Author: Chiara Stanziani

The British edition of Backlight by Pirkko Saisio (Helsinki Trilogy #2) has landed a glowing review on the Financial Times, penned by Ellen Peirson-Hagger.

The British edition of Backlight by Pirkko Saisio is about to hit the shelves and it has landed a glowing review right out of the gate: Ellen Peirson-Hagger has penned an enthusiastic review of the book on the Financial Times.

In it, she highlights the metatextuality of Saisio’s prose and her ability to build a prose that relies on feelings, rather than chronology, to move forward: “Throughout, Saisio writes as though looking through a haze brought on not simply by the passing of time, but by the understanding that it is our dreams and our preoccupations that point us towards the truth of our lives.”

Backlight is the second volume in the world-famous Helsinki Trilogy, that has made Saisio an instant modern classic across Europe and on the other side of the Atlantic. It follows teenage Saisio as she navigates puberty and spends a summer in Switzerland, studying German and living out her The Sound of Music-fantasies. The summer also brings reflections on her artistic future, and tumultuous events all over Europe. The British edition is out as a Penguin Modern Classic, in English translation by Mia Spangenberg, and hit the shelves on February 5th.

The trilogy, which follows Saisio from childhood to middle age, and from curious child to acclaimed artist on the backdrop of an ever-changing Helsinki, has been pre-empted after we picked it to our list in four areas: in Germany by Klett-Cotta, in France by Robert Laffont, in the Netherlands by De Geus, and most recently in the UK and Commonwealth by Penguin to their Penguin Modern Classics list, with Saisio being the first living Finnish author to join their list. The North American English rights have been acquired by Two Lines Press, in Hungary by Polar, in Czech Republic by Host and in Romania by Pandora M (of Editura Trei). 

Congratulations to the author, and don’t miss out on this title!

Stop the Thief! by Ulla Donner, A Dog Called Cat Says Farewell by Tomi Kontio & Elina Warsta, and Palestine and Israel. A History in Maps by Timo R. Stewart are running for the Most Beautiful Book of the Year Award.

The nominations keep rolling in for our beautiful list: Stop the Thief! by Ulla Donner, A Dog Called Cat Says Farewell by Tomi Kontio & Elina Warsta, and Palestine and Israel. A History in Maps by Timo R. Stewart are running for the Most Beautiful Book of the Year Award.  Most Beautiful Book of the Year Award.

Each year, the Finnish Book Art Committee selects the most beautiful books published in Finland during the previous year. One title is awarded as the Year’s Most Beautiful Book, and others, organised according to their categories, receive honorary mentions.

Stop the Thief!, penned and illustrated by Ulla Donner, and published by Schildts & Söderströms, is a humorous picture book in rhyme where a dog goes rogue and starts stealing other dogs’ most prized possessions, prompting a chaotic and furry thief hunt. Stop the Thief! is also running for the Runeberg Junior Prize.

A Dog Called Cat Says Farewell by Tomi Kontio & Elina Warsta is designed and illustrated by Elina Warsta, and published by Teos. It is the last chapter in the successful and critically acclaimed A Dog Called Cat series, and has won the Finlandia Junior Prize, the most prestigious children’s literature award in Finland, last autumn. A Dog Called Cat Says Farewell follows friends Cat, Dog, and Weasel as they say goodbye when Weasel embarks on his last journey.

Both titles are running in the children’s books category.

Running in the non-fiction category is Palestine and Israel. A History in Maps, by Timo R. Stewart, published by Gummerus and designed by Tuija Tarkiainen from Studio Kiss. In the book, two-times Finlandia nominee and PhD Timo R. Stewart uses a simple yet efficient structure to tackle a complex issue: over the course of the book, he analyzes 25 maps of the geographical area that encompasses Palestine and Israel, encouraging a critical approach to maps and historiography.

Who drew these maps, and with what purpose? Maps are a tool to understand the world, but also a tool of political power and history-making: our ideas of the world and national borders are far from being eternal and set in stone, and exploring their changes and development results in an unusual yet engaging way to approach history with more than skin-deep knowledge. The takeaway is an increased critical eye that can be turned to the different ways conflicts and politics shape the world we live in, in the Middle East and everywhere.

Congratulations to all nominees, authors, publishers, and graphic designers – and fingers crossed!

