News

Pirkko Saisio’s Helsinki Trilogy continues its journey into the world: The Red Book of Farewells is travelling to Georgia, where it will be published by Sulakauri.

The Red Book of Farewells, the third volume in the Helsinki Trilogy by Pirkko Saisio, is travelling to Georgia, where it will be published by Sulakauri.

The Red Book of Farewells follows the protagonist as she is approaching adulthood and joins Helsinki Student Theatre, which is forthrightly Communist in attitude. Soon she meets her great love, Havva. These starting points trigger off a series of many farewells to be taken over a long period of time. The Red Book of Farewells describes the discovery of a sexual identity and a vocation as a writer, the political student activism in the 1970s, and intense love affairs. Saisio’s fragmentary and at the same time lyrical style is an integral part of her autofiction, in which tension changes and in which ‘I’ is ‘she’ – both the object of scrutiny and an autonomous actor. The novel was awarded Finland’s biggest literary award, the Finlandia Prize.

The trilogy has quickly established itself as a classic in Finland, and rose to the rank of international phenomenon on the literary scene . After being pre-empted to Dutch, German, French and the UK and Commonwealth, where the trilogy will be published in the Penguin Modern Classics, the Helsinki Trilogy has also been recently sold to the Czech Republik(Host),  Hungary (Polar), and Romania (Pandora M). In the USA and Canada, it is published by Two Lines Press.

Sulakauri is a Georgian publishing house with over two decades of experience that publish over 350 titles a year. Sulakauri is a general publisher, known for producing books for all ages and of almost all kinds: fiction and non-fiction, documentary, biography, graphic novel, comic books, books for children and young adults, educational books. Their list of translated titles consists of books from all over the world, and they are currently developing an imprint with classics and modern classics in translation.

Warmest congratulations to the author and the publisher!

We are beyond excited to see that Finlandia award-winning Destruction by Iida Rauma is doing amazingly in Sweden.

Iida Rauma’s third book turns the spotlight on school mobbing, and the violence faced by children, resulting in a sharp work of exceptional literary quality. Since its release with Ràmus earlier this spring, Destruction has received striking reviews on Swedish media, including a glowing review article on Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

The DN reviewer Katrina Sandberg wrote that ” […] when I read (and take pauses) I think that there will some who say “I don’t want to know” or “let that stay in the therapy room”. Rauma skilfully bites off these reasonings of what literature should or shouldn’t be – every act of violence is noted down, conserved as a testimony and a piece of evidence.“

On the Vi läser (“We Read”) literature magazine literary critic Yukiko Duke stated that “this is a novel that hurts so, so, so much when you read it“, while literary critic Björn Kohlström commented on the Vi recenserar (“We Review”) literature magazine that

“Rauma has written a novel that shows no mercy. Its lack of division into chapter gives no room for catching one’s breath but rather locks the reader in the story, which focuses on the formerly schoolmates A and Ira. […] It is clear that Rauma has urgent things to say on the topic of bullying, and the matter is urgent to say the least. My initial irritation towards the fact that the narration takes place in such a chaotic way also fades. It is a story that looks for its form and its structure after it has been destroyed, and the novel manages to convey its bitter lessons on peer pressure and the culture of silence that can prevail where the surface is idyllic.“

Destruction won the Finlandia prize in 2022, and it has already travelled to Sweden, Denmark and Hungary. In Finland, the book is published by Siltala.

Warmest congratulations to the author and the publishers!

Endless Winter by Miila Westin has been awarded an honourable mention for the Punni literature prize, a yearly award for debuts and breakthroughs in Finnish children’s literature. The title is the first instalment of the Mythicals series, and book two, A Dangerous Dream, will be out soon.

Endless Winter by Miila Westin has received an honourable mention for this year’s Punni literature prize. Miila Westin’s author debut was already nominated for both the Finlandia Comics Award and the Most Beautiful Book of the Year Award.

The Punni Literature Prize is awarded to a Finnish author of children’s or young people’s literature for a first work or a bold breakthrough. The name comes from author Kirsi Kunnas’ character Punni the rabbit, who is different from the others. The story highlights the importance of accepting differences.

