Author: Chiara Stanziani

12.12. 10:00 EET | Siltala Publishing

Publishing company Siltala has launched a new imprint called Orava Books, which will focus on high-quality children’s titles. Minna Castrén, a publishing professional with many years of experience in the industry, has been appointed as Publisher.

The newcomer to the Finnish literature scene will publish books for readers aged 0–12, including fiction and non-fiction, illustrated children’s novels, picture books and children’s poems. The list will consist of approximately 10–12 domestic and translated new titles per year. First titles are due to be released in Autumn 2025. 

“Orava Books publishes works that bring joy, the richness of language, and imagination to children’s lives. Children’s books are the future of literature and reading. We will invest in building it in cooperation with writers, illustrators and other partners. I can’t imagine a more meaningful and important mission”, says publisher Minna Castrén.

Castrén has previously worked as the Publishing Director of General Publishing and the Editorial Director of Children’s Literature among other roles at the Otava Publishing Company. She also has numerous board positions in the field of literature and culture, including FILI – Finnish Literary Exchange and Finnish PEN.

The logo and visual look of Orava (Squirrel) Books is created by award-winning graphic designer, illustrator and cartoonist Ville Tietäväinen.

Siltala Publishing, founded in 2008, is an independent Finnish publisher of literary fiction and non-fiction. In the spring 2024, it acquired Teos Publishers, one of the leading Finnish publishers specializing in quality literary fiction and non-fiction. The addition of Orava Books imprint will naturally expand the partnership, helping Siltala Publishing to become an even more important player in the Finnish literary landscape.

For more info and contact:

Minna Castrén, Publisher, Orava Books, +358 50 5286718 minna.castren@oravakirjat.fi

Siltala Publishing, Teos and now Orava Books are partners at the Helsinki Literary Agency. The agency represents a wide range of prominent, award-winning authors writing both in Finnish and Swedish.

The German rights to One Thousand and One by Kari Hukkila have been acquired by Droschl, marking the second foreign deal for this philosophical title.

One Thousand and One by Kari Hukkila is travelling to the German-speaking world, where it will be published by Droschl.

One Thousand and One is a philosophical novel about telling stories, and how they intertwine: a writer is distracted from his manuscript by a tree falling on his cabin, and decides to accept a friend’s invitation to visit him in Rome. From there, different stories unravel: Scheherazade’s survival by continuing to tell stories is reimagined as survival by continuing to think. Kari Hukkila’s musical, meandering, thought-provoking prose is full of savage, ironic, and luminous humor, remaining uncompromisingly alive until the final sentence.

Kari Hukkila is an author, dramaturg and essayist, and won the Helmet Prize with One Thousand and One, his debut novel, published in Finland by Teos. One Thousand and One is out in English with Contra Mundum Press.

Droschl is an Austrian publishing house specialized in philosophy and contemporary literature. They are the Austrian home of, among others, Lydia Davis and László Garaczi.

Congratulations to the author and the publisher!

The Penelope series by Saara Kekäläinen & Reetta Niemensivu (ill.) continues in Latvia, as Latvijas Medij has acquired the rights to Penelope and the Curious Clothing Commotion (Penelope #3).

In Penelope and the Curious Clothing Commotion Penelope is learning to get dressed by herself, but she has a sneaking suspicion that the clothes have it in for her. If she does not watch out, the knotted tights will bunch her in as well. Is there a gnome living in their house, one who nibbles a tissue sample off every sock and eats a sock from each pair? What if Penelope gets lost inside her clothes and pops out of a sleeve and into the wrong story? Or accidentally puts on Dad’s shirt and has to shave and go to work every morning?

Penelope is a little girl with a penchant for finding adventure in ordinary tasks. Before learning to get dressed, she had to make her peace with a dangerous-looking morning porridge in Penelope and the Perilous Porridge, and learnt what happens to children’s teeth when they start shaking in Penelope and the Big Baby Tooth Ballyhoo.

Saara Kekäläinen is an author known of her witty and anarchistic themes handled with abundant humour.

Reetta Niemensivu is an illustrator known as the pencil and colour behind many well-loved and successful Finnish books for children.

Latvijas Medij is a Latvian publishing house with a broad selection of titles of all genres. They are the Latvian home of the Penelope series and of The Princess Who Did a Runner.

Congratulations to the authors and the publisher!

Suliko by Pirkko Saisio has been nominated for the Runeberg Prize, the second largest and most prestigious award in Finland.

Pirkko Saisio‘s newest novel Suliko has been nominated for the Runeberg Prize.

Saisio, the author of  the globally successful Helsinki Trilogy, has returned to the literary scene with Suliko, a lyrical and intense novel where a disillusioned dictator reflects on his life on a cold New Year’s Eve. The only thing that seems to bring him comfort is Suliko, a song from his youth that has become a leitmotif throughout his entire life. The novel slips into flashbacks, describing how his idealism turned into something completely different, and the events flash him by until he can hardly recognize himself. 

Suliko is a raw, poetic portrayal of a dictator and a political era, and a show of strength from a world-famous author.

The Runeberg Prize is a a prestigious literary prize named after the Finnish national poet, Johan Ludvig Runeberg. It is one of the most important literary awards in Finland, second only to Finlandia Prize. The prize, worth 20,000 euros, is given out in two categories: fiction and children’s books. Previous winners included our very own Marja Kyllönen with The Undeparted, and before that to Marisha Rasi-Koskinen with REC and for children’s fiction to Karin Erlandsson with The Night Express.

Warm congratulations to the authors, and fingers crossed!

Forest Field Notes by Johanna Venho & Sanna Pelliccioni (ill.) is travelling to Oceania, where it will be published by Oratia, who have acquired the English and Polynesian language (Cook Islands Māori, Fijian, Māori, Niuean, Rapa Nui, Rotuman, Samoan, Tahitian, Tokelauan, Tongan) rights.

Forest Field Notes is a tender, magical story of the forest. It pays tribute to the imagination that can be awakened by nature. With Johanna Venho‘s poetic words and Sanna Pelliccioni‘s delicate illustrations, the book gently addresses the importance nearby nature has for children.

Spruce is a little girl who loves spending time in the forest, and is very observant: she sees trees, plants, flowers, but she has also seen elves, forest trolls, and fawns. All of her sightings and her experiences in the woods are collected in her field notebook.

One day she learns that her forest has been zoned, and will be cut down. Spruce decides to fight back, and starts tying notes to trees in protest. Suddenly, she finds an ally in a mysterious boy with green eyes and twigs in his hair. Who is the boy? And can they save the forest together?

Oratia is a publishing house based outside of Auckland, New Zealand specialized in high-quality children’s books in English and Maori, and fiction and historical non-fiction for adults. Their list prides in being inclusive, colourful, and carefully curated.

In Finland, Forest Field Notes is published by Teos.

Warmest congratulations to the authors and the publishers!