Caesura by Marisha Rasi-Koskinen has been nominated for the Tähtivaeltaja Award.

Wonderful news for our author Marisha Rasi-Koskinen: her latest novel Caesura is running for the Tähtivaeltaja (litt. “Star Wanderer”) Award, an award given on a yearly basis by the Helsinki Science Fiction Association to the best work of speculative or science fiction published in the previous year.

The jury have motivated the nomination as follows: [Caesura is] “a sharp-eyed and deeply philosophical tale about an android built in the image of a human who finds connection to others like them, but not to people. The story of the android named QED starts in an abandoned railway station, and the reasons for which they ended up there are unveiled through a multi-layered narration. This masterful work that deals with the themes of gnosiology, humanity, and the rights of different species shows how the artificial mind is built and what consequences it has for mankind”. Caesura is running for the award along with four other titles. The winner will be announced in spring 2026.

Caesura is an exploration of humanness through the eyes of the other. With strong psychological and philosophical undertones and an eerie atmosphere it ponders the essential questions of humanity in the age of AI, reminiscent of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun.

Marisha Rasi-Koskinen is an award-winning author with an original voice and an exceptional world building skill. Her last novel REC (2020) was awarded the Runeberg Prize and the Torch-Bearer Prize. Caesura is her sixth adult novel. She has a background in psychology and her novels tend to bend the boundaries of reality, consciousness and self.

Congratulations to the author, and fingers crossed!

Mala Zvona has acquired the Croatian rights to Fishing For the Little Pike by Juhani Karila, marking 22 language territories for this title.

Wonderful news for a long-seller of ours: Fishing For the Little Pike by Juhani Karila is travelling to Croatia, where it will be published by Mala Zvona. This marks 22 language territories for this title, originally published in 2019 by Siltala.

Fishing For The Little Pike follows a young woman, Elina, who every year must travel to her home village in Eastern Lapland and fish a specific pond from a specific pike, lest she and her childhood sweetheart die. This year, however, fate has gotten in the way in the form of a water sprite who has taken over the pond, and in the form of a detective who is Elina’s trail on suspicion of murder. As the summer solstice approaches and mosquito season is in full swing in the heart of Lapland, Elina must find a way to fish the pike, and make peace with her past.

Combining a Lappish setting, a fast-paced and multi-layered plot, and an irresistibly humorous style, Fishing For the Little Pike is a perfect example of the “Finnish weird”.

Juhani Karila is an author and journalist based in Helsinki, with a background in quirky short stories. Fishing For The Little Pike is his first novel, published in Finland by Siltala.

Mala Zvona is a Zagreb-based publishing house that boasts a selection of high-quality literature combining both world classics, emerging domestic voices, and international authors.

Warm congratulations to the author and the publisher!

White Lily (Adel Sisters #1) by Ann-Christin Antell is running for the Storytel Awards 2026. The winners will be announced on March 26th.

Wonderful news for our romance readers: White Lily (Adel Sisters #1) by Ann-Christin Antell is running for the Storytel Awards, in the category best romance novel. The nomination is based on the most listened to and highest rated titles on Storytel in 2025. You can find the nominee list and vote for the book here, and the winners in each category (romance, crime, literary fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books) will be announced on March 26th at the Storytel Awards Gala.

In White Lily (2025) Lily gets to accompany their eccentric grandmother to spend the summer in Florence to further her studies and see the art treasures of the city.  It’s the 1910s and modern art is just starting to get a foothold in the art communities in Europe. Before the trip, Lily gets a tempting marriage proposal from a longtime friend, and promises to give an answer upon her return. In Florence, she meets a fetching Italian art patron and an enigmatic Swedish painter who inspire her to discover art, aesthetics, spirituality – and herself. There is no going back to her old ways.  

The Adel Sisters is an anticipated, new historical romance series by Ann-Christin Antell (b. 1973). One of the leading romance Finnish authors, Antell studied history and archaeology and worked as a librarian before embarking on her career as an author. Her popular Cotton Mill series spent a long time at the top of the Finnish bestseller lists and has been sold to five countries.

Ann-Christin Antell (b. 1973) studied history and archaeology and worked as a librarian before embarking on her career as an author. Her Cotton Mill series sold over 200.000 copies in Finland.

Congratulations to the author, and fingers crossed!