Rights & Brands
Adult Fiction & Non-Fiction
Publishing Catalogue Autumn 2024
About Rights & Brands
Rights & Brands is a 360° licensing and literary agency bringing Scandinavian rights and brands to a global arena. Starting from a strategic base in literature, art and design, R&B’s platform is built on knowledge, passion and people. Using all aspects of character representation and branding, from publishing and PR to licensing, merchandising and digital development, with a worldwide network of sub-agents and over 800 clients, R&B’s international insight and business capacity is unique.
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Rights & Brands represents iconic Nordic brands, artists and authors and is the worldwide master agent on behalf of Moomin Characters. Other representation includes Sofie Sarenbrant & Carina Bergfeldt, Arne Dahl & Jonas Moström, Jenny Rogneby, Olli Jalonen, Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, Asko Sahlberg, Cristina Sandu, Petra Rautiainen, Arto Paasilinna (Estate), and Tove Jansson (Estate).
With its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden and local branches in Helsinki, Oslo, London and Tokyo, R&B was founded in 2016 by Moomin Characters and Bulls, combining over 70 years of licensing experience.
Rights & Brands Stockholm
Rosenlundsgatan 31 118 63 Stockholm Sweden
Rights & Brands Helsinki
Salmisaarenranta 7 L 00180 Helsinki Finland
Upmarket Fiction One Half by Inga Magga p. 12
Commercial Fiction
Tone-Deaf Musical Society by Kristin Emilsson p. 10
Literary Fiction The Danish Expedition by Christina Sandu p. 14
Undiscovered Classic Fiction The Clan by Tauno Kaukonen p. 27
Narrative Non-Fiction Cloudberry Confessional: Essays on Life, Land, and Legends by Niina Kivilä & Kati Saonegin p. 32
ARNE DAHL (b. 1963) is a writer, editor, and critic who has written nearly thirty books in a number of different series, in primarily the crime fiction genre. He has been awarded several prestigious awards such as the Deutscher Krimi Preis and the Ripper Award for his collected work. His books have been translated into 32 languages.
JONAS MOSTRÖM (b. 1973) is a writer and general practitioner. He is the author of the critically acclaimed and best-selling series that follows psychiatrist and criminal profiler Nathalie Svensson and inspector Johan Axberg. The books have been translated into 11 languages. In 2017, Jonas won the Big Audio Book Prize for the novel Midnight Girls.
The Creator (Skaparen)
First published in Swedish by Bookmark / 2024 / 432 pp.
The first part in the thrilling and gripping series True Fiction from the new duo Arne Dahl and Jonas Moström. A breathtaking metafictional thriller where a celebrated crime writer is suddenly suspected of the murder he is writing about.
Renowned crime novelist Tom Borg is grappling with a severe case of writer’s block, desperate to reignite his creative spark. In a bid for inspiration, he ventures into an underground club in central Stockholm, where he witnesses a murder eerily reminiscent of the plot he’s been struggling to pen.
Tom soon finds himself embroiled in a deadly game where the difference between fiction and reality is distorted. Where is the line between the two drawn? And is that something he really wants to find out?
Tom’s antagonist is the MMA-fighting Inspector Olivia Woolf. She carries her own twin inside her, has one blue eye and one green eye, and takes out her aggression on men who hurt women.
It is not long until Tom realizes that not only are the police after him, there is someone else closing in as well. A radical group with its own agenda seems to be behind the events that drove Tom on the run. Who really controls the narrative of the book Tom is working on, and who is to blame when real people get hurt?
“The Creator is a wild game of illusion at high speed.”
DAGENS NYHETER
“Arne Dahl is possibly the most thoughtful and playful contemporary Nordic crime writer. He also happens to be one of the most thrilling.”
IAN RANKIN
The Creator is the first part of the new series True Fiction, written by two award-winning crime writers at the top of their game. It is a thriller in the spirit of the Coen brothers: an irresistible page-turner with nail-biting tension, dark humor, and unforgettable characters.
