Author: Chiara Stanziani

Beasts of the Sea continues to make waves as the foreign editions roll in– mark your calendars for the upcoming English editions!

The foreign editions of Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen are conquering the international literary scene: over a dozen foreign are already out, and the British edition, published by MacLehose, will officially hit the shelves tomorrow, October 23rd – while the American edition, out with Little, Brown will land on November 18th.

Author Iida Turpeinen has been touring across Europe to promote the editions on a tight schedule: in mid September she visited Poland, where the Polish edition is out with Poznanskie and the book has been welcomed warmly. In early October Turpeinen attended the Folio Festival in Portugal, where Beasts of the Sea is published by Porto Editora.

Beasts of the Sea has also hit the shelves in Greece, where it is published by Ikaros, and has been welcomed with great reviews. On the Kathimerini newspaper the book has been reviewed commenting that “The author combines scientific accuracy with what has been going on in our minds for years now in the novels of American author Richard Powers. Her narrative is not linear but circular. It is as if she is following the biological rhythms dictated by nature itself. Her style is restrained and dense, but never cold. Here, nature is not a backdrop; it is the protagonist. And man does not stand above it, but within it. With all his mistakes, ambitions, and arrogance.“

In the lead-up to the release of the British edition the newspaper The Guardian has interviewed Turpeinen, diving into the themes of the book and exploring how the book was received both domestically and internationally.
Beasts of the Sea is a literary achievement and a breathtaking adventure through three centuries that approaches natural diversity through individual destinies. Steller’s sea cow, a sirenian lost to extinction centuries ago, is revived on the pages and is the red thread that ties together the individual fates of a group of people throughout the centuries. The novel won multiple awards, and was nominated for the Finlandia Prize domestically, and ran as the Best Foreign Book of the Year in France in 2024, and for the Premio Strega in Italy earlier this year.

Mark your calendars, and don’t miss out on this title!

The Thick of the Forest by Linnea Kuuluvainen continues its journey out into the world: Septime has secured the German rights, marking the fifth foreign deal for this title.

Linnea Kuuluvainen‘s brilliant debut The Thick of the Forest continues to enchant foreign publishers: it is now travelling to the German-speaking world, where it will be published by Septime. This is the fifth foreign deal for this title, that has already travelled to Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, and Slovakia.

The Thick of the Forest is a literary dystopian novel that follows two women, Edla and Ingrid, along two different timelines on the background of a Finnish forest that is raging against human exploitation, and of an increasingly authoritarian state. As the two women’s stories intertwine in unexpected ways, the book explores the relationship between mankind and nature with a rich, enchanting language. For its themes and sharp eye on women’s rights in authoritarian states, and for its strong characters, The Thick of the Forest can be pitched as a twist on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale set in the Finnish forest.

The Thick of the Forest is author Linnea Kuuluvainen’s debut, and was nominated for the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize for the best debut of the year upon its release, and it is currently running for the Mirrormere Prize.  In Finland, it is published by Gummerus.

Septime is an Austrian publishing house with a carefully curated selection of domestic and international authors. They are the publishers of, among others, Jan Kjærstad, Pascal Garnier, Ryū Murakami, and Ute Cohen.

Warmest congratulations to the author and the publisher!

Kawade Shobo Shinsha has secured the Japanese rights to Fishing For The Little Pike by Juhani Karila. This marks 21 foreign language areas for this title.

Fishing For The Little Pike by Juhani Karila is travelling to Japan, where it will be published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha. The book has been an international hit, and Japanese will be the 21st language it is published in.

Fishing For The Little Pike follows a young woman, Elina, who every year must travel to her home village in Eastern Lapland and fish a specific pond from a specific pike, lest she and her childhood sweetheart die. This year, however, fate has gotten in the way in the form of a water sprite who has taken over the pond, and in the form of a detective who is Elina’s trail on suspicion of murder. As the summer solstice approaches and mosquito season is in full swing in the heart of Lapland, Elina must find a way to fish the pike, and make peace with her past.

