The row of pre-empts of the “world-class debut” by Iida Turpeinen continues to Sweden and to Albert Bonniers förlag. There are offers also on the table for the French and English rights.
The biggest literary phenomenon from Finland this year, Iida Turpeinen’s debut Beasts of the Sea has just been pre-empted in Sweden by Albert Bonniers förlag. Previously, it has been pre-empted in Germany by Fischer, in Italy by Neri Pozza, just yesterday in Denmark by People’s. There are offers on the table for the French rights (handled by Nordik Agency, with a deadline for first offers on Monday 16th), and also an offer for the English rights (with a deadline on Wednesday 25th, handled by us). In Hungary, the publisher is Polar, and in Estonia, Tänapäev.
The acquiring editor of Alfred Bonniers, Johanna Haegerström, characterized the novel as follows:
“Beasts of the Sea is an incredibly fascinating, beautiful and, in fact, also very sad – as it discusses extinction – historical novel. It describes the hunger for science and the miracles of nature in a way that made me immediately amazed and curious. Writing in crystal clear and factual literary style, Turpeinen manages in very few and quick draws make her characters so deep that you get close to them. […] I suspect this is the biggest literary break-through in Finland in years.”
(Photo: Susanna Kekkonen)
Albert Bonniers förlag is a part of Sweden’s largest publishing group. Other authors published include Olga Tokarczuk, Jon Fosse, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jenny Erpenbeck, Daniel Kehlmann, Zadie Smith, and, from Finland, Sofi Oksanen and Katja Kettu.