Author: Chiara Stanziani

Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen has been nominated for the European Literature Prize in the Netherlands.

Wonderful news: the literary phenomenon Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen is running for the European Literature Prize in Dutch translation by Annemarie Raas.

Beasts of the Sea is a literary achievement and a breathtaking adventure through three centuries that approaches natural diversity through individual destinies. Steller’s sea cow, a sirenian lost to extinction centuries ago, is revived on the pages and is the red thread that ties together the individual fates of a group of people throughout the centuries. The novel won multiple awards, and was nominated for the Finlandia Prize domestically, and ran as the Best Foreign Book of the Year in France in 2024, and for the Premio Strega in Italy earlier this year. In Finland Beasts of the Sea is published by Kustantamo S&S. In December 2025, Beasts of the Sea was chosen as Stephen Colbert’s Late Show Book Club book of the month. The book, sold to 29 language areas, is already out in several languages. The Hungarian edition came out recently and scored a glowing review and feature on Telex, a major independent news portal in Hungary.

he European Literature Prize is an initiative of the Dutch Foundation for Literature, Academic-Cultural Centre SPUI25 , weekly magazine De Groene Amsterdammer and Athenaeum | Scheltema, with financial contribution by the Dutch Foundation for Literature. The shortlist will be published in June.

Warm congratulations to the author, the publishers, and the translator – fingers crossed!

Bogoo is continuing with the Senior Squad series in Denmark, having secured the rights to more instalments in the series in a three-book deal.

The Senior Squad by Malin Klingeberg continues to entertain and steal laughter in Denmark: Bogoo is continuing with the series, having secured the Danish rights to more instalments in a three-book deal.

The Senior Squad series follows a squad of crime-fighting pensioners who form a secret task force of elderly but sharp and inventive seniors that stand between the criminals and their evil plans. Often, the pensioners wouldn’t be stop the crimes without the help of a young boy called Patrik, who is happy to take part in all the adventures. 

The series has been a success in Finland, both in its Swedish-language and its Finnish-language edition. Hilarious and full of action, the Senior Squad series consists of six volumes, each focusing on a different character. Bogoo previously acquired Patrik and the Senior Squad and Irene and the Moneyhoover (volumes #1-2) and now secured the rights to The Fake Bernice (#3), The Fantastic Alfredo (#4), and Rakel’s Miracle (#5). The fourth Senior Squad book, The Fantastic Alfredo, received the prestigious Runeberg Junior Prize in 2017.

Malin Klingenberg is one of Finland’s most prominent Swedish-speaking authors. Her extensive production, ranging from picture books all the way to YA, has been loved, read, and translated into many languages all over the world. Her works are published in Finland by Schildts & Söderströms.

Bogoo is a Danish publishing house with a focus on practical non-fiction and children’s and YA books. They are the Danish home of our very own The Smuggler’s Treasure by Axel Åhman & Ola Skogäng, among others.

Congratulations to the author and the publishers!

Likeness by Leena Krohn is travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Polar.

Happy news from our list: Likeness by Leena Krohn is travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Polar.

In her newest novel Likeness, legendary author Leena Krohn ponders what gaze is and what does it actually mean to see someone. 

A quiet, unassuming, and not very talented painter who goes by the name of Horkka works in a small art studio, mentored by a much more famous artist, Lysander. The latter is constantly busy or away, so Horkka gets tasked with taking over some of his less-important jobs: portraits commissioned by various people. Followed by Horkka’s sensitive gaze, a colourful array of characters settle down to pose. Horkka patiently listens to each of them until the portrait is done or – more often than not – the session gets interrupted. Will the portraits please their owners? Will they reflect the likeness?

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.

Polar is a Hungarian publisher house whose list boasts a broad selection of Finnish literature. They are the Hungarian home of, among others, Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen, Suliko by Pirkko Saisio, and He Who Saw The Deep by Selja Ahava.

Congratulations to the author and the publisher!

Audioteka has secured the Lithuanian rights to the Cotton Mill series by Ann-Christin Antell in a three-book deal.

Exciting news from our fiction list: Audioteka has secured the Lithuanian rights to the Cotton Mill series by Ann-Christin Antell in a three-book deal. This is the sixth foreign rights deal for this series,  with rights previously sold to France, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

The Cotton Mill Trilogy, a historical romance series about three generations of strong women and the family business of the cotton mill, takes readers on a journey through time, starting in the late 19th century and landing in the Roaring 20s. It consists of three novels, The Shadow of the Cotton Mill (#1), Heir to the Cotton Mill (#2), Rival to the Cotton Mill (#3) and a collection of short stories, Christmas at the Cotton Mill. The series sold 200.000 copies in Finland alone.

Ann-Christin Antell (b. 1973) studied history and archaeology and worked as a librarian before embarking on her career as an author.

Warm congratulations to the author, and don’t miss out on this series!

Before the Birds by Merja Mäki is running for the Charleston Prize in France, with the winners being announced in late June.

The French edition of Before the Birds by Merja Mäki, in translation by Fantine Brunel, is running for the Charleston Prize in France.

The Charleston Prize – Prix Charleston – was established by the publishing house Charleston in 2018. The winners are selected among 8 novels (4 French and 4 translated) from which readers can vote for two novels in each category. Booksellers then choose the winners, one per category, out of the novels selected by readers. Mäki is in very good company, with other nominees being Kim Michele Richardson, Corina Bomann, and Tan Twan Eng for translated fiction and Camille Anseaume, Sandra Martineau, Gabrielle Blanchout and Charlie Wat for French fiction.

Before the Birds tells the story of Alli, a young girl from Karelia forced to flee her home when the region she lives in is ceded to the Soviet Union in 1940. The novel was awarded the Torch-bearer Prize and was a finalist for the Des Racines et des Mots Prize in France. After Before the Birds Mäki published Wept Another, which is also set in Karelia in wartime and is set in the same fictional universe. Both titles have received great praise for their ability to portray the emotional lives of people in wartime and for the warmth and sense of hope they convey, despite the difficult subject. Before the Birds and Wept Another have sold about 50.000 copies altogether, and a third novel is due next year.

Warmest congratulations to the author, and fingers crossed!