Fishing For The Little Pike has been a wonderful literary success: its English-language editions, out with Restless Books and Pushkin Press on opposite sides of the Atlantic, have been highly praised and welcomed with raving reviews and the book continues to gather attention from international publishers, readers, and critics. In Finland, where the book is published by Siltala, it was awarded the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize, the Lapland Literature Prize, and the Jarkko Laine Literature Prize.

Juhani Karila is an author and journalist based in Helsinki, with a background in quirky short stories. Fishing For The Little Pike is his first novel.

Kawade Shobo Shinsha is one of Japan’s leading publishers of books and has secured the rights in a deal brought to us by Tuttle Mori Literary Agency. Kawade Shobo Shinsha have over a century of experience in the publishing industry, having started in 1886. They have since then been the home of domestic bestsellers like Amy Yamada’s “Bed Time-Eyes” (1985) and Machi Tawara’s “Salad Memorial Day”(1987) and of international authors of high profile like Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, Vladmir Nabokov, Desmond Morris, and our very own Iida Turpeinen, among others.

Warmest congratulations to the author and the publisher!

Hart has acquired the Slovenian rights to The Silk Road North by Anu Ojala marking the third foreign language for this series.

The Silk Road North by Anu Ojala continues to conquer Europe: Hart has acquired the Slovenian rights, marking the third foreign language for this series, already pre-empted by Droemer Knaur and acquired by De Fontein in a German and Dutch deal respectively.

On the Swedish-Finnish border the twin city of Tornio-Haparanda is in the clutch of a crime wave revolving around a new synthetic drug. As the police fight a helpless battle, Sergeant Ronja Jentzch and her team find unexpected connections between international crime and the drug trafficking ravaging Lapland. As the frozen sea brings deadly substances over to seemingly calm and safe communities, cases of inhumane cruelty, despair-driven crimes, and international meddling become a daily challenge for Jentzsch and her team. Revered by readers, the series brings to light the long-silenced truth about the rise of international drug crime in northern Finland.

Anu Ojala (b.1972) is an author and lawyer living in Rovaniemi in the Finnish Lapland who knows the background of the Arctic drug war well. She has worked in a law firm and at the University of Lapland, and has previously written novels for young readers. Her Silk Road North series consists of three volumes so far: The Silk Road North, Death Knell, and The Skynet.

Hart is a Slovenian publishing house whose list hosts a selection of fiction in translation, quality illustrated non-fiction, and a broad range of literature for children and young adults.

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

Jukka Tuhkuri, the author of the captivating and moving narrative non-fiction book Icebound: The Search for Endurance and the Real Reason It Sank , has been in the spotlight of international press this week for his ground-breaking new study proving the real reasons behind the sinking of the legendary ship Endurance.

Contrary to the opinion that has prevailed among experts and general public alike for over a century, Tuhkuri’s study contends that it was the ship itself, not the ice, that led to its demise and eventual sinking. Released on Monday in the journal Polar Record, the new study has attracted wide international attention, with NY Times, CNN, Der Spiegel, among others, reporting on the story.

A polar explorer himself, Tuhkuri was one of 15 scientists who were invited to join the Endurance22 mission, the team that discovered the wreck in 2022. The nonfiction book Icebound: The Search for Endurance and the Real Reason It Sank published in Finland in 2024, focuses on this journey. In addition to that, Tuhkuri retells the Shackleton myth in a new light, and dedicates an entire chapter to exploring Shackleton’s diaries and the real reasons behind Endurance’s sinking.

The book has been warmly received in Finland, with critics praising Tuhkuri’s storytelling, dedication to his subject, and the moving narrative.

“When writing about his own experiences, Tuhkuri produces highly flowing text in which emotions are palpable. Ice, wind, and especially the penguins are described enchantingly. An avid reader, Tuhkuri effortlessly drops references to world literary classics: Moby Dick, the old sailor, Kipling and Dickens find their natural place; and even this Finnish author cannot avoid mentioning Moominpappa when writing about sea”, critic Kimmo Ylönen writes in the Kulttuuritoimutus magazine.

An extensive English sample and synopsis are free upon request, and foreign rights of the book are still available in many territories.