Henrik Meinander (b. 1960) is a professor of history at the University of Helsinki and the author of many acclaimed books on Finnish and Nordic history. He was formerly curator of the Mannerheim Museum in Helsinki.
HurstPublishers is a London-based house, established in 1969. The publisher focuses exclusively on nonfiction, and their books range from African Studies, Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies, South Asian Studies to History, War & Conflict, and International Relations.
One of the biggest literary events in Finland last autumn, Matias Riikonen’s novel Matara continues its journey to foreign territories: recently sold to the French world, the title has now been acquired by Jensen & Dalgaard in Denmark.
Matara (2021)
Jensen & Dalgaard is a beautiful publisher based in Copenhagen, passionate about publishing literature of undying literary quality. Among others, it has previously published Fishing for the Little Pike by Juhani Karila; Katie-Kate by Anu Kaaja; REC by Marisha Rasi-Koskinen and Selja Ahava’s novels.
The Dutch edition of Radio Popov published by Ploegsma
Fantastic news has reached us from Germany: Anja Portin’s 2020 Finlandia Junior winner Radio Popov has been acquired by arsEdition, meaning that the magical children’s novel has now travelled 21 territories!
The editor, Katharina Braun, who has been considering the title for some time now, stated about Radio Popov:
“I couldn’t forget this title (…). I had a feeling there was something very special about this book. The pages I read months ago still stuck vividly in my head which is exceptional – I read so many books for work (…) [Radio Popov] has so much warmth, as well as the power to give hope and a feeling of self-empowerment in these strange times.”
Latvian edition of Radio Popov published by Janis Roze
Ars Edition is a well-established children’s publisher with books for all ages on its list. Originally founded in 1896, the company has been a part of the Sweden’s Bonnier Group since 2000.
This is the 21st foreign rights sale for Radio Popov, but rights are still available in Sweden, the English world and many other territories.
Each year, Finnish bloggers, bookstagrammers and booktubers organize their own voting and choose the best book of the year. The clear favourite of 2021 wasAnneli Kanto’s historical sensation The Rat Saint.
The Rat Saint (2021)
The participants can only vote for the books that they have written about in their blogs or Instagram posts, or discussed on their Youtube channels, and each can give points (3, 2 and 1) to three books respectively.
The participants have shared their impressions:
”An extraordinary historical novel and an intriguing topic! The themes are abundant, but the readers can trust they’ll be immersed by Kanto’s flowing language and this wonderful story.” – Kirja vieköön book blog
The Rat Saint is a Künstlerroman about a woman who chooses to model her self-portrait on Kakukylla, the saint who protects against rats and mice. Overlapping layers of rural life, artisanship, folklore, and Bible stories form a deep, vivid frame for the robust plot and delicate internal mood. A historical sensation of 2021, the novel sold close to 20,000 copies in Finland. It was nominated for the prestigious Runeberg Prize.
Another title represented by HLA, Pirkko Saisio’s new novel Passion, came third in the Blogistania Finlandia competition.
Delightful news from the North: it has just been announced that author Karin Erlandsson is now nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize, for her novel Home (2021).
Home (2021)
The jury stated about the book:
“In Hem, she broadens the register impressively. It can be described as a collective novel, but by the same token it can be seen as a series of short stories that share the same basic theme. Åland’s six-thousand-year history, from the Stone Age to the present day, is concentrated here and shown through a consistent women’s perspective. (…)
The novel uses its linguistically masterful style to pay tribute to an insular world, to a pattern of life close to nature where women bear the ultimate responsibility for the workings of day-to-day life.”
“Home is a powerful and moving collection of texts that cover the complete register of emotions. Karin Erlandsson has the gift of capturing an entire world in a single detail, to condense heart-bursting longing and restlessness into a single turned back or scoured floor.” – National broadcasting company Svenska Yle
“[…] it’s a pleasure to let oneself be swept away by Erlandsson’s sure hand and her way of forming historical events from the perspective of the individual. She often hits the nail on the head when she describes how things feel, especially when they don’t feel good.” – Hufvudstadsbladet newspaper
Photo by Marcus Boman
This is the 5th time Erlandsson has been nominated for the prize; she was previously nominated for The Mink Farm (2014); Pearl Fisher (2017, children’s and YA category); Victor (2019, children’s and YA category); and The Night Express (2020, children’s and YA category). The winners will be announced on the 1st of November.
