Author: Urpu Strellman

The biggest literary phenomenon from Finland this year, Iida Turpeinen’s debut Beasts of the Sea, has been gotten its third pre-empt in less than two weeks, now in Denmark by People’s.

With the Danish deal, Beasts of the Sea has traveled so far to five areas: Germany, where it was pre-empted by Fischer; Italy, pre-empted by Neri Pozza; Estonia, acquired by Tänapäev; and Hungary, acquired by Polar. There are offers on the table from France.

“Beasts of the Sea is a wonderful book – poetical, raw, timely and no doubt the first of many great books to come from Iida Turpeinen,” said Christel Hvalsøe Brinkløv, the senior acquiring editor of People’s. A part of the Storytel family, People’s is the publisher of such authors as Joël Dicker, Lisa Taddeo, Fredrik Backman, Neil Gaiman and from Finland, Ann-Christin Antell.

With a third edition on its way in just four weeks time since first publication, Beasts of the Sea is also writing history for the Finnish foreign rights sales: never before has a Finnish literary debut broken out to the world with five-figure deals and a row of pre-empts.

Iida Turpeinen (b. 1987) is a Helsinki-based literary scholar currently writing a dissertation on the intersection of the natural sciences and literature. As an author, she is intrigued by the literary potentials of scientific research and by the offbeat anecdotes and meanderings from the history of science.

The triumph of this autumn’s hottest Finnish title, Iida Turpeinen’s debut Beasts of the Sea continues to Hungary and towards France.

Pre-empted in Germany by Fischer on the eve of the Gothenburg fair and at the end of last week by Neri Pozza in Italy, Beasts of the Sea has been acquired in Hungary by Polar, a publishing house with a remarkable list of Scandinavian literary fiction. In addition to a significant number of Finnish authors, including the author of the Helsinki Trilogy, Pirkko Saisio, Polar publishes such authors as Karen Blixen, Vigdis Hjort, and August Strindberg.

In addition to finding a home in Hungary, Beasts of the Sea is headed towards France, where there are now offers on the table, with a deadline for first offers next Monday. The French rights are handled by Anna Lindblom from the Nordik Agency.

With a lot of excitement in other areas as well, there are bound to be some more news to expect prior to the Frankfurt fair, as the journey of the wonderful, strange sea mammal, the Steller’s sea cow, is just beginning!

The “world-class” novel – bound together by the story of the extinct sea cows – was pre-empted in Germany by Fischer on the eve of the Gothenburg fair. Now, the novel has landed in Italy with Neri Pozza. In Hungary, there is an offer on the table.

Iida Turpeinen’s debut Beasts of the Sea, described by the biggest Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat as “world-class novel”, has been sold in Italy to Neri Pozza. Neri Pozza has become known as the publisher of such authors as Peter Ackroyd, Tracy Chevalier, Patrick deWitt, Herman Koch, Julian Fellows, Ben Lerner, and Edward St. Aubyn.

The rave reviews and the success of the novel, sold out in during its first week in Finland, has attracted a lot of attention in all areas. Just a bit over a week ago, the novel was pre-empted in Germany by Fischer. For a Finnish debut, these very nice pre-emptive offers from big market areas mark a rare occasion.

“Science-fueled Beasts of the Sea makes the ecological ruptures and freefall of the entire world a palpable experience. (…) Turpeinen paints this contradiction [species becoming extinct while people are blissfully ignorant it is their doing] through characters based primarily on real-life figures and a few imagined ones, reaching the level of the best suspense stories and bitterest tragedies. This is a work that will move you and have you holding your breath.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

In Estonia, the novel will be published by Tänapäev. For Hungary and other areas, more news to follow soon!

Iida Turpeinen’s debut novel Beasts of the Sea, praised in reviews as“world-class literature”, has been pre-empted in Germany just three weeks after its publication in Finland.

Iida Turpeinen’s debut novel Beasts of the Sea  is quickly becoming the literary phenomenon of autumn 2023 in Finland. The novel was published in the first week of September, and it got a glorious start when the biggest Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, declared it “world-class literature”. The first print run was sold out in a week.

In Finland Beasts Of The Sea is published by S&S, part of Schildts & Söderströms.

Last week, the foreign rights of the novel were sold to one of Estonia’s foremost publishing houses, Tänapäev, and now the title has been pre-empted in Germany by S. Fischer Verlag.

Sebastian Guggolz, the acquiring editor at S. Fischer, said:

“What a wonderful novel! I love the idea of telling the story of the expeditions in different times, and of the skeleton of Steller’s sea cow holding all that together, connecting the centuries. I also loved the way Iida tells her story: it is so clever to do it with different individuals, linked to the Stellar’s sea cow, and also focusing on female characters who are part or background. Iida has a beautiful style of writing, and the novel is also telling many things about science, in a very welcoming way for readers.”

In the novel, fascinating history meets nature loss and extinction, and science goes hand in hand with a literary, yet page-turning story.  The novel spans over 200 years in three different time periods. The stories of the individuals are bound together by a wonderful, strange marine mammal, Steller’s sea cow, which became extinct soon after being discovered.

In the novel, human ambitions result into destruction of other species, but also create the urge to resurrect and preserve what can be saved.

Warm congratulations to the author!

As of September 2023, Viivi Arela will assume the role of CEO at Helsinki Literary Agency, which has built a top-notch catalog of international-caliber literature over the past six years.

Helsinki Literary Agency (HLA) will have a new CEO starting on September 1, 2023, when Viivi Arela assumes the role. Arela has worked for HLA as a literary agent since July 2020.

Urpu Strellman, who has led HLA since its founding in 2017, will shift her focus to author relations, catalog development, and generating and strengthening international contacts.

“In the space of a little over six years, Helsinki Literary Agency has grown into an agency that attracts Finnish authors interested in the global market and whom foreign publishers turn to when they’re interested in Finnish literature,” Strellman says. “At this juncture, it’s vital to ensure the skills of every employee be put to the best possible use.”

“The agency is at an interesting stage in its growth; it has a superb catalog and good networks. I’m eager for the opportunity to further develop operations and continue to promote Finnish literature in export,” Arela says.

Anna Baijars, CEO of Gummerus Publishers and chair of the HLA board, notes: “HLA’s operations have expanded significantly, to the point where a reorganization of roles is necessary to reach our new goals. Viivi Arela’s ambitious and entrepreneurial approach will serve the agency well as she helms it into its next stage.”

Arela has previous experience as an entrepreneur and in sales and marketing in the culture sector.

Urtė Liepuoniūtė, who has been a literary agent with HLA since 2019, will take on a new role on June 30, focusing exclusively on HLA’s English-language literature podcast Literature from Finland. The podcast, which Liepuoniūtė has produced and hosted since 2020, has found popularity both internationally and domestically, and plans for new audiovisual content on Finnish literature are in the works.

Additionally, two new team members, literary agent Chiara Stanziani and assistant Anastasia Basova,joined HLA in spring 2023.

Helsinki Literary Agency is a literary agency jointly owned by the publishing houses Gummerus, Schildts & Söderströms, Siltala, and Teos. It counts eleven Finlandia Prize winners and five Finlandia Junior Prize winners among the authors it represents.

More Information:

Urpu Strellman, CEO | urpu@helsinkiagency.fi | +358 40 737 5535
Viivi Arela, literary agent | viivi@helsinkiagency.fi | +358 40 838 5376
Anna Baijars, chair of the HLA board | anna.baijars@gummerus.fi | +358 40 584 0061