Month: December 2024

The Thirteen Symphonies of Viktor Stanislaus by Anna-Liisa Ahokumpu is travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Polar.

Lovely news for one of our backlist gems: The Thirteen Symphonies of Viktor Stanislaus by Anna-Liisa Ahokumpu is travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Polar.

In The Thirteen Symphonies of Viktor Stanislaus by Anna-Liisa Ahokumpu (Gummerus, 2018) we follow Max Halma, a butterfly collector whose life is disrupted by his mother’s death: among her things, he finds a rare butterfly, that could bring him greater success than ever before, but also documents about his late father, who supposedly died a week after his birth in 1942.

Max is intrigued, and finds himself led to archives in Northern Finland and then a pianist’s last concert in Hamburg, until the truth is finally revealed.

Author Anna-Liisa Ahokumpu’s tender first novel is like an enigmatic concert from a family’s life: obsessions, family secrets and voices that should not be silenced. The book was nominated for the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize, given to the best debut novel of the year, for the Botnia Prize, and the Lapland Literature Prize.

Author Anna-Liisa Ahokumpu (b. 1984) made her debut as novelist with The Thirteen Symphonies of Viktor Stanislaus. In Finland, her production is published by Gummerus.

Polar is a Hungarian publishing house specialised in Nordic literature. It is the Hungarian home of, among others, Iida Turpeinen‘s Beasts of the Sea, Antti Hurskainen‘s A Wooden Prayer, Laura Lindstedt and Sinikka Vuola‘s 101 Ways To Kill Your Husband, and Kari Hotakainen’s Pearl.

Congratulations to the author and the publisher!

The Bee Pavillion by Leena Krohn is travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Polar.

Leena Krohn‘s production continues to enchant readers and publishers everywhere: The Bee Pavillion is now travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Polar.

The Bee Pavillion is a building of stories: it is the former support center for the psychically ill, and one of the few old buildings left in the city. It is also the headquarter of a number of peculiar associations, including the Fluctuating Reality Club. The members of the club transform reality on the daily, and the smallest things can trigger shifts and changes. In Finland, it is published by Teos.

Leena Krohn is one of Finland’s most prolific and established voices. Her production explores the unusual, the absurd, and reflects on the line dividing ordinary from weird, and sane from insane.

Polar is a Hungarian publishing house specialising in literature from the Nordics. Their list includes some of Finland’s most prominent contemporary authors, and is the home of among others Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen, A Wooden Prayer by Antti Hurskainen, and 101 Ways to Kill Your Husband by Laura Lindstedt & Sinikka Vuola.

Congratulations to the author and the publishers!

Liv! by Helmi Kekkonen is travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Polar. The book is one of this year’s nominees for the Finlandia Prize.

Helmi Kekkonen‘s newest novel Liv! is starting its journey out into the world, and is now travelling to Hungary, where it will be published by Polar. Liv! is one of this year’s nominees for the Finlandia Prize, the largest and most prestigious literary award in Finland, and has been welcomed with warm praise by both readers and critics.

In Liv! we follow 22-year-old Liv, who is on holiday on an island in the Finnish archipelago with her family. One day she is approached by a man while she is sunbathing on the cliffs, and he is a little too friendly, sits a little too close. Nevertheless, Liv is intrigued, and agrees to meet him again without telling her family. What awaits Liv at their meeting seems obvious to the reader, even though it shouldn’t be. Slowly, Liv opens up about being assaulted, and all the women in her family enter a collision course: they all want what’s best for Liv, but each of them has a different opinion as to what that is. Liv! is a choral reflection around a harsh, but necessary question: what would you do if it happened to you?

Helmi Kekkonen is one of the strongest contemporary voices in Finland. Her previous production includes This Woman’s Life, The Guests, and Topsy-Turvy Anna. In Finland her work is published by Siltala.

Polar is a Hungarian publishing house with a strong focus on high-quality literature from the Nordics. They are the Hungarian home of, among others, Pearl by Kari Hotakainen, 101 Ways to Kill Your Husband by Laura Lindstedt & Sinikka Vuola, Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen, and A Wooden Prayer by Antti Hurskainen.

Warm congratulations to the author and the publishers!