FIVE LANGUAGES SOLD
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
Full ENG translation
Synopsis
RIGHTS
Danish (Lindhardt & Ringhof)
Finnish (Into)
German (Bastei Luebbe)
Greek (Metaixmio)
Portuguese (Dom Quixote)
“Jonas Moström is an expert at constructing intrigue … And as you put together the pieces everyone is a potential suspect, meaning it is almost impossible to work out who the murderer is. He does it impeccably”
DAST MAGAZINE
© Kajsa Göransson
MOSTRÖM (b. 1973) is a Swedish author who also works as a general practitioner in Stockholm. The hospital environment plays a large role in his crime novels about Nathalie Svensson, Sweden’s foremost expert on psychopaths and a member of the National Criminal Service’s criminal profile group, where Inspector Johan Axberg also reoccurs.
PUBLISHERS
Bulgaria (Enthusiast)
Czech (Albatros)
Danish (Gyldendal; People’s)
Dutch (AmboAnthos)
Estonian (Mustamäe)
Finnish (Gummerus)
German (Ullstein)
Hungarian (Alexandra)
Norwegian (Bonnier Norsk Forlag)
Polish (Czarna Owca; BookBeat)
The Queen
(Drottningen)
First published in Swedish by Norstedts / 2024 / 400 pp.
The Queen is the eleventh stand-alone book in Jonas Moström’s popular and award-winning crime series about psychiatrist Nathalie Svensson and criminal inspector Johan Axberg. The series has sold over a million copies and has been published in more than ten countries.
Immediately after the inauguration of a controversial factory in Sundsvall, Sweden’s Minister for Climate disappears without a trace. The following morning, he is found buried in a dung heap on a pig farm in a small village in another part of Sweden. Strangely, his face has been eaten by a type of ant normally found in Africa and Asia. The police’s suspicions are immediately directed at a group of climate activists, and soon Nathalie Svensson, Johan Axberg and the other members of the Swedish national profiling group are called in, even though Johan is supposed to be on paternity leave.
At Stockholm Royal Palace, Her Majesty the Queen is informed of the murder. The macabre news forces her to confront something from the past she would rather forget, and to venture into a reality where only the strongest survive.
When another victim is found and the investigation intensifies, Nathalie and Johan find it difficult to keep the passion alive. In pursuit of what appears to be the country’s most ruthless serial killer ever, they are forced into a seemingly overpowering chaos, full of individuals with unimaginable agendas.
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF Synopsis
“The story is exciting and imaginative with current societal issues woven in.”
BIBLIOTEKSTJÄNST
The Predator (Rovdjur)
Norstedts / 2023 / 423 pp.
The shocking abduction of a child from Nathalie Svensson’s local playground in Uppsala, moments before she and her own baby son, Noah arrive on the scene, unexpectedly pulls Nathalie alongside Johan Axberg into the hunt for a kidnapper.
Dead End
(Blindspår)
Norstedts / 2022 / 462 pp.
Actress Helena Melvinder is found brutally stabbed to death in her home, the only clue left is the wooden figurine that Helena’s son Elias, who has Down syndrome, carves. It’s believed to represent the murderer. As Elias finishes his work, the noose around the killer tightens.
JONAS
© Kajsa Göransson
SOFIE SARENBRANT (b. 1978) is one of Sweden’s most beloved and successful authors. Her books have been translated into 16 languages and sold over 6 million copies to date. She was awarded the prestigious Swedish Crime Writer of the Year award in 2019, 2020 and 2022, and has won the Nextory E-book Award three times.
CARINA BERGFELDT (b. 1980) is an award-winning author, journalist, and one of the most popular TV hosts in Sweden. Today she is most known for her celebrated talk show, Carina Bergfeldts. She has also published both fiction and non-fiction books, with translation rights sold to 15 countries.
Good Friday
(Långfredagen)
First published in Swedish by Bookmark / 2024 / 400 pp.
