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The Dutch edition of Backlight by Pirkko Saisio is among the 12 nominees for the European Literature Prize in the Netherlands.

The Dutch edition of The Backlight by Pirkko Saisio, out with De Geus in translation by Annemarie Raas has been longlisted for the European Literature Prize in the Netherlands.

The prize has been awarded for 15 years and rewards the best foreign book in Dutch translation published in the past year. The 12 nominees on the longlist have been selected by booksellers in the Netherlands. A jury led by Niña Weijers will select a shortlist in June, and the winner will be announced on September 3rd. The prize amounts to 10,000 euros for the author and the translator, and was awarded last year to Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk and translator Karol Lesman for the novel The Empusion.

The European Literature Prize is an initiative of the Dutch Foundation for Literature, Academic-Cultural Centre SPUI25 , weekly magazine De Groene Amsterdammer and Athenaeum | Scheltema, with financial contribution by the Dutch Foundation for Literature. This year’s other nominees are:

– Memorial, 29 June by Tine Hoegh
– The Angel of Disappearance by Slobodan Šnajder
– There Are Rivers In The Sky by Elif Shafak
– Clear by Carys Davies
– I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness by Irene Solà
– Orbital, Samantha Harvey
– The Director by Daniel Kehlmann
– Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
– Judge on Trial by Ivan Klima
– Bad Habit by Alana S. Portero
– Watching Over Her by Jean-Baptiste Andrea

The Backlight is the second volume in Pirkko Saisio‘s world-famous Helsinki Trilogy, and it follows the protagonist during her adolescence. The book starts out in June 1968, a moment of turmoil for youth and students throughout Europe. A journey to Switzerland is a first taste of European life outside of Finland, but the protagonist is also faced with disappointments and increasing tensions between her leftist upbringing, Christianity, and her budding sexuality. Memories shape the present and the boundary between fact and fiction becomes fluid. At the same time, the work is a breath-takingly beautiful description of a young woman’s discovery of her true self.

Warm congratulations to the author, the publishers, and the translator – fingers crossed!

Finlandia winner Radio Popov by Anja Portin continues its international success: it is currently on exhibition at the Finnish Embassy & National Library for Children and Young Adults in Seoul, where it will stay until August 31. The Korean edition had been received favourably, and Radio Popov continues to do well in the country.

Radio Popov won the Finlandia Junior upon its release, and has already travelled to 25 language territories. Radio Popov follows Alfred, a nine-year-old boy who lives virtually alone. His mother is not in the picture and his father is constantly busy with work and business trips. During one of these business trips Alfred is left alone for so long he runs out of food, and electricity is cut off. When everything seems lost, Alfred is saved by a mysterious stranger who delivers food and woollen socks in lonely children’s letterboxes. It is the beginning of a wonderful adventure that will lead Alfred to a new family, and to saving more forgotten children. Alfred’s story is moving, and touches on social issues, but also contains joy, friendship, and a happy ending.

Anja Portin has quickly become a favourite among children’s authors with her middle grade novel Radio Popov. She writes about children who take matters into their own hands when grownups do not want to take responsibility or are not there to do it. 

An excerpt from Shadowmind by Harry Salmenniemi has been featured on The Point Magazine in English translation by Henri Antikainen.

Author Harry Salmenniemi debuted as novelist in 2023 with Shadowmind (Varjotajunta, Siltala 2023) with several collection of award-winning and warmly praised novella collections on his back.

In Shadowmind, Salmenniemi is about to embark on a train journey home. The shopping mall where he stops for coffee, the station, the platform and all the little, mundane details that come with the journey all shine with new light as the author focuses on them and reflects on the ordinary and the extraordinary things in his life. Combining style experimentations, autofiction, and reflections on contemporary life and society, Salmenniemi takes readers on a journey where modern culture is looked into, and smiled upon, with warmth. The novel was nominated for the Runeberg Prize, the second most prestigious award in the country.

The Point magazine is a thrice-yearly published literary magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. The magazine publishes essays, reviews, and articles on literature, culture, and the arts. The excerpt of Shadowmind published on The Point is translated by Henri Antikainen is titled Deep Breath. In it, the author and narrator is waiting for the train and grabs a coffee at a mall in Helsinki, and sinks deep into thoughts about both mundane and essential things.

You can find the whole excerpt here, and you can read more about Salmenniemi’s authorship here.

A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large by Sofia & Amanda Chanfreau has been awarded the Adomas Druktenis Prize for best translated book for the youth of the year by IBBY Lithuania.

The Lithuanian edition of A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large is out with Alma Littera, in translation by Mantas Karvelis. A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large is a stunning story by Sofia & Amanda Chanfreau, where magical realism meets the quest after one’s own origins.The book has been enchanting publishers all over the world since its release and, on top of having sold over 10.000 copies in Finland, it has also won the most important literary award in the country, the Finlandia Junior Prize, in 2022. This illustrated novel for middle grade readers is a tale of longing to be part of a family, to find one’s place in the world, and to be loved as one is. 

Whenever ten-year-old Vega, who has always lived with her father, tries to ask about her mother, the only answer she gets is mysteries. Once a not-so-nice girlfriend starts dating her father, and Vega gets an unexpected pen pal, she decides to set out on an adventure to find out more about her mother. The book is a superb read for a child alone or for parents and children together.

Congratulations to the authors and the publisher!

Danish Straarup & Co has acquired in auction the Danish rights to The Sisters of the Desert (Chronicles of Gibat #1) by Malin Klingenberg.

Malin Klingenberg‘s new series The Chronicles of Gibat has started its journey out into the world: The Sisters of the Desert (Chronicles of Gibat #1) is now travelling to Denmark, where it will be published by Straarup & co, who have acquired the rights in auction.

The Sisters of the Desert is the first instalment in Malin Klingenberg‘s new fantasy trilogy The Chronicles of Gibat, and won the prestigious Runeberg Junior Prize in early 2025. The Sisters of the Desert follows Sarina and Saba, two sisters whose father is the leader of a wandering desert tribe where one day children start disappearing. Afraid they may be next, and suspecting their father may be involved, the two girls try to sneak away and meet another tribe, whose leader claims to have known their mother. The members of the other tribe believe in magic and claim that their mother, too, had magical powers. Could it be that their father has been hiding from them even more than they thought? And can the sisters stand up for what’s right and reveal the secrets from their past?

The Sisters of the Desert is a beautiful story of adventure, magic, friendship, and sisterly love in a world where some adults are ruthless and children are left to fend for themselves. The book is beautifully illustrated by Eeva Nikunen. The Chronicles of Gibat series will continue this May with the release of My Brother Brother, the second instalment in the series.

Malin Klingenberg is one of Finland’s most prominent Swedish-speaking authors. Her extensive production, ranging from picture books all the way to YA, has been loved, read, and translated into many languages all over the world. The Sisters of the Desert marks her fantasy debut, proving she can successfully add one more genre to her impressively polyhedric production. Her works are published in Finland by Schildts & Söderströms.

Straarup & Co. is a Danish publishing house whose list includes quality literature for young readers and a broad selection of fantasy titles. They are the Danish publisher of other internationally successful fantasy titles like Aisling Fowler’s Fireborn, Håkon Marcus’ Feral series, and Katja Brandis’ Woodwalkers series. They are the also the Danish home of our very own Night Express and Juno Lights The Moon by Karin Erlandsson, The Mythicals series by Miila Westin, Radio Popov and The Book of Misty Trees by Anja Portin, and more.

Warm congratulations to the author and the publishers, and don’t miss out on this title!