We had the pleasure to chat with Antti Leikas, the author of The Quantum Gnomes, an unhinged novel combining physics, adventure and mythology.
How do particle physics, gnomes and fungi relate and why should we care? Read the interview here.
You can find all the interviews in our series here.
We are just beginning to recover from the whirlwind of the Frankfurt Fair, and now sensational news has reached us from Sweden: We’ll Just Ride Past, the YA novel by Ellen Strömberg is nominated for the prestigious August Prize!
In We’ll Just Ride Past Strömberg captures the life of ninth-graders in that recognizable phase in life when you have a real drive to be independent and to discover and define your identity, and when friendships have a huge impact on your decisions and desires. Strömberg has a knack for portraying the emotional landscape and world view of young people in a convincing way and she masterfully depicts the anxieties and emotional turmoil teenagers face daily.
The August jury motivated the nomination as follows:
With sensitivity and accuracy [Strömberg] describes the turning point of adolescence, when the fantasies about who you want to be are suddenly put into practice, friendships are put to test and first love feels both alluring and terrifying. With the greatest respect for both her readers and her characters, Ellen Strömberg gives new life to the most iconic motif in youth literature.
Ellen Strömberg is a Finnish author writing in Swedish, and her books have garnered praise from critics and readers alike. She lives in Jakobstad in the Ostrobothnia region of Finland. We’ll Just Ride Past is her fourth book.
The August Prize is Sweden’s biggest literary award given to a book published in Sweden and it is awarded annually in three categories: the best novel, the best children’s or YA book, and the best nonfiction book of the year. The winners receive 100,000 SEK and a bronze August statuette.
Congratulations, Ellen!
Happy deal news from Frankfurt: the delightfully anarchist princess story The Princess Who Did a Runner written by Saara Kekäläinen and illustrated by Netta Lehtola has found its home at Straarup & Co. in Denmark.
Young princess Leona is expected by her parents to marry a prince and save the kingdom – but Leona is having none of it. She takes a hike and jumps from one fairytale to the next in order to save herself from the age-old burdens that lurk around every corner such as marriage and household chores. A refreshing take on princess tales proves that one can have both self-respect and empathy for others.
Straarup & Co. is a Danish publishing house that publishes books for both children and adults. They have previously acquired the Karin Erlandsson’s novels Home and Night Express and Eva Frantz’s Mystery of Helmersbruk Manor from HLA’s list.
The Princess Who Did a Runner is not yet published in Finland, and we are very excited for this great start. Congratulations to the authors!
Kari Hotakainen’s The Disciple, published on 24th August 2022, rose immediately to #2 on the Finnish bestseller list of August. Hotakainen has a long record of hitting the top ten with his novels, with the novel Story topping the list in 2020, and the biography The Unknown Kimi Räikkönen selling over 200,000 copies in Finland and over 100,000 abroad.
The Disciple is a ferocious novel about social exclusion, revenge, and the search for connection. It follows Maria who over the course of three days settles accounts in a fierce way that forces the reader to think about the meaning of life, the problems inherent in a middle-class lifestyle, and the part we play as individuals on the final precipice of an era.
“The rhetorical blades of Disciple strike with precision, and a dark, laconic humor sustains the work.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
“Hotakainen understands the most interesting thing about revenge is not the reason someone seeks it, its justification. What’s essential is that the revenge-seeker at least momentarily take control of the situation, act on her own terms. Communication is a major value in contemporary society, but those seeking vengeance have lost faith in its redemptive power. Disciple is a statement that has no interest in turning into a conversation – this is one of the remarkable things about it. Although the book is primarily constructed of Maria’s monologues, the text never feels heavy. The end is solid. This may be the best Hotakainen I’ve ever read, or at least the most pugnacious.”
– Suomen Kuvalehti magazine
The Quantum Gnomes by Antti Leikas and Forest Field Notes by Johanna Venho and Sanna Pelliccioni are nominated for one of the biggest literature prizes in Finland, the Botnia Prize! They will be competing with 6 other nominees, and the winner will be announced in October.
The jury stated about The Quantum Gnomes:
“Although the plot of the thriller travels in the higher-flying spheres of quantum physics and fantasy, testing the limits of suspense literature and speculative fiction, it keeps the reader in its grip. The references to literature, history and human life in general form a whole that has both airiness and warm wisdom. The gnomes of Finnish folklore fit into the story and bring roots and multidimensionality to it, as well as original humor. – – – It is enjoyable to read a text that flows with skill and effort, is light, but deep at the same time.”
The jury stated about The Forest Field Notes:
“Forest Field Notes is beautiful like a fairytale and multi-layered both in its language and its illustrations. Words and pictures compose a subtle story about the local forest and its meaning. – – – The book takes the perspective of a child and will fascinate young readers as well as adults. It is suitable for several readings and is reminiscent of play and imagination about the enormous power and the importance of man and nature harmonious coexistence is.
Botnia Prize is a literary award given to the best book of the year written by an author who lives or has their roots in North Ostrobothnia. It is one of the biggest Finnish literary awards (15 000 euros), and it recognises no genre nor language limitations.
Congratulations to the authors!