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The Finlandia Prize winner of 2020, Radio Popov by Anja Portin, continues its spectacular journey around the world.

World Spanish and Catalan rights were acquired by Nórdica Libros, a beautiful publishing house based in Madrid, with an emphasis on literature from the Nordic countries. It is the publisher of Maria Parr, Knut Hamsun, Kjell Askildsen, Vigdis Hjorth and Edith Södergran, among others, and is proud of its strong list of children’s authors and illustrators. We thank for the deal our partners in the Spanish world, Casanovas & Lynch.

Meanwhile, Slovenian rights were acquired by Sodobnost, one of the best-known publishers in the area, with the list of carefully selected, award-winning titles. Sodobnost publishes fiction, poetry, as well as children’s and YA books. It also follows the Finnish market closely, picking the best authors for their list – Aino Havukainen & Sami Toivonen, Kaisa Haponen & Anne Vasko, Sinikka & Tiina Nopola, among others. The deal was made with the help of our partners Livia Stoia Literary Agency.

The new deals mean that Radio Popov has now been sold to 14 territories altogether, a solid number for any author to be proud of. Portin’s success is not surprising though, given that her moving and adventurous book speaks to audiences of all ages. Radio Popov has been largely seen as a future children’s classic, which will be placed on the same shelf as Roald Dahl’s and Astrid Lindgren’s immortal books. Rest assured, more deals will follow soon, so don’t forget to keep up with the news!

Congratulations to the author and all her publishers!

Some exciting, exciting news has reached us from Russia: Eksmo has acquired the rights to publish Eva Frantz’s spooky ghost novel for the middle-grade readers, Raspberry Hill!

Eksmo is one of the largest publishing houses in Russia, whose publications take up almost the third of the entire market. It has become especially successful in science fiction and fantasy, as well as crime. Its authors is a beautiful collection of international prize winners (Pulitzer, Booker Prize and others), the most established Russian writers, as well as renowned authors of children’s literature.

Raspberry Hill (2018) was Frantz’s debut in children’s literature, which immediately gained success in Finland and a loyal fandom of young readers. Frantz gave a moving account on it in our Literature from Finland podcast episode ATMOSPHERES.

The book was awarded the prestigious Runeberg Junior Prize in 2019 and encouraged a thematic sequel Queen of the Night, published in 2021. Raspberry Hill has been sold to 3 foreign territories so far (including World English), and Queen of the Night has been sold to Denmark and optioned in Great Britain for World English rights. The Russian deal was made with the help of our partners Livia Stoia Literary Agency.

Raspberry Hill tells a story about young Stina, who ends up in a castle-like sanatorium called Raspberry Hill. There, she befriends Ruben, who starts taking her on nightly adventures around the forbidden parts of the building. Little by little, Stina realises something is not quite right around there. The new stand-alone Queen of the Night continues in the genre of ghosts, old, spooky buildings and secrets of the past. In it, a boy called Viktor is wandering around the haunted opera house, trying to figure out whose uneasy spirit is seeking revenge for the wrongdoings of the past centuries.

The English translation of Raspberry Hill will be published soon by Pushkin Press.

What a joy to see fantastic children’s literature from Finland traveling to more and more countries! Children’s novel Night Express, written by Karin Erlandsson and illustrated by Peter Bergting has already been sold to 6 territories – most recently to Host Brno in Czech Republic.

The book has recently been nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize – fourth such nomination for Erlandsson altogether. The title also won the prestigious Runeberg Junior Prize in February. In addition to the Czech deal, the book has been sold to Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia.

Night Express is a story brimming with a Christmas spirit about a little girl called Dania, whose increasingly absent-minded Granny mysteriously disappears one evening. The same night Dania hears something and sneaks out to see it with her own eyes: an express train is pulling up at the station. Upon her embarking, a magical adventure begins, as everyone on the train is looking for someone they have loved and lost.

The warm and enchanting story has been praised by the readers, and Peter Bergting’s fantastic illustrations make the adventure even more exciting!

Niina Mero’s romantic entertainment for those who dread romantic entertainment is picking up: another deal was made this month for The Death of Romance, as the book was sold to Rahva Raamat in Estonia. This is the fourth foreign territory for the novel.

Rahva Raamat is one of the most established publishing houses in the country, with a mission to expand readers’ worldview with their rich and diverse list. Notable names vary from such bestselling crime authors as Stieg Larsson, Cara Hunter and Lucy Foley to contemporary literary classics as Margaret Atwood, Delia Owens, Neil Gaiman and others. The house recently also acquired the rights to publish Eva Frantz’s crime novels in Estonia.

Keep following us, as Niina Mero is scheduled to appear on our Literature from Finland podcast in June, discussing – what else? – very Finnish romance.

We are thrilled to announce that legendary Finnish author Leena Krohn has now joined the beautiful bunch of authors represented by Helsinki Literary Agency.

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 humour 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.

After her debut Green Revolution (1970) Krohn has created a number of literary works, including novels, children’s books, short stories and essays. She has been awarded the Finlandia Prize in 1993 for Mathematical Creatures or Shared Dreams, and nominated for it for Hotel Sapiens (2013). Tainaron (1985) was a nominee for the World Fantasy Award and International Horror Guild Award, and The Bee Pavillion (2006) a nominee for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. Among other awards, Krohn has received also the State Award for Literature.

It’s also a pleasure to share two fresh nice deals for Krohn’s work: her novel Dream Death (2004) was sold to Dokoran in Czech Republic, and Swedish house Bakhåll, who is also a publisher of Selja Ahava, has recently acquired the rights for Krohn’s novel Lost (2018). Another of the newer novels, Mistake (2015), can already be found on our website, and other materials will be added soon. Krohn’s publisher in Finland is Teos Publishers, a home for many awarded and highly esteemed authors such as Juha Hurme, Monika Fagerholm, Laura Lindstedt, Hilary Mantel and others.