Hopelessness by Susanna Hast nominated for European Union Prize for Literature

Hopelessness by Susanna Hast has been nominated for the European Union Prize for Literature.

Hopelessness (Toivottomuus, S&S 2025)

We’re delighted to share that Hopelessness by Susanna Hast has been nominated for the European Union Prize for Literature.

The European Union Prize for Literature, established in 2009, was created by a consortium formed by the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF), the Federation of European Publishers (FEP), and the European Writers’ Council (EWC). Each year, a list of nominees representing countries of the Union and beyond is published and among these a winner and two honourable mentions are picked. The 2026 EUPL Prize laureate and the two special mentions will be revealed on 29 May 2026 at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, during the city’s annual book fair. All shortlisted authors will be continuously promoted on the European stage, aiming to reach a wider and international audience, as well as connect with readers beyond their national and linguistic borders.

Susanna Hast. Kuva: Susanna Kekkonen/ S&S

Hopelessness explores maternal rejection, diving deep into the subconscious and showing the institution of family and the concepts that hold it together – inheritance, gift, father, mother – in a merciless light. The work approaches the internal violence of intimate relationships, the necessity of separation and the horror of duality. It is a novel that stings from beginning to end.

Susanna Hast works as a researcher and Associate Professor at Uniarts university in Helsinki. She has researched war, compassion and corporality. Her debut novel Body of Evidence was awarded the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize for the best debut of the year in 2022. Hopelessness is her second novel, and it was nominated for the prestigious Runeberg Prize.

Both her novels are published in Finland by Kustantamo S&S.

Warmest congratulations to the author and the publisher!

Suliko by Pirkko Saisio nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize

Suliko by Pirkko Saisio is running for the prestigious Nordic Council Literature Prize.

Wonderful news: Suliko by Pirkko Saisio has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize, representing Finland.

Suliko (Suliko, Siltala 2024)

The Nordic Council Literature Prize is a prestigious yearly award founded in 1962 and aiming at fostering interest in the literature and the language of Nordic countries.

Suliko is 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. In Finland Suliko is published by Siltala and the title was awarded the prestigious Runeberg Prize in 2025.

Pirkko Saisio is the author of  the globally successful Helsinki Trilogy, and the great dame of Finnish literature, with a production ranging from novels to plays. Her Helsinki Trilogy made her the first contemporary Finnish author to join the Penguin Modern Classics list.

Congratulations to the author, and fingers crossed!

Danish three-book deal for A Dog Called Cat series by Tomi Kontio & Elina Warsta

Jensen & Dalgaard has acquired the Danish rights to the first three books in the A Dog Called Cat series by Tomi Kontio & Elina Warsta (ill.)

Wonderful news for our children’s list: Jensen & Dalgaard has secured the rights to the A Dog Called Cat series by Tomi Kontio & Elina Warsta (ill.) in a three-book deal for the first three books in the series: A Dog Called Cat, A Dog Called Cat Meets a Cat, and A Dog Called Cat Looking for a Home.

This marks the 12th foreign language area for this successful series, whose last instalment A Dog Called Cat Says Farewell won the Finlandia Junior Prize, the largest and most prestigious literary award in the country, last year.

The series of A Dog Called Cat is a touching story about finding friendship and dealing with the hardship of life with compassion. It tells the tale of a small dog, who is called Cat by her mother, because cats are independent, and the young one must learn to be independent. Soon, however, Cat that being independent can mean being very lonely. But one day things change, and then Cat is not alone anymore: a man called Weasel steps into her life, and along the series they meet new friends, including a cat called Dog, and form an unlikely but happy family bound together by genuine affection and acceptance of their mutual differences. In Finland the series is published by Teos.

Jensen & Dalgaard is an independent publisher based in Nyborg whose list includes a carefully curated selection of literary titles ranging from picture books and children’s literature all the way to fiction and classics. They are the Danish publisher of, among others, Suliko by Pirkko Saisio, Matara by Matias Riikonen, and Destruction by Iida Rauma.

Congratulations to the authors and the publisher!


Spanish deal for Icebound by Jukka Tuhkuri

Almayer has secured the Spanish rights to Icebound by Jukka Tuhkuri in the first foreign deal for this title.

The ice has been broken: Jukka Tuhkuri‘s Icebound: The Search for Endurance and the Real Reason It Sank is starting its journey out into the world as Almayer has secured the Spanish rights to this title.

Icebound (Jään voima, Siltala 2024)

Icebound: The Search for Endurance and the Real Reason It Sank follows the journey of the Endurance22, the expedition that in 2022 set out to locate and research the wreck of Endurance, lost to the water and the ice of the Wedell Sea 100 years prior. Endurance was one of the most famous ships of its time and the leader of the expedition, Ernest Shackleton, was determined to make history with his journey. Instead, Endurance became of the most famous shipwrecks of all time, and its sinking was shrouded in mystery for a century, but no more.

Jukka Tuhkuri was part of the scientific team aboard the Endurance22 as expert in arctic and ice research, and in his book he combines reflections on the myth of Shackleton’s ship, bringing the original expedition back to life, as well as disclosing the progress and findings of the Endurance22 journey. The result is a page-turning work where history, adventure, and science are blended beautifully. Given his scientific background, the author also sheds light on the impact of climate change on ice as we know it today.

Author Jukka Tuhkuri

Jukka Tuhkuri (b.1960) is a professor of solid mechanics at the Aalto University, where he researches ice mechanics and arctic marine technology. His research, which includes fracture of ice, has taken him to both the Arctic and the Antarctic, and in 2023 the University College London named Jukka Tuhkuri Honorary Professor.

Almayer is an independent publishing house based in Barcelona, and their project is to explore the magnitude of the sea and adventure through narrative and essays. They are the Spanish home of, among others, Hanna Stowe, Justin Scott, and Francesca de Tores.

Warm congratulations to the author and the publisher!

Mirabilis by Anni Kytömäki travels to Hungary

Mirabilis by Anni Kytömäki is travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Typotex.

Mirabilis by Anni Kytömäki continues to enchant international publishers: this title is now travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Typotex. This is the fourth foreign deal for this title, already pre-empted by Marsilio in Italy, People’s in Denmark, and Norstedts in Sweden.

Mirabilis (Gummerus 2024)

Set at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Mirabilis describes the transformation of the worldview when natural science shows that man is not, after all, the crown of creation. This powerful literary adventure takes us from the years of the Finnish famine, by sea to the mountains and wild forests of Amurland, and back to the ridge landscapes of Finland. In Mirabilis, the fates of humans and animals intertwine in mysterious ways. Through the stories of an outsider mother and daughter where one is an involuntary mother and the other a restless soul, the relationship between nature and man is explored in terms of domination, assimilation, corporeality and transformation through Kytömäki’s particular storytelling skills.

Author Anni Kytömäki

Kytömäki’s inimitable way of portraying people and animals, and their fates, is captivating. The result is world-class literature, where the magic of narration sinks into the depths of the mind and makes you look at the fragility and power of nature with new eyes. The book has been received with enthusiasm in Finland, and sold over 15 000 copies in its first few months on the market.

Typotex is a Hungarian publishing house with a broad selection of literary fiction in translation. They are the Hungarian publishers of, among others, fellow Nordic authors Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, a few titles by Kari Hotakainen, Jón Kalman Stefánsson, Peter Høeg.

Warm congratulations to the author and the publisher!