A live broadcast turns into a menacing hostage drama. The successful duo Sofie Sarenbrant and Carina Bergfeldt are back with Good Friday, which takes place in a locked TV studio for six hours.
It’s Good Friday and the season premiere of the popular talk show Frida-y. Spotlights fill the stage, the audience sits quietly in anticipation for what the evening has to offer. Backstage, a controversial guest is waiting, invited personally by the host Frida von Engen. She wants to make sure to get high ratings for her comeback on screen and to once and for all consolidate her role as the most intriguing host with the most exciting show.
But in the middle of the live broadcast, a masked person emerges from the shadows. A bomber vest is hidden under the hoodie. There is no doubt that the threat is real: ”The doors are locked, no one gets out of here. If you interrupt the broadcast, everyone dies.”
Good Friday is the standalone sequel to The Birthday, which was released in September 2023 and topped the sales charts. With a focus on fast-paced suspense and complex relationships, Sofie Sarenbrant and Carina Bergfeldt have created another world-class thriller.
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
Full ENG translation
Synopsis
RIGHTS
Danish (People’s)
“A fast-paced thriller.”
DAGENS NYHETER
Finnish (WSOY)
“I read 400 pages straight in the space of 8 hours. I haven’t read Carina Bergfeldt before, but Sofie Sarenbrant is here sharper than ever … the new duo has written a real page-turner.”
BORÅS TIDNING
The Birthday (Födelsedagen)
First published in Swedish by Bokförlaget Forum / 2023 / 405 pp.
The Birthday is the first part in a highly succesful suspense series Frida von Engen.
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
Full ENG translation
Synopsis
RIGHTS
Danish (People’s)
Estonian (Pegasus)
Finnish (WSOY)
Film & TV (Nordisk Film, option)
“The Birthday by Sofie Sarenbrant and Carina Bergfeldt is a page-turner that keeps the reader on the torture bench until the dramatic finale. It’s a great start to a new series.”
CHRISTEL BRINKLØV, PEOPLE’S PRESS
It’s a beautiful morning when Samuel’s mother, his father and his new stepmother gather to celebrate his seventh birthday. Together they arrange the cake, light the candles and head to Samuel’s room singing. But as the door opens, silence falls. Samuel’s bed is empty, the window wide open.
Police are quickly called and a heavily publicized search operation begins. But as the hours go by, questions and suspicions arise – the atmosphere between
OVER 200,000 COPIES SOLD
ex-wife, father and stepmother thickens. When the corpse of a family member is discovered, the situation escalates. All three would have an interest to get Samuel out of the way, but their stories just don’t add up. What really happened the night before?
“A well-written thriller. 8/10”
PALLE THOMSEN, DRUSTRUP CRIME BLOG, DENMARK
A missing child. A broken family. A 24-hour chase for the truth.
“The Birthday had me caught from the very first sentence. It’s an accomplished fast-paced story, a true page turner! The intriguing plot with the broken family is both cunning and contemporary. And I love the way the story is told from different perspectives, and in a 24-hour whodunnit-style with the clock continuously ticking.”
JENNIE
SJÖGREN, FORUM
“Nowadays, there are many different author constellations. Some are more successful than others, Sofie Sarenbrant and Carina Bergfeldt are one of those. In their joint book The Birthday we not only get a taste of superb authorship, but also of when a collaboration is at its best. This is nothing short of world class!”
DU I FOKUS MAGAZINE
“The Birthday is a book you literally can’t stop reading once you start. In a scary way it feels as if you could be reading about people you know, friends and relatives, and their struggles in their new (and old) relationships. It’s intense and fast-paced and a brilliant start to a new series!”
LEENA BALME, WSOY
SOFIE SARENBRANT (b. 1978) made her literary debut in 2010 and has since then become one of the biggest crime authors in the Nordics. She is best known for her modern and creative series following police detective Emma Sköld and her team in Stockholm. The series has sold over 6 million copies worldwide and been translated into 16 languages to date.
Sofie has won Nextory E-Book Awards and Crime Writer of the Year in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
The Parasite (Parasiten)
First published in Swedish by Bookmark / 2024 / 400 pp.
