The Day The Whale Swam Through London tells the story of Anna, and of her memory disorders, using magical realism, fantasy and even gentle comedy. To Anna, however, losing her memories is a daily tragedy. Bravely and with determination she still tries to reach her own essence and humanity, the ability to live with others. Anna looks with wonder at the countless pieces of which her life consists, taking them in one at a time.
Selja Ahava has established herself as a prominent literary voice in the Finnish scene: her Things That Fall From The Sky won the EU Literature Prize and was sold to 17 territories, and her production is read with enthusiasm in Finland, where her work are published by Gummerus.
Relacja is an established Polish publisher whose list includes Joan Didion, Marta Dzido, Sabina Jakubowska, and Jessica McDiarmid.
The Finnish Cultural Foundation has awarded Pirkko Saisio for her artistic career. The Foundation presents three awards on a yearly basis in the fields of science, research, art and culture.
This year’s winners are soprano Iris Candelaria, professor Petri Toiviainen, and author Pirkko Saisio. Each of the awards is worth 40 000 euros. The Foundation have motivated their choice as follows: “Author and director Pirkko Saisio (b. 1949) is a favourite among readers and critics of many generations. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Saisio’s debut novel, Elämänmeno (English translation Lowest Common Denominator published in 2024). […] perhaps the most fundamental part of Saisio’s art is the theme that runs through her work, describing a person’s endless loneliness and feeling of being different in their family, their country, their culture and in the history of the world as a whole. As well as being a writer, Pirkko Saisio is an active spokesperson for cultural issues. She was an LGBTQ activist long before homosexuality was talked about in the public sphere, or even depicted in art to any significant degree.“
Pirkko Saisio (b.1949) is an author in a league of her own on the Finnish literary scene: with a production ranging from plays to novellas, to historical novels, and autofiction. Saisio has now reached a stage in her career where she has established herself as a modern classic in a way that is unique in the Finnish literary scene: her early works are enjoying global success, and her more recent works continue to speak to several generations, making her production timeless. Saisio’s Helsinki Trilogy is now a part of world literature and made Saisio the first contemporary Finnish author whose production will be included in the Penguin Modern Classics. In Finland, her works are published by Siltala.
Translator Sébastien Cagnoli has been awarded the Finnish State Award for Foreign Translators for his translations of quality Finnish literature into French. The Ministry of Education and Culture awards the Finnish State Award for Foreign Translators annually on the proposal of the Finnish Literature Exchange (FILI). The prize has been awarded since 1975 and is considered the highest recognition awarded to translators in Finland.
Minister of Science and Culture Mari-LeenaTalvitie, who presented the award, has stated: “The Finnish State Award for Foreign Translators is a unique way to highlight translators who make Finnish literature known in different countries. I am particularly delighted that Sébastien Cagnoli has also translated a lot of Finnish poetry into French. Translating poetry is a skill in itself, and I greatly appreciate the fact that Finnish poetry is gaining more readers around the world.”
The Ribbon Bow by Anu Kaaja has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2025.
The Ribbon Bow by Anu Kaaja has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. This is fantastic news for this title, already nominated for the Runeberg Prize, the Adlibris Award and the Most Beautiful Book of the Year Award. 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.
The jury have commented on this title: “The story employs three different styles: auto-fictional material, magical realism, and art essayistics. It merges lightness and seriousness, pleasure and suffering, thought and play. In the novel, surreal conversations take place with objects, and life’s porous nature is explored through reflections on friendship and relationships. The reading experience is an aesthetic delight, and the ever-present bow – bow row rococo – serves as a symbol whose beauty, devoid of meaning, illustrates the exercise of power in society. Human relationships with objects are contemplated in an exuberantly sensual way, and the stories reify people while humanising things.”
The Ribbon Bow follows a heartbroken writer who sets out on a European trip in the style of the Grand Tour, visiting museums and enjoying art. The writer’s wanderings bring a fresh, at times irreverent perspective on some of the world’s most famous works of art and is a razor-sharp criticism of capitalism and the objectification of humans at the expense of the humanisation of objects. Everyday objects, like a bow, a coffee cup and a napkin, come to life and engage in conversation, while the human characters are difficult to reach and even harder to let go of. In Finland, The Ribbon Bow is published by Kustantamo S&S.
Anu Kaaja (b. 1984) is an author and scriptwriter who studied creative writing in Helsinki and got her MA from the University of Salford. Her debut Metamorphoslip (2015), a surrealist collection of short stories, came second in the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize competition. In 2017 it was awarded the Jarkko Laine Literature Prize. Leda (2017) was her first novel. It was nominated for the Runeberg Prize and awarded with Toisinkoinen Literature Prize. Kaaja’s novel Katie-Kate (2020) was greeted a brilliant and disturbing story about royals, cindarellas and our times.
Congratulations to the author, and fingers crossed!
The Age of Democracy by Timo Miettinen is travelling to Estonia, where it will be published by Postimees.
The Age of Democracy (Demokratian aika, Teos 2024)
Postimeees has acquired the Estonian rights to The Age of Democracy by Timo Miettinen; the title explores modern democracy and history and is published in Finland by Teos.
In The Age of Democracy Miettinen approaches modern democracy and history in an innovative way: rather than analysing democracy in chronological steps, he suggests that democracy can be analysed as an ideological tradition striving to point the course of history in a direction that carries within itself the legacy of previous democratic efforts and traditions.
PhD Timo Miettinen
PhD Timo Miettinen (b. 1981) is an Academy Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the University of Helsinki. A specialist in European philosophy, phenomenology, and politics, he is a sought-after expert and well-known commentator on European and EU affairs in the Finnish media.
Postimees is one of Estonia’s leading publishing houses, with a list ranging from non-fiction to literary and commercial fiction, and children’s literature. They are the Estonian publisher of, among others, Julia Quinn, Anthony Gottlieb, Douglas Stuart, and John Irving.
