Author: Anastasia

What a fantastic week for our Finlandia Junior winner A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large, by Sofia & Amanda Chanfreaus: we are thrilled to announce that Lannoo has acquired the Dutch rights, and Gecko Press has acquired the English language rights in the UK & the Commonwealth.

Lannoo Publishers’ children’s book stands for quality, its own style and humor. The range of publications is diverse and extensive: from cardboard books for toddlers to fiction and non-fiction for 12+. Lannoo is the publisher of award-winners like Maria Parr, Kate Di Camillo, but also the hilarious Treehouse series, thats sold almost 2 million copies in Flanders and the Netherlands.

The publisher Sofie Van Sande stated about A Giraffe’s Heart:

“The author tells a delightful fantasy story that at the same time has so much depth, humour and a cheerful twist on the sad things in life. We adore the illustrations that fit the imaginative story perfectly.”

Gecko Press is an independent, international, award-winning publisher of curiously good children’s books, based in Wellington, New Zealand. The publisher hand-picks books by some of the best writers and illustrators in the world — “books of good heart and strong character, excellent in story, illustration and design”.

The publisher Julia Marshall has stated about her newest acquisition:

“A Giraffe’s Heart went straight to our hearts when we first read it in our office: its warmth, quiet humour, substance and originality makes it a very Gecko Press book we think! The voice of Vega is very strong, and we love the combination of compelling plot and light fantasy, and the illustrations are fantastic.”

This charming children’s novel has quickly become the most wanted title on HLA’s list this season, and foreign rights to have now been sold to 10 territories:

China (Mainland China, Simplified Chinese), Everafter;
English (UK & The Commonwealth), Gecko Press;
Czechia, Host;
Denmark, Straarup & Co.; 
Dutch, Lannoo;
Estonia, Ühinenud Ajakirjad; 
Italy, Salani; (sold in a three-way auction);
Korea, Dasan; 
Slovenia; KUD Sodobnost; 
World Spanish, Océano

Additionally, an offer from Lithuania is on the table, and the auction is still ongoing in France. The novel has sold over 10,000 copies in Finland. It’s publisher here is Schildts & Söderströms.

This illustrated novel for the middle grade readers is a tale of longing to be part of a family, to find one’s place in the world, and to be loved as one is; a story of childlessness and dreams that fade or morph into nightmares. Page by page, it swells with inevitable force into a horror story that firmly holds the reader in its agonizing grip. 

Whenever a ten-year-old Vega, who has always lived with her father, tries to ask about her mother, the only answer she gets is mysteries. Once a not-so-nice girlfriend starts dating her father, and Vega gets an unexpected pen pal, she decides to set out on an adventure to find out more about her mother. The book is a superb read for a child alone or for parents and children together.

A Giraffe’s Heart won the most prestigious literary award in Finland, Finlandia Prize, in the category of children’s and YA books. It was also nominated for the Runeberg Junior Prize.

Congratulations to the authors!

Just before the turn of the month, wonderful news reached us from Poland: Relacja has now acquired the Polish rights for Selja Ahava’s formidable novel, Before My Husband Disappears (2017).

Relacja previously published Ahava’s EU Prize for Literature winner, Things that Fall from the Sky (2015) – one of the most internationally successful titles from Finland, already sold to 26 territories altogether.

Ahava’s publisher in Finland is Gummerus.

Before My Husband Disappears  is a brutally honest story about the unexpected aspects of reality and the pain of letting go. When with just one sentence a woman’s husband starts disappearing from her life, the woman does everything to commit him to her memory. At the same time, she tries to answer the question: could it be that something you always thought was there, was in fact, never there? Ahava’s powerful but natural prose turns an unbelievable story and a human tragedy into a moving work of art.

The title has been so far sold to 4 territories altogether.

We thank our partner Book/Lab Agency for the Polish deal.

Don’t forget to check out Literature from Finland podcast episode VOICE, where Ahava discussed the particularities of the Finnish literary voice.

Congratulations to the author!