With a focus on pressing topics and engaging social issues, Sarenbrant confirms her position as one of the biggest crime writers in the Nordics.
“As usual, Sofie Sarenbrant writes effortlessly and thrillingly.”
DAGENS NYHETER
It is a hot summer day when the burnt remains of a body are found by Drottningholm Palace, the private residence of the royal family, just outside of Stockholm. Next to the victim, the police find a death list with five names. The last one reads Emma Sköld.
An investigation is immediately started. At the same time, a twenty-year-old case unrolls where a mother went to the emergency room with her infant but ended up in detention. What does the past have to do with the victim found by Drottningholm? Now it is up to Emma and her colleagues to stop the killer before more names are crossed of the list. Including the final one, Emma herself.
The Parasite is the eleventh book in the bestselling series following detective Emma Sköld and her team in Stockholm. In her characteristic way, Sarenbrant portrays topical issues while at the same time creating suspense that keeps readers on their toes all the way to the end. The Parasite is about a life shattered overnight, revenge, hurtful sibling relationships and a family involved in a tragedy with catastrophic consequences.
The Parasite was awarded Crime Novel of the Year 2023 and became the most sold crime novel - in print and audiobook - in Sweden 2023.
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
Synopsis
The Soulmate (Själsfränden)
Bookmark / 2022 / 442 pp.
Stockholm is exploding in the warm colours of autumn. It’s a striking view, but Emma Sköld’s attention is caught by something else: a woman balancing on the wrong side of a bridge railing, with a baby in her arms. What has led the woman to this point?
6 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE
RIGHTS
Finnish (WSOY)
Danish (People’s)
Norwegian (Cappelen Damm)*
Estonian (Pegasus)*
Icelandic (MTH)*
Film & TV (Breakable Films, option)
The Guardian Angel (Skyddsängeln)
Bookmark / 2021 / 400 pp.
An elderly man is found murdered in an abandoned mental institution. When Emma Sköld realises it is connected to the disappearance of her colleague seven months earlier, she becomes obsessed with the case.
© Magnus Ragnvid
CRIME / JENNY ROGNEBY
ROGNEBY (b. 1974) is an author and criminologist. For seven years she worked professionally as a Criminal Investigator at Stockholm City Police Department. The work inspired her to start writing The Leona Series, a Swedish best-selling crime series that has been translated to 14 languages. In 2022, Jenny Rogneby published the first book in her new crime series which follows the mediator Angela Lans, and the next book will be published 2023.
“Rogneby takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster where difficult moral moral issues are brought to a head, and where truth and justice are never black or white. Overall rating: 4.”
BIBLIOTEKSTJÄNST
The Victim (Offret)
First published in Swedish by Ordfront / 2024 / 372 pp.
The Victim is the third standalone part in the series about mediator Angela Lans. As always in Rogneby’s writing, we not only follow a thrilling case, but are also faced with unexpected ethical questions and encounter worlds we have never seen before.
Hanna Lans wakes up in the middle of the night by two masked intruders breaking into the villa where her husband and two children are sleeping – a nightmare that quickly becomes a death trap when the house catches fire. The perpetrators are sentenced to life imprisonment for arson. Seven years later, Hanna needs to find the strength to face the men who ruined her life again in mediation.
Mediator Angela Lans, Hanna’s sister, handles the charged conversations between victim and perpetrator. But new, shocking facts emerge about the case and overthrow everything Angela had planned and hoped for.
Meanwhile, Angela returns to her own past and the devastating internal investigation that caused her to quit the police force.
The Victim is a gripping crime drama that asks the question how far we are prepared to go for someone we love.
“Jenny Rogneby also skilfully avoids ending up with clichés and manages to make the language genuine and striking.”
BIBLIOTEKSTJÄNST
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
RIGHTS
All rights available
The Witness (Vittnet)
Ordfront / 2023 / 485 pp.
