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Autumn 2019 Rights Lists have arrived!

Finally, they are here! Autumn adults’ and children’s catalogues are ready and can be now easily found on our website, under the Catalogues tab.

Autumn list is big and colourful, for we try to provide something for each reader and taste: from commercial chick-lit and crime to almost experimental literary fiction; from entertaining narrative nonfiction to powerful and rather dark auto-fiction. And we are truly happy to see that catalogues have already received a lot of positive feedback.

In addition to some titles we already added in spring, such as enthralling narratives from the Finnish periphery by Niina Miettinen and Johanna Laitila, we also have a lot of exciting news: two Finlandia Prize winners (Mikko Rimminen and Riikka Pelo), a spectacular novelty in Arto Paasilinna’s spirit by the young Juhani Karila, which already raised an overwhelming attention from abroad, as well as one of the most talked-about debuts in Finland this autumn, Antti Rönkä. The non-fiction list is complemented with the new book by one of the most popular Finnish historians Teemu Keskisarja, and the children’s list shines with gorgeous illustrated fiction and non-fiction by Alexandra Salmela & Linda Bondestam, Tomi Kontio & Elina Warsta, Malin Klingenberg & Sanna Mander, Virpi Kaarina Talvitie et al. and others. You can find more information about our autumn highlights here.

We hope you will enjoy the browsing, and don’t hesitate to contact us (urte@helsinkiagency.fi) if you wish to see the materials. We are starting the season with Gothenburg this week, and will then continue with Frankfurt, Helsinki, Sharjah and Moscow international book fairs and Crossing Border Festival in Hague. If you’re there, let us know and come say hello! We wish you all a great start of this Autumn, and let the fun begin!

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Gummerus bought by the audiobook giant Storytel

One of the four stakeholders of Helsinki Literary Agency, Gummerus Publishing, has been acquired by Swedish company Storytel, focusing on selling audiobooks and e-books. Gummerus is the third largest, as well as one of the oldest Finnish publishers. Gummerus releases ca. 200 Finnish and translated titles a year; among the most renown of its authors are Minna Rytisalo, Sisko Savonlahti, Pauliina Rauhala (all represented by HLA), Jojo Moyes, Clare Macintosh, Nora Roberts and Michael Connelly.

Gummerus continues running as an independent member of Storytel under the leadership of the current CEO Anna Baijars.

Storytel is a leading audiobooks service in the Nordics, and it also operates in several countries in Europe, Asia and South America. In addition to Gummerus, Storytel owns several other significant nordic publishers; in 2016, the company drew attention by buying Nordstedts, the oldest publishing house in Sweden.

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Piia Leino’s Heaven sold to Turkey!

HLA is thrilled to share that the winner of this year’s EU Prize for Literature, Piia Leino’s dystopian novel Heaven, has been recently sold to A7 in Turkey.

Though established only in 2017, A7 has already managed to create a strong list of fiction, nonfiction and children’s titles, keeping a good balance between literary and mainstream books. About a third of them have copyrights from Wooden Books, which is a respected international organisation in the publishing world for its quality and popular titles.

A7 has a beautiful mission to “contribute to a community consisting of people who are spiritually, intellectually and socially strong, cheerful, happy and hopeful individuals turning the reading into a feast and internalising it as a joyful way of life”. The publisher also emphasises the importance of books that help people create liberating relationships “based on love and solidarity, not on power”, as well as enhancing reading culture – a vital part of a free and democratic society.

We couldn’t be more happy that Heaven found its Turkish home at A7! It was sold with the help of our partners, Kalem Agency.

Leino’s Heaven has previously been sold to Bulgaria (Perseus), Hungary (Scolar), North Macedonia (Artkonekt), Serbia (Kontrast), Ukraine (Astrolabe).



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Interviews with writers!

We are continuing our creative literary interviews series with HLA’s writers! Here’s one with Minna Rytisalo, the author of the bestsellers Mrs C. and Lempi. Learn about the inner contradictions of protagonists in Minna’s books and why happy stories are not as simple as they might seem. And of course, the entertaining questionnaire!

(Photo: Marek Sabogal)