Rauno loses his heart to the girl from the neighboring farm, Laimi Inari. The young couple’s forbidden love is sweet, but the happiness they anticipate never manifests. They remain childless, and year by year the flame fades. 

And then a malevolent narrative voice begins to mingle with the couple’s story. Deceased, persecutor, and nightmare, an unborn spirit stuck between two worlds seeks a path back to life. Individual fates begin to warp in sinister ways.

The Undeparted is a novel glowing with a black luminosity. It is a story of childlessness and dreams that fade or morph into nightmares. Page by page, it swells with inevitable force into a horror story that firmly holds the reader in its agonizing grip. 

Runeberg Prize is given yearly for a literarily exceptional fiction work. The award sum is 20,000 euros. The winner is always announced and celebrated on the birthday anniversary of Finnish national poet Johan Ludwig Runeberg, the 5th of February.

Thrilling news in the nonfiction department: The Blue Yarn – What I Know About Knitting, a by the acclaimed novelist Karin Erlandsson, had been sold to Blanvalet in Germany! This is the third foreign rights sale for this narrative nonfiction title, as Dedalus has recently acquired the World English, and Straarup & Co. Danish rights.

Blanvalet was founded in 1935 and is now part of the Bertelsmann’s Random House publishing group. The house can boast a comprehensive list of commercial genre fiction, as well a small narrative nonfiction list of which Erlandsson’s book will be a part of. The translation is planned to be published already this autumn.

The Blue Yarn – What I Know About Knitting is an inspiring book seasoned with knitting humour about the history of knitting, women who knit, and its enduring appeal. Erlandsson weaves together a nonfiction book, in which personal memories expand into sharp observations about the effects of knitting on the knitter, those close to them, and society at large.

In it, knitting is presented not only in terms of clothing and preserving tradition, but also as a means of creating and conveying something new. As the world around us burns, it can be a way to survive – or to break the ranks. For those who are busy and stressed, it can be a means of recovering and finding balance.

Congratulations to the author for the deal!

Fantastic news for our legendary author Leena Krohn: rights to publish novels Hotel Sapiens and Datura in the French world have been sold to Zulma. The publisher is planning to re-launch Krohn as an author in France.

Zulma is a beautiful literary house, publishing fiction from France and abroad, celebrating its 30 years anniversary. It is the publisher of such exquisite voices as Vanessa Barbara, Makenzy Orcel, Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin, Marcus Malte, Hubert Haddad and many others.

Leena Krohn’s (b. 1947) writing forms an impressive body of work. She has developed her ideas from the visible and the invisible, from consciousness and self, death and life, reality and illusion, good and evil. Her sly humor and lucid language speak of our existence in very strange realms with courage and intelligence. One of the greatest visionaries in Finnish literature, Krohn’s works have been translated to over 20 languages.

After her debut Green Revolution (1970) Krohn has created a number of literary works, including novels, children’s books, short stories and essays. She was awarded the Finlandia Prize in 1993, for Mathematical Creatures or Shared Dreams, and nominated for it for Hotel Sapiens (2013). Tainaron (1985) was a nominee for the World Fantasy Award and International Horror Guild Award, and The Bee Pavillion (2006) a nominee for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. Among other awards, Krohn has received also the State Award for Literature.

We thank Anna Lindblom from the Nordik Agency for the deal!

January was busy busy busy regarding foreign rights sales: foreign publishers clearly had the time to read during the holidays, and offers started pouring immediately after the new year.

The big hot title of the month of January was, of course, the Finlandia Junior winner, illustrated children’s novel A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large, by Sofia and Amanda Chanfreau. Foreign rights have now been sold to 5 territories; offers from China and Korea are on the table; plus, a three-way auction in Italy is still ongoing.

Another big success of the agency, children’s novel Radio Popov by Anja Portin, which won Finlandia Junior in 2020, is getting near to reaching 30 foreign rights territories, as another deal was closed in January: Shtëpia Botuese “Jakup Ceraja” acquired Albanian rights for the novel.

A humorous and dynamic picture book A Princess Who Did A Runner, written by Saara Kekäläinen and illustrated by Netta Lehtola, has now been sold to Hiša Knjig in Slovenia.  The book tells a story about a princess called Leona, who is not having any of the traditional princess life. When her parents announce she is supposed to get married to a prince, Leona does a runner. Jumping from one fairytale to another, not only Leona meets many funny characters, but also questions the roles in traditional fairytales and alters them to be much more to her liking. The title was recently sold to Denmark (Straarup & Co.)

Last but not least, a beautiful picture book series about A Dog Called Cat, written by Tomi Kontio and illustrated by Elina Warsta, continues to be published in Hungary, as the publisher Koinonia acquired the fourth and the last book in the series, A Dog Called Cat and the Wonder of Christmas (2021).

The books of this series have been sold to 10 territories altogether; the second part, A Dog Called Cat Meets A Cat (2019), was nominated for the prestigious Finlandia Junior Prize, and won the public vote as the readers’ favourite among the nominees that year.

We are happy to share that two wonderful fiction titles have now found publishers in Hungary: Anneli Kanto’s 2021 sensation, novel The Rat Saint, was acquired by Metropolis Media, while Pauliina Rauhala’s bestselling novel Heavensong (2013) was sold to Luther.

Metropolis is a publisher of strong literary fiction, and has in the recent years acquired several titles from Finland, including Finlandia Prize nominee Matara by Matias Riikonen; the bestselling Fishing for the Little Pike by Juhani Karila; To My Brother by E. L. Karhu; and thriller Apogee by Piia Leino.

The Rat Saint was published in 2021, to overwhelming reception from critics and readers alike: the book sold over 25,000 copies in Finland altogether, and was among the most borrowed books in Helsinki Metropolitan Libraries for months. The novel was also nominated for the prestigious Runeberg Prize.

This Künstlerroman, set in the 16th century, is a lively plot-driven emancipation story of a young orphaned girl Peliina. When, by a sheer accident, Peliina is called in to help master painters to work on church frescoes, her journey as an artist – a profession unheard of in a small village, especially for a woman – begins. As the history of the world from Paradise and the Fall to the Final Judgment takes shape on the walls of the church, romance, envy, treachery, and crime occur, and a life reaches a turning point.

Luther Publishing House is the official organization of the Evangelical Church of Hungary that publishes fiction for adult and children, theology-related books, magazines, as well as provides media services.

Heavensong was a debut novel by Pauliina Rauhala which gained phenomenal commercial success upon its publication in 2013. Over 70,000 copies have been sold in Finland altogether, holding the distinction of being its publisher’s (Gummerus) best-selling debut novel. It was also chosen by literature bloggers as the best book of Finnish fiction in 2013.

The book tells a story about a loving couple, Vilja and Aleksi, who dreams about a brood of children. 9 years and four childbirths later, Vilja, however, feels exhausted and starts questioning the beliefs that have been so firmly embedded in both of them.

With its tangible details, Heavensong allows the reader to see the life of the religious community from inside. Its poetic language, which elevates the story to a new level, is deepened by the big themes: what is the ethical ground of parenthood, what are the good and bad sides of a religious community and how can you live with all the myths and expectations surrounding motherhood?

Congratulations to the authors for the deals!