As a child, Ina became the only witness to the murder of her mother, committed by her father. Now, the teenaged Ina wants to confront him. Mediator Angela Lans is brought on to steer the charged conversations between father and daughter. But it seems someone is trying to sabotage the mediation.
The Mediator (Blindspår)
Ordfront / 2022 / 486 pp.
Full ENG translation
A young woman is brutally assaulted in her home; her attacker is soon identified and convicted. As his release approaches, mediator Angela Lans is brought in to mediate between victim and perpetrator. But when the meetings take an unexpected turn, Angela decides to investigate what really happened that night.
JENNY
© Mikael Eriksson
KRISTIN EMILSSON (b. 1973) is one of Sweden’s most popular feelgood writers. Her books have sold over 300,000 copies and have been translated into Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and German to date. She debuted in 2014 with Äta kakan och ha den kvar and has since published seven more novels in the same genre. A third book in the ‘Julia’ series will be published in 2025.
The Tone-Deaf Musical Society Presents
(Tondövas riksförbund presenterar)
First published in Swedish by Printz Publishing / 2024 / 356 pp.
The Tone-Deaf Musical Society Presents is a standalone, feelgood novel about forgotten dreams, new friendships and the unique magic of creating something together.
PUBLISHERS OF THE ’JULIA GRAHN’ SERIES
(*loose option)
Danish (Cicero)
Finnish (Karisto)
German (Fischer)
Norwegian (Cappelen Damm)*
When Magda Englund’s son leaves home she feels lonely again for the first time in a very long time. The nest is empty, her job as a secondary school teacher ticks along, and all her friends seem to be busy with their own lives.
To ward off the loneliness, Magda decides to realise one of her long-forgotten dreams: to stage a musical. Together with Joakim, the school’s secretive music teacher, Magda forms The Tone-Deaf Musical Society, a motley crew of troubled souls who, at first glance, seem to have little in common with each other. But during rehearsals they find common ground and unlikely friendships begin to form.
As their opening night approaches, a new member joins the group and everything is suddenly turned upside-down, opening up old wounds. Can Magda face up to her past or will she be forced to let down her new friends?
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
Sample translation 50 pp. Synopsis
“A carefully composed story that contains both humour and seriousness, and a large dose of warmth. The characters feel real, and nothing is as obvious or predictable as one might think. A really lovely feelgood!”
HYLLAN BLOG, SWEDEN
“Emilsson directs her characters with an assured hand. Reading the book will make you laugh, think, and maybe shed a tear, but I promise you will close the book with that good, warm feeling that only a great feelgood novel can give.”
FANTASTIKA BLOG, SWEDEN
© Anna Rut Fridholm
ANNA-LEENA HÄRKÖNEN (b. 1965) is a Finnish author, scriptwriter and actress. Härkönen published her debut, The Poleax (Häräntappoase), at the age of 18 and achieved enormous critical and popular success with this bold and true-to-life novel. Ever since, The Poleax has been an essential part of the literary education of the young Finnish readers today.
In her works, Härkönen uses a language bursting with life, and she has an uncompromising sense of the comical. She is not afraid to touch tabus and difficult subjects in her writing.
Härkönen’s novels have been translated into more than 10 languages and several of them have been made into films and stage productions.
Not Tomorrow, Either
(Huomenna hän ei tule)
Otava / 2023 / 207 pp.
With her signature wit and accomplished dialogue, Finland’s acclaimed novelist returns with a closely-observed novel that asks whether money really can buy love?
PUBLISHERS OF RECORD
Czech (Ivo Zelezny)
Dutch (Arena)
English (New Terrain Press)
Estonian (Sinisukk)
German (Droemer; Piper; KlettCotta)
Greek (Patakis)
Hungarian (Napkút)
Romanian (Editura FCR)
Russian (Fluid)
Swedish (Norstedts)
Ukrainian (Folio)
One year after her husband has passed away, Elsa finds herself alone at New Year’s Eve. None of the invitees has shown up to her party, friends from her previous life have lost interest in the widow. With plenty of irony, humor and all her might, Elsa tries to keep her self-esteem from collapsing.