The jury have motivated their choice as follows:

“This fully Finnish graphic novel for school children is a rare delight. Miila Westin has created an enchanting setting and a story with the atmosphere of a video game where little Eevi meets natural spirits known from Baltic Finnish myths. In their company the girl tries to find out why the arrival of summer had been delayed. Through the smooth-running and thrilling plot we deal with climate change, mankind’s relationship with nature and the grief of a child who has just lost her grandfather. Could Eevi still bring her grandpa back from the Underworld?

At the end of the book there is a separate information sheet about the Balto-Finnish myths. Endless Winter is her first children’s book. The graphic novel of slightly over a hundred pages, with its memorable characters and large storyline, must have been a major undertaking for Westin. The adventure continues this spring with part two, A Dangerous Dream.”

Endless Winter is the first volume in the Mythicals series by Miila Westin, where Baltic-Finnish myths meet contemporary life and climate change. Endless Winter received plenty of attention at the Bologna fair, and there currently are two foreign offers on the table. In Finland, the book is published by Kustantamo S&S.

Congratulations to the author!

Juno Lights the Moon by Karin Erlandsson and Karoliina Pertamo (ill.) has been sold to Denmark, where it will be published by Straarup. This is the first foreign deal for this title for very small children.

Juno Lights the Moon, Karin Erlandsson’s latest work along with Karoliina Pertamo (ill.) is travelling to Denmark, where it will be published by Straarup & co.

Straarup & co has established itself as the Danish home of Finnish high-quality children’s literature and is the publisher of, among others, Radio Popov, A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large, The Princess Who Did a Runner and Karin Erlandsson’s other works, such as The Night Express and The Blue Yarn.

In Juno Lights the Moon it is time for Juno to go to bed. But first Juno lights the moon and thinks of everyone else who will also be soon asleep. The kings in the castles, the Lego pieces on the floor and the pans in the dishwasher. Karin Erlandsson takes the very youngest readers on a peaceful evening walk through Juno’s world, where Karoliina Pertamo’s tender illustrations allow everything to bathe in warm colors. Juno Lights the Moon is Erlandsson and Pertamo’s first collaboration.

Warm congratulations to the authors and the publisher!

A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large by Sofia Chanfreau and Amanda Chanfreau (ill.) has been sold to Croatia and Latvia, where it will be published by Ibis Grafika and Janis Roze respectively. This marks 16 language territories for the title.

A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large by Sofia Chanfreau and Amanda Chanfreau (ill.) has been sold to Croatia and Latvia.

In Croatia, the book will be published by Ibis Grafika. Ibis grafika is an independent publishing company established in 1994 in Zagreb, Croatia. The goal of Ibis has always been to bring high quality literature to Croatian readers, and they have recently been trying to introduce more and more translated literature, especially from languages which have not yet been translated into Croatian. Ibis Grafika are best known for their picture book program, for which they have received many awards and recognitions (IBBY Honour list, White Raven’s Catalogue, among others). Ibis publishes around 30 titles a year, and in addition to the publishing activity, Ibis is also very active in organising and implementing reading encouragement activities, and work with schools to promote reading.

In Latvia, the book will be published by Janis Roze, the Latvian home of, among others, Anja Portin’s Radio Popov and Iida Turpeinen‘s Beasts of the Sea. Janis Roze is a Latvian publisher named after Professor Emeritus Janis Roze, and it is literary publishing house spanning from children’s literature to crime fiction for adults and poetry.

A Giraffe’s Heart is Unbelievably Large by Sofia & Amanda Chanfreau is a multi-awarded international best-seller for children: it won the Finlandia Prize in 2022, and was nominated for the Runeberg Prize the same year. 

In A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large we follow Vega, who is ten years old and lives with her father on Giraffe Island. Life goes along in its usual way, which in Vega’s case means anything but usual. She sees things no one else does, like imaginary animals that keep her company. The bathroom is home to a gray bear whose fur is lathered with shampoo, and on the way to school she encounters Atle the asphalt beaver and the crosswalk zebra Zacharias. Vega has never met her mother, and when she asks her father and her grandfather Hektor about her mother, they speak in mysteries. When Vega’s father gets a not-so-nice girlfriend and Vega gets an unexpected pen pal, she decides to set out on an adventure to find out more about her mother.

Colored by magical realism, A Giraffe’s Heart Is Unbelievably Large 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. It’s a superb read for a child alone or for parents and children together.

Warmest congratulations to the authors and the publishers!