The Smuggler’s Treasure by Axel Åhman & Ola Skogäng (ill.) and The Sisters of the Desert by Malin Klingenberg are nominated for this year’s Runeberg Junior Prize.
The accolades are rolling in for The Smuggler’s Treasure by Axel Åhman & Ola Skogäng and for The Sisters of the Desert, the first instalment in the new fantasy trilogy by Malin Klingenberg: both titles are nominated for this year’s Runeberg Junior Prize.
The jury have motivated their choice as follows:
[The Smuggler’s Treasure is] a classical adventure story [that] livens up the quiet archipelago life. The Christmassy red thread carries steadily through the entire story, but despite the fact that it takes place in December the book can be read year-round. The division in chapter is well planned and invites to read one more chapter, and one more, and one more. The atmospheric illustrations complete the story. In a nutshell: a stylish ensemble.
[The Sisters of the Desert by Malin] Klingenberg may be to blame if children are groggy in the morning, because it is difficult to put the book away once one has come into the adventures of sisters Saba and Sarina. The Sisters of the Desert contains all the ingredients of an epic fantasy: friendship, family, supernatural powers, and the fight between good and evil.
The Runeberg Junior Prize is given yearly in two categories – adult fiction and children’s literature – and is often considered to be the most important literary award after Finlandia. The winners are traditionally announced on February 5th, the National Runeberg’s Day.
The Smuggler’s Treasure is an adventure chapter book with a Christmas twist and it follows twelve-year-old Oliver, who gets thrown into a century-old mystery as he spends two weeks at his Grandma’s place on an island in the middle of nowhere. A mysterious compass in Grandma’s forbidden attic leads Oliver on a treasure hunt in the archipelago following the tracks of the area’s most notorious smuggler, who also happens to be Oliver’s ancestor. Luckily, a happy ending is in the cards, and there’s plenty of Christmas cosiness for everyone.
Axel Åhman is an author, journalist and comedian based in Vaasa, and Ola Skogäng is an established Swedish illustrator, comics and visual artist. This is their first collaboration.
The Sisters of the Desert is the first instalment in Malin Klingenberg‘s new fantasy trilogy, The Chronicles of Gibat. The Sisters of the Desert follows Sarina and Saba, two sisters whose father is the leader of a wandering desert clan who starts selling the children of the tribe into slavery. Afraid they’ll be next, the two girls try to sneak away and meet another tribe, whose leader claims to have known their mother. Why do the members of the other tribe believe in magic? And could it really be true that their mother, too, had magical powers?
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.
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. She has recently been awarded the Vanessa Prize for her impressingly polyhedric authorship.
Both works are published by Schildts & Söderströms.
Warm congratulations to the authors, and fingers crossed!