After midnight and two bottles of champagne, she staggers out to make her way to the karaoke bar. In the yard a young man claims that she has forgotten her shoes and escorts her back inside. Valtteri is served delicacies, stores away the leftovers and helps Elsa into her bed. Before leaving, he drops his business card on her nightstand.
Sixty-year-old Elsa, who had already abandoned her identity as a desirable woman with a vivid sexuality when her husband started seeing other women, suddenly awakes to a teenage-like crush on the considerably younger Valtteri. A special relationship unfolds. But money can’t buy love… or can it?
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation 30 pp. Synopsis
RIGHTS
“The sexuality of an aging woman and the feelings related to it are described in an unashamed way that evokes a wide range of emotions.”
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
All rights available
“There are many humorous dialogues about current topics such as the ineligibility of the youth and the fact that nothing can be said anymore these days.”
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
© Jouni
Harala
with
is a Finnish
heritage, and a
Thai boxer. She holds a MA in Comparative Literature and debuted in 2020 with her novel Shadow Boxer (Like, 2020), about sexual abuse in the sporting world, which won Finland’s ‘Sports Book of the Year’ and received a nomination for the Torchbearer Prize. One Half was published in March 2024 to positive reviews.
One Half
(Puolikas)
First published in Finnish by LIKE / 2024 / 283 pp.
“For me, Sámi was not just another language, it didn’t feel foreign in the same way as other languages, but it was foreign, wild as a river.”
Ibbá returns to her family’s ancestral home in Kuttura, where she begins to ask questions of her ageing parents, and why she never learned to speak Sámi. She begins unravelling the past, going back to the postwar years when Sámi children from remote villages were separated from their families by being forced into boarding schools for most of the year. As Ibbá uncovers her family’s secrets, she has to ask herself what Sámi means to her.
One Half is a moving novel about the postwar generations of Sámi children, today’s urban Sámi identity, and reconnecting to one’s own roots.
“One Half addresses the question of identity in a versatile and compelling way. For the majority population, the novel opens up on Sámi history and the overtly colonial role of Finnish boarding schools, and the multitudes of lived experiences within the borders of a single country.”
SUOMEN KUVALEHTI
“A beautiful novel about Ibbá’s personal journey into her family history and, at the same time, her own identity.”
KULTTUURITOIMITUS
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation 50 pp. Synopsis
RIGHTS
All rights available
”Works of literary merit and nuance, such as One Half, are necessary - and a joy to read.”
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
INGA MAGGA (b. 1983)
writer
Sámi
semi-professional
© Toni Härkönen
(b. 1979) is a
and writer raised in Stockholm by a Finnish mother and a Swedish father. She was previously Swedish Radio’s correspondent in Helsinki. Her radio documentaries about the Troubles, the civil war in Sierra Leone and labour conditions in Chinese quarries and jewellery factories have all received praise. She is also a musician and runs an independent record label together with her husband. Peace is her first novel.
Peace
(Fred)
First published in Swedish by Norstedts / 2023 / 414 pp.
“The summers are always treacherous up here. Because one forgets the night. Forgets that it exists. In the same way, peace can sometimes be treacherous. One forgets the conflicts and the antagonism. Forgets that they exist.”
With an angry mob raging outside, Elina Kansa spends a few, intense days locked in a convenience store in Kemi together with her stepfather and a stranger, whom she involves in the vivid retelling of her family’s turbulent past. This is the story of three generations and two nations on both sides of the Baltic, the inland sea with the brackish water. Here we meet grandfather Tapani, whose fate was sealed by a roach trapped in a shoe and an encounter with the bearer of a pair of small red boots. We are also introduced to mother Marjatta, who in her search for happiness moved across the sea not once but twice, and finally granddaughter, Elina who becomes our companion through this flamboyant family epic that takes us from the last days of WW2 to the refugee crisis of 2015.
Peace is a tender portrayal of an unforgettable family and the post-war people of Sweden and Finland, two countries close as siblings. It is also a Bildungsroman set against the backdrop of both major and minor world events, exploring the human effects of wartime and peacetime.
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
“This gently humorous intergenerational novel is about building peace and living in peacetime in a multi-generational way. It also reminds us that peace must be actively built in order to be maintained.”
SIVUMERKKEJÄ BLOG, FINLAND
“Oh, what a delightful epic novel to disappear into. Thella Johnson is such a zestful and engaging storyteller, making you wish the book would never end.”
VI LÄSER
“A veritable cornucopia.”
MAAILMANKIRJAT, FINLAND
Finnish edition & PDF
Synopsis
RIGHTS
Finnish (Johnny Kniga)
“Peace is a breathtaking story where comedy and seriousness intertwine, but there is a dark undertone in the book that deepens as it goes on. I am most impressed by Thella Johnson’s language. It swings naturally between poetry and fiction in a way that sometimes brings Monika Fagerholm to mind, but Johnson has a voice all of her own, just like that stubborn neighbouring country that is the main character of this novel.”
SWEDISH RADIO CULTURE NEWS
THELLA JOHNSON
journalist
© Kajsa Göransson
CRISTINA SANDU (b. 1989) is a writer and translator, born in Helsinki to a Finnish-Romanian family. Sandu speaks seven languages and currently lives in the UK. Her first novel, The Whale Called Goliat (2017), was nominated for the Finlandia Prize. The Union of Synchronised Swimmers (2019) received the Toisinkoinen Literary Prize. Sandu’s novels have been translated into 8 languages to date.
The Danish Expedition
(Tanskalainen retkikunta)
Otava / 2024 / 367 pp.
The much-awaited third novel by Finlandia Prize-nominee and author of The Union of Synchonrised Swimmers, Cristina Sandu.
Nicaragua, 1923: A group of Danish emigrants embark on foot with their mules in the pouring rain on a trip across the mountains and the jungle to their promised land, Río Blanco, where they hope to grow coffee and make a better life for themselves.
The Union of Synchronised Swimmers
(Vesileikit)
Otava / 2019 / 128 pp.
READING MATERIAL
(THE DANISH EXPEDITION)
Finnish edition & PDF
English translation (unedited)
Synopsis
RIGHTS
(THE UNION OF SYNCHRONISED SWIMMERS)
English, World excl. CA (Scribe)
English, Canada (Book*hug)
Spanish, World (Twin Books)
Dutch (Orlando)
RIGHTS
(THE WHALE CALLED GOLIATH)
French (Robert Laffont)
Romanian (Cartea Romaneasca Ed.)
Catalan (Nits Blanques)
Spanish, World (Twin Brooks)
But the soil proves impossible to cultivate, and with the sudden death of the Nicaraguan president, the community’s support from the state comes to an end. The colony’s founders walk off with the collective funds to build their own business, leaving a strained atmosphere behind. Mere months later, treachery, revenge, hunger, disease, and death have destroyed the community’s dream and, for some, the colony experiment ends up in tragedy.
The Danish community’s paths continue crossing throughout a civil war and World War II, spanning across decades and generations. Carefully drawn portraits of the families and their journeys tell a story of belonging, cultural ties, broken dreams, and the continued hope of finding a place to settle, told with Sandu’s distinctive powerful language wielded with a light touch.
Six girls grow up on a piece of land between two rivers, belonging to no state. Swimming is their passion, but also a way to reach out to the world. As a team of synchronised swimmers, they perform skilful tricks in and underwater. Far away in Helsinki, Anita falls in love with Spiderman. In California, onboard a fishing boat, Paulina acquires the ingredients for her homeland’s traditional soup. On a Caribbean island, Betty gambles away all her money.
The stories of young rootless women, suffering from undefined feelings of longing, come together in a dazzling multifaceted novella, reaching across the world.
The Union of Synchronised Swimmers was awarded the Toisinkoinen Literature Prize for second novels.
“The writing is as graceful as the movements in the river they so elegantly swim in […] A small punchy, almost pocket-sized literary work of art, it’s somewhat offbeat from your regular novel. Read conscientiously to grasp unspoken atmospheres and clues between the lines.”
IRISH EXAMINER
© Gloria Ruiz
RAUTIAINEN (b. 1988) comes from a small town in Eastern Finland. She has a Master’s degree in History and Cultural Studies and is currently working on her doctoral thesis on representations of the Sámi people in the Finnish media. She has also worked as a journalist and studied creative writing. Rautiainen’s debut was awarded the Savonia Prize in 2020 and shortlisted for the Petrona award in the UK in 2023.
Memory of Ocean
(Meren muisti)
Otava / 2022 / 300 pp.
Land of Snow and Ashes
(Tuhkaan piirretty maa)
Otava / 2020 / 229 pp.
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
English translation
Synopsis
RIGHTS
Czech (Paseka)
Danish (Modtryk)
Dutch (Meridiaan)
English, World (Pushkin)
French (Seuil)
German (Insel)
Hungarian (Európa)
Italian (Marsilio)
Norwegian (Gyldendal Norsk)
Spanish, World (Errata Naturae)
Swedish (Norstedts)
Norwegian Lapland in the 1980s: Aapa, a woman of Kven origin, returns to northern Norway to explore the Arctic oil reserves after a decade of absence.
In the meantime, Norway has been enriched with oil, and nothing is as it used to be. Aapa faces the trauma of the past in her hometown, and little by little it becomes apparent that things are not exactly the way Aapa lets the reader understand.
An unknow narrator aboard an icebreaker examines the changes caused by global warming in the Artic Ocean for a documentary and reveals that the biggest players of the oil industry were already in 1959 aware of their dangerous impact on nature and climate change. Instead of acting, the industry opted for a strong counter narrative.
In the middle of the Arctic wilderness in North-Eastern Lapland, in 1944: A young Finnish soldier, Väinö, works as a translator at a German-led prison camp where extreme cruelty is part of daily life. The crimes committed are buried deep in human mind, but later omitted with complete silence in the official history.
The town of Enontekiö in Western Lapland, from 1947 to 1950: Journalist and photographer Inkeri settles in the town, to write a series of reports on Lapland’s reconstruction. She also has an agenda of her own: to find out what happened to her husband who disappeared during the war.
The more Inkeri gets to know her young tenant Olavi, the more convinced she becomes that he is hiding something concerning her husband’s destiny.
“Petra Rautiainen’s Memory of Ocean is an important novel: it is starling and effective, it makes the reader ponder on the actions of humans, our history, and our entire relationship to our creation (…)”
SAVON SANOMAT
Inkeri is also acquainted with a young Sámi girl who lives at the local boarding school where the objective is to assimilate the Sámi children to the dominant culture.
Underneath the skies of polar night and midnight sun, dark secrets begin to unfold.
PETRA
© Jonne Räsänen / Otava
JUKKA VIIKILÄ (b. 1973) is a writer and playwright from Helsinki. He has graduated from the Theater Academy and written numerous works of fiction, poetry, short prose and novels.Viikilä is one of the three authors who has been awarded Finlandia twice in history, for both his novels, Watercolors from a Seaside City (2016) and Heavenly Reception (2021).
Sandcastles
(Hiekkalinnat)
First published in Finnish by Otava / 2024 / 171 pp.
The two-time Finlandia prizewinner’s profoundly beautiful, tragicomic account of love, sex, loyalty, and joy.
A woman in her thirties leaves Helsinki to move into her late father’s house in the beach town of Pärnu, Estonia. During her third summer there, she meets a considerably older Finnish architect, who could be her father. Two longing souls seem to have found each other.
They walk on the beach, smoke in the garden, enjoy drinks and have sex. The summer becomes an eternal moment, night and day are no longer defined, endless conversations on love, fear, the past and the future are held and two become one.
While she writes a novel - an exhaustive account of the wonders