The incredibly popular historical romance trilogy, Cotton Mill, written by Ann-Christin Antell, has already sold over 100,000 copies in Finland altogether! The third part of the trilogy, Rival to the Cotton Mill, was published at the end of February and immediately rose to the top of bestselling Finnish fiction.

Antell’s publisher in Finland is Gummerus.

• 

• 

• 

Ann-Christin Antell, who works as a librarian, is happy that readers have found the Cotton Mill books where strong female characters at the end of 19th and the beginning of the 20th century put a lot of work and effort for a more egalitarian Finland.

“The progress of equality is an important theme in this series. I have heard that, thanks to these books, many have rediscovered the joy of reading after years of not having even touched a book. An immigrant in Finland has told me that the Cotton Mill books are easy to read, and so by reading them, they have been learning both the Finnish language and history. All this feedback warms my heart to no ends”, Antell says.

The trilogy has done well internationally, too: foreign rights have been sold to Iceland, Sweden, Denmark and France.

Don’t forget to check out our Literature from Finland podcast episode TIMES, where Antell discussed writing successful historical fiction.

Always lovely to begin a week with some wonderful book news: Juhani Karila’s phenomenal debut novel, Fishing for the Little Pike, has already sold over 30,000 copies in Finland (in all formats) since its publication in 2019. Karila’s publisher in Finland is Siltala.

The book has been incredibly successful both in Finland and abroad, with foreign rights already being sold to 16 territories. The English edition will be published jointly by Restless Books and Pushkin Press this spring / summer.

Additionally, Sebastian Musielak’s Polish translation of the Little Pike, Polowanie na małego szczupaka, published by Marpress, has been nominated for the prestigious T. Boy-Zelenski Award for the best translation!

The award jury states as follows:

“This funny novel takes place somewhere in northern Finland – a cold, wild land, sparsely inhabited by humans, but full of mythological creatures. The translator perfectly reflects the atmosphere of the original, its wit and the language of the characters. He plays with words, invents names, creates his own grammar. He moves freely between the language plane of the real world and the magical world.”

The winner will be announced on the 21st of April, at the translator-focused literature festival called Fictional meetings in Gdańsk – Found in translations.

This is not the first time the Little Pike is receiving nominations abroad: it was honoured by such nominations as Prix Michelin in France and Internationaler Literaturpreis in Germany. In Finland, the book was awarded the Jarkko Laine Literature Prize, the Kalevi Jäntti’s Literary Prize, as well as Tähtifantasia Prize.

Don’t forget to tune in the hilarious Literature from Finland podcast episode MYTH, where Karila discussed myths from and about Finland.

Congratulations to the author!

Fantastic post-Bologna news: an offer from the English World for our Finlandia Junior winner A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large, by Sofia & Amanda Chanfreaus, is now on the table.

We are also excited to share that an auction is now ongoing in the French world.

Since the beginning of the year, foreign rights to this title have already been sold to 8 territories:

China (Mainland China, Simplified Chinese), Everafter;
Czechia, Host;
Denmark, Straarup & Co.; 
Estonia, Ühinenud Ajakirjad; 
Italy, Salani; (sold in a three-way auction);
Korea, Dasan; 
Slovenia; KUD Sodobnost; 
World Spanish, Océano

A Giraffe’s Heart won the most prestigious literary award in Finland, Finlandia Prize, in the category of children’s and YA books. It was also nominated for the Runeberg Junior Prize.

This illustrated novel for the middle grade readers is a tale of longing to be part of a family, to find one’s place in the world, and to be loved as one is; a story of childlessness and dreams that fade or morph into nightmares. Page by page, it swells with inevitable force into a horror story that firmly holds the reader in its agonizing grip. 

Whenever a ten-year-old Vega, who has always lived with her father, tries to ask about her mother, the only answer she gets is mysteries. Once a not-so-nice girlfriend starts dating her father, and Vega gets an unexpected pen pal, she decides to set out on an adventure to find out more about her mother. The book is a superb read for a child alone or for parents and children together.

The book has already sold close to 10,000 copies in Finland altogether.

The title is published in Finland by Schildts & Söderströms.

Congratulation to the authors for such a success!