Author: Anastasia

Exciting news has reached us from France: Antti Rönkä’s 2019 sensation, novel Off the Ground, is now nominated for the Inalco-Vo/Vf translation award in France! The book was translated by Sébastien Cagnoli and published by Payot et Rivages.

The award was established in 2019, by Inalco language institute (Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales), in order to recognise the best French translation of the year from a language that is taught at the institute. The award sum is 1000 euros.

Off the Ground, published in French as Sans toucher terre, is one of the seven nominees. The winner will be announced on 2nd of October.

Upon its publication in 2019, this debut novel caused quite a stir in Finland because of its painful subject, and received praise for the way topics of shame and acceptance have been explored throughout this beautiful text.

The novel received Thank You for the Book! prize and was long-listed for the prestigious Runeberg Prize.

Congratulations to the author and the translator!

Such news doesn’t happen every day: Amharic language rights for Doña Quixote and Other Citizens: Portraits, a novel by the beloved Leena Krohn, have been sold to Ethiopian publisher Hohe!

Hohe is one of only a handful of publishing houses operating in Ethiopia, dedicated to increasing access to world literature for Ethiopian readers.

Leena Krohn’s (b. 1947) writing forms an impressive body of work. She has developed her ideas from the visible and the invisible, from consciousness and self, death and life, reality and illusion, good and evil. Her sly humor and lucid language speak of our existence in very strange realms with courage and intelligence. One of the greatest visionaries in Finnish literature, Krohn’s works have been translated to over 20 languages.

Doña Quixote and Other Citizens was fully translated in English by Hildi Hawkins and included in the 2016 anthology Collected Fiction, published by Cheeky Frawg Books.

Some author features in English:

Leena Krohn profiled by The New Yorker.

Leena Krohn’s Collected Fiction makes The Onion AV Club’s best of the year.

Electric Literature showcases an excerpt from Collected Fiction.

Electric Literature interviews Leena Krohn.

The New York Public Library recommends Collected Fiction.

Congratulations to the author!

Only two weeks ago HLA announced the new addition to its list, The Cotton Mill trilogy by Ann-Christin Antell – and today we are already sharing the news about the first foreign rights sale!

People’s Press has now acquired the Danish rights for the entire trilogy!

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As the acquiring editor at the Danish house, Ariane Veiergang, stated:

“We are thrilled to see how Ann-Christin’s series beautifully and intriguingly covers well researched historical romance, class distinction and early feminism. We are the Danish publishers of Bridgerton […] so this trilogy seems perfect for our list.”

People’s is a young press, founded only 20 years ago, but already enjoying the status of being the fourth biggest publishing house in Denmark. The house is known for its thought-provoking publications, gaining a lot of attention. It has a strong list of both literary and commercial names like Lisa Taddeo, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Lucy Diamond, Delphine de Vigan, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, David Mitchell, Magda Szabó, Joël Dicker, Joanna Rakoff, Paolo Cognetti, Stefan Hertmans and Neil Gaiman to name a few.

This is the first foreign rights sale for the title, but an almost overwhelming interest suggests we’ll be announcing more sales soon!

Congratulations to the author!

The time for the legendary Finnish author Pirkko Saisio to shine abroad has definitely come: after announcing the third pre-empt in a row for Saisio’s autofictional trilogy, we are excited to share the news that Varrak has now acquired the Estonian rights for Saisio’s newest novel, Passion.

Varrak is one of the most prominent publishers in Estonia, with a wide scope of both Estonian and translated quality fiction. It is the publisher of many acclaimed Finnish authors, such as Arto Paasilinna, Elina Backman, Sofi Oksanen, Tomi Kinnunen, Maria Turtschaninoff and Mia Kankimäki, among others.

Passion is a color-saturated, Tarkovskian chronicle of Europe, spanning from the 15th century Florence to present-day Finland. The novel sold ca. 26,000 copies in Finland and was nominated for the most prestigious literary award in the country, Finlandia Prize – the seventh nomination for Pirkko Saisio, more than any other author has received to date.

This is the first foreign rights sale for the novel.

Congratulations to the author!

Helsinki Literary Agency is extremely happy to welcome a new author on its list: Ann-Christin Antell with her bestselling Cotton Mill trilogy comes as a powerful re-enforcement of HLA’s commercial fiction section.

The trilogy could be described as Bridgerton meets L. M. Montgomery – an entertaining page-turner appropriate for a wide reader base. The top-quality historical romance with feminist undertones is enhanced with a witty female lead, a strong focus on manners and class distinction, as well as reflections on national awakening and rising social and political unrest.

The trilogy began with The Shadow of the Cotton Mill, in 2021, depicting the life of an independent woman in an era when industrialists make up the new elite, women demand equality, and Finland’s status as a nation is undergoing a transformation. The book immediately swept the hearts of the Finnish readers: speedily climbing to bestsellers’ lists, the novel sold close to 40,000 copies in Finland altogether.

The second instalment of the trilogy, Heir to the Cotton Mill (2022), picks up the story in the early 20th century, when Finland’s cultural elite, with their strong sense of nationhood, find themselves at odds with Russia’s increasingly oppressive policies. The book has already sold 20,000 copies in Finland.

The third book, A Rival for the Cotton Mill, is due to be published in 2023.

We already have English sample and synopsis of the first novel, so don’t hesitate to get in touch with us (info@helsinkiagency.fi) and ask for more information and materials.

Welcome to HLA, Ann-Christin Antell!