Author: Chiara Stanziani

The accolades for Beasts of the Sea keep rolling in as Iida Turpeinen‘s world-class debut conquers the international literary scene: the French edition of Beasts of the Sea has been nominated for the Best Foreign Book of the Year.

The French edition of Beasts of the Sea, translated by Sébastien Cagnoli and published by Flammarion (Autrement) with the title A la recherche du vivant. The French edition has also been welcomed in pocket format, published by J’ai lu. Beasts of the Sea is a literary achievement and a breathtaking adventure through three centuries. Approaching natural diversity through individual destinies, it’s a story of grand human ambitions and the urge to resurrect what humankind in its ignorance has destroyed. 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 is the winner of The Thank You for the Book Award, Finland’s booksellers’ prize, the best debut award, the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize, and a nominee for Finland’s biggest literary award, the Finlandia Prize, as well as for the Torch-bearer Prize. Its international breakthrough has been acknowledged for example by the Bookseller and its foreign rights have been sold to 27 territories all over the world. The German edition, out with Fischer, is a current hit in Germany, and its French edition by Autrement has been welcomed with rave reviews on French media, including on the newspaper Liberation.

In Finland, Beasts of the Sea is published by Kustantamo S&S, part of Schildts & Söderströms and it has already sold 50.000 copies in Finland alone.

Iida Turpeinen (b. 1987) is a Helsinki-based literary scholar currently writing a dissertation on the intersection of the natural sciences and literature. As an author, she is intrigued by the literary potentials of scientific research and by the offbeat anecdotes and meanderings from the history of science. 

The Irreplaceables by Juha Kauppinen & Janne Toriseva (ill.) has been sold to Hungary, where it will be published by Cerkabella.

The Irreplaceables by Juha Kauppinen & Janne Toriseva (ill.) is travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Cerkabella. This is the first foreign deal for this title, which introduces readers of all ages to keystone species from all around the world. These organisms are essential to other species and the interconnected web, a fundamental characteristic of nature.

Among them are the Arctic region’s little auk, the green humphead parrotfish of the tropics, lions of the African savanna, the non-biting midges living in every body of water on earth, and the North American white oak.

The Irreplaceables, written in a concise and informative style by Juha Kauppinen and wonderfully illustrated by Janne Toriseva stand out from similar nature books for the fact that it focuses on the interdependence between species in their environment, rather than on the presentation of single species, resulting in a reading experience that is much more enriching and fosters awareness of the importance of biodiversity.

The Irreplaceables gained popularity in Finland, where it also became an exhibition. The Irreplaceables exhibitions has been on tour in Finland, and will continue its journey throughout the country in 2025.

Cerkabella is a Hungarian publishing house specialising in illustrated books and youth literature. Their publications strive for the highest quality, and since 2007 Cerkabella has launched a line of publication dedicated to the Nordics, with the goal of bringing literature from Northern Europe to the Hungarian audience. They are the Hungarian home of, among others, Radio Popov by Anja Portin.

Congratulations to the authors and the publisher!

Hotel Sapiens by Leena Krohn is travelling to Estonia, where it will be published by Loomingu Raamatukogu.

Hotel Sapiens by Leena Krohn is continuing its journey out into the world, and is headed to Estonia, where Loomingu Raamatukogu will publish it.

Leena Krohn has been active since the 1970s, and has since become one of Finland’s most legendary authors, whose writing forms an impressive body of work. 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.

In Hotel Sapiens we follow a group of people who are staying at the hotel, except Hotel Sapiens is also a madhouse, a research station, a training camp and a museum. The guests are kept under observation as carriers of a dire and incurable disease, humanity.

Hotel Sapiens will be published in Estonian as part of Loomingu Raamatukogu, which started its activity in 1957, and publish about 20 paperback books per year. Loomingu Raamatukogu focuses on quality literature from various eras and corners of the world. Their publication is diverse and extensive, and includes novels, collections of short stories and poetry, essays, travelogues, plays and memoirs. 

Congratulations to the author and the publisher!

The Anna Glad series by Eva Frantz continues in Denmark, where Gyldendal has acquired the rights to the two final books.

Crime readers rejoice: Gyldendal in Denmark has acquired the rights to the two final books in the Anna Glad series by Eva Frantz. The Anna Glad series by Eva Frantz has been a great success domestically and internationally, having already travelled to Estonia, Germany, Denmark and Norway, and it has peaked this summer with Then Die Contentedly, preceded by You Will Not Take My Child.

In You Will Not Take My Child Tomas, Anna’s partner, is staying home with Gottfrid, their son, and becomes a little too involved in a child custody case that has unexpected ties to the murder investigation that Anna is leading at the police station. Touching on social issues like abuse, children’s rights, and school violence, You Will Not Take My Child was received warmly and paved the way for a great final chapter of the series.

In Then Die Contentedly four women gather to spend an autumn evening together: Krisse, Hannele, Sylvia, and Britt got to know each other at the end of the 1990’s when they sang in the same student choir, and started the tradition of having a girls’ night every summer, with crayfish and snaps on the menu. It is a fancy crayfish party with all needed drinks, and the night is festive. But when day dawns, only two women wake up at the old house: one, Krisse, is dead and another, Sylvia, is missing. Anna Glad is supposed to stay off the case, but her instinct and her curiosity have the best of her, and she’s soon entangled in a complex case held together by a web of lies and blackmailing. Touching on subjects like domestic violence and alcoholism, Then Die Contentedly is a fast-paced detective story with plenty of twists and turns.

Founded in 1770, Gyldendal is the oldest publishing company in Denmark, and it is already the Danish home of the rest of the series.

Congratulations to the author and the publisher!

Pearl by Kari Hotakainen has been sold to Hungary, where it will be published by Polar.

Pearl by Kari Hotakainen has begun its journey out into the world, as Polar has acquired the Hungarian rights.

In Pearl, a childless couple’s foraging trip takes an unexpected turn when they run into a confused elderly woman in the woods. From there, everyone’s life becomes bumpier and starts taking unexpected turns. Pearl is a fast-paced and humorous story that approaches tragic things with a warm, moving touch and asks a difficult question: If one loses control of one’s memories and life, what is there left to hold on to? 

Hotakainen, one of the most accomplished and respected Finnish authors, takes the subjects of memory disease, identity and self, and involuntary childlessness and gives them his trademark, humorous and tragi-comic treatment. The publisher took an unprecedented first print run of 35 000 copies and the book has sold close to 10 000 copies in its first weeks out.

Kari Hotakainen has been awarded the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize, Finland’s biggest literary award, the Finlandia Prize, the Prix du Courrier International and the Prix Coup de Coeur, amongst others. His first nonfiction book, The Unknown Kimi Räikkönen (2018) is the best-selling Finnish nonfiction work of all time. Hotakainen’s works have sold over 700 000 copies in Finland. 

Polar is a Hungarian publishing house specialised in Nordic literature. It is the Hungarian home of, among others, Iida Turpeinen‘s Beasts of the Sea, Antti Hurskainen‘s A Wooden Prayer, and Laura Lindstedt and Sinikka Vuola‘s 101 Ways To Kill Your Husband.

Congratulations to the author and the publisher!