Author: Chiara

Book fair season is yet to start, and we’ve already been hitting the road!

Our agent Urpu Strellman has visited Serbia as a member of the Novi Sad Fellowship.

Novi Sad Fellowship 20.23 is an international literary festival which aims at creating an international platform for Serbian authors and professionals in the book industry. During the festival, international and Serbian professionals have had the chance to meet and discuss new ideas and potential new projects.

Novi Sad  Fellowship 20.23 has included participants from Turkey, Finland, Iran, Egypt, Poland, Great Britain, North Macedonia, France and United Arab Emirates.

Thank you to the fellowship for having us!

More fantastic news for our children’s list: Penelope and the Big Baby Tooth Ballyhoo, written by Saara Kekäläinen and illustrated by Reetta Niemensivu, has been sold to Korea and Latvia.

In Korea, Penelope and the Big Baby Tooth Ballyhoo will be published by Korean Studies Information while in Latvia this gorgeous title will be published by Latvijas Mediji.

Penelope and the Big Baby Tooth Ballyhoo follows little Penelope as she suddenly notices that one of her teeth is wiggling, and her imagination takes flight. Maybe she’ll be sent a new sheep instead of a new tooth? Or maybe she’ll receive a visit from the tooth fairy’s mischievous cousin, the tooth imp?

Penelope and the Big Baby Tooth Ballyhoo is the second work in a new series of picture books that began with Penelope and the Perilous Porridge, in which this intrepid heroine brought her breakfast to heel – meanwhile earning a nomination for the Finlandia Junior Prize. 

“Then Penelope remembered. She’d heard people were born without teeth, then got baby teeth, which were replaced by permanent teeth. And if you ate too much candy, you had a set of false teeth to look forward to.

Did the same thing also go for, say, feet?” Penelope is not one to shy away from questions, and she sure keeps us hooked while looking for answers. In Finland, the series is published by Tammi.

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

More fantastic news for The Princess Who Did A Runner: after collecting raving reviews in Denmark, this adorable and humorous title celebrates two more foreign sales, namely to the Czech Republic and to Ukraine.

The Czech publisher for this title will be Portál, one of the top 20 largest Czech publishers with a strong sense for pedagogy, while the Ukrainian publisher will be Charitarium, a non-profit publisher with a broad and varied list.

The book follows Leona, a young princess who does a runner when she learns of the fate that awaits her: she must marry a prince in order to save her kingdom. 

Leona jumps from one princess fairytale to the next in order to save herself from the age-old burdens of princesses that lurk around every corner – marriage and household chores. The kind-hearted Leona helps everyone, but on her own terms!

The Princess Who Did A Runner by Saara Kekäläinen is a picture book full of sharp humour that will even offer big children and adults plenty of food for thought.

Warm congratulations to the author!

We are beyond happy to share some exciting news for our author Ulla Donner: her graphic novel Crap has been sold to France, where it will be published by Atrabile, a wonderful publishing house with a strong list of graphic novels.

Crap is a witty graphic novel about capitalism, freedom and potatoes that asks a powerful question: now that everyone is an activist is change really afoot or is most of it just the same old crap?

An ad agency is in the middle of a restructuring and all emotions are coming out at After Work debriefs. Colleagues at Dream Hackers Disruption Agency are discussing how much freedom they actually have. Have they chosen their vocation and their way of life? Are they even able to have a say in what their lives will look like, in the future? 

The launch of a new potato-based sausage is underway. The only problem with this innovation for replacing the meat is that it has almost no protein. There is a solution, but not without an additional risk.

Crap was awarded the Finlandia prize for the best Finnish graphic novel in 2019 and we are eagerly waiting for autumn, as a new graphic novel by Ulla Donner is on the way.

Warm congratulations to the author, and best of luck!

Thrilling news from our children’s list: Radio Popov, our best-selling hit by Anja Portin, has been sold to Slovakia, where it will be published by Tatran. This is the 25th international sale for this extremely loved, award-winning book who has won over readers all over the world.

Radio Popov follows Alfred, a nine-year old who is extremely lonely and lives practically alone. His mother has disappeared long ago, and his father, who stays away on business trips, doesn’t always seem to remember that Alfred exists.

One night, Alfred finds out there is a group called the Sharp Ears who can hear lonely children’s sighs. As he gets to know one of them he across an old radio, and starts making a secret, nightly radio broadcast that all the other forgotten children in the city listen to. 

But how can Alfred help the children, and what will Alfred’s father do when he notices that his son is gone? And who exactly are the Sharp Ears?

And that’s not all! Author Anja Portin has a new book on the way so… stay tuned!