Author: Anastasia

International award news: Selja Ahava’s wildly successful novel Things that Fall from the Sky (2015) is now longlisted for the prestigious Dublin Literary Award! The novel was translated into English by Emily and Fleur Jeremiah and published by Oneworld.

As stated on DLA website: “The DUBLIN Literary Award is presented annually for a novel written in English or translated into English. The Award promotes excellence in world literature and is  solely sponsored by Dublin City Council, and administered by Dublin City Libraries.”

The prize fund is 100,000 euros making it the world’s most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English. Nominations include 18 novels in translation with works nominated by libraries from 30 countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, the US & Canada, South America and Australia & New Zealand.

Previous winners include such internationally acclaimed authors as Anna Burns, Jim Crace, Michelle Houellebecq, Hertta Müller and others.

The shortlist for the prize will be announced on the 23rd of March. You can read more about on DLA official website.

Things that Fall from the Sky has been one of the most internationally successful Finnish works of fiction, with foreign rights sold to 24 territories. Ahava’s latest novel, The Woman Who Loved Insects, was recently sold to Hungary and optioned in France, and the Danish edition is due to be published in a few weeks time.

Congratulations to the author and fingers crossed!

We are thrilled to announce that Karin Erlandsson’s newest children’s novel Night Express has been awarded with one of the most prestigious literary awards in Finland, Runeberg Junior Prize.

The award is special for the fact that the winner is voted by the readers themselves: children aged 6 to 9. The jury stated about the book:

“Night Express is an enriching reading experience: a capturing, exciting and multilayered book that opens completely new dimensions to its readers. (…) Erlandsson writes about loneliness, longing and loss, and the book offers a platform for conversation. Peter Bergting’s graphic novel-style illustrations complete the whole wonderfully.”

Erlandsson herself has stressed that, through the book, she was hoping to communicate a message of hope and the importance of community. “I wish that this book would be read out loud, both together with adults and among children,” Erlandsson said.

This is the second time Erlandsson wins the prize: in 2018, Runeberg Junior Prize was given to The Pearl Fisher, the first book in the magical Song of the Eye Gemstone series, recently sold to the UK. Neither it is the first Runeberg Junior for Erlandsson’s publisher Schildts & Söderströms: the previous winners include Eva Frantz’s ghost and spook story for the middle grade readers, Raspberry Hill (2019), as well Fantastic Alfredo (2017) from Malin Klingenberg’s hilarious The Senior Squad series.

Runeberg Prize is 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. The prize, worth 10,000 euros, is given out in two categories: fiction and, since 2017, children’s books. The winner in the adult fiction category will be announced tomorrow, the 5th of February, on The National Runeberg’s Day.

In January, HLA is celebrating its 4th anniversary. We had our ups and downs along the way, but from the beginning, one thing has been consistently praised: our style. Our agents would hardly have a meeting where a publisher wouldn’t mention how elegant and beautiful our catalogue or logo is. The man behind it is one of the top typographers in Finland, Petri Latvala – someone who seems to have come straight out of a 19th century novel, somehow ending up in our time. For his 50th anniversary, we interviewed Petri about visual, literary, and existential things.

In January, HLA is celebrating its 4th anniversary. We had our ups and downs along the way, but from the beginning, one thing has been consistently praised: our style. Our agents would hardly have a meeting where a publisher wouldn’t mention how elegant and beautiful our catalogue or logo is. The man behind it is one of the top typographers in Finland, Petri Latvala – someone who seems to have come straight out of a 19th century novel, somehow ending up in our time. For his 50th anniversary, we interviewed Petri about visual, literary, and existential things.

Read the interview here and find out how typography is connected to philosophy and linguistics, what makes a good book cover, who is Petri’s favourite HLA-represented author and what does his favourite word – ματαιοπώγων – mean.

The Little Pike is up for an award in its native land! Juhani Karila’s hilarious novel is among the six nominees for the Lapland Literature Prize!

Lapland Literature Prize is given every second year for the best fiction title either set in Lapland or written by an author born in Lapland or currently living there. The prize is jointly funded by Lapland’s libraries. Additionally, the audience is invited to vote for their favourite among the nominees: the prize itself is 3000 euros and the winner of the public vote is rewarded a symbolic sum of 500 euros. Among the previous winners is a well-known Finnish author Rosa Liksom.

Last year’s dark horse, Fishing for the Little Pike won the prestigious Jarkko Laine Literature Prize, Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize and Tähtifantasia Prize, and was nominated for the Tolkien Society in Finland Literary Prize.

Foreign rights have so far been sold to 6 territories, including German, World French and others, and in November, Juhani Karila was our podcast guest discussing myths in Finland and about Finland.

The winner of the prize will be announced on the 19th of March when we celebrate The Library Day!

Congratulations to the author and fingers crossed!

Despite the chaos caused by the pandemic, children’s literature has been doing extremely well all around the world – and it continues to be so!

We are thrilled to announce new foreign rights sales for the hilarious children’s verse book The Secret Life of Farts written by Malin Klingenberg and illustrated by Sanna Mander: French and German rights were acquired by Helvetiq in Switzerland!

Helvetiq is a quality publisher for which the design and humour are extremely important in the books – no wonder Klingeberg’s & Mander’s brilliant cooperation immediately caught their eye!

The sale makes it 8 foreign languages for this title altogether. Not long ago, the English edition came out in the UK, published by Pushkin Press and translated by Annie Prime.

Sincere congratulations to the authors and all the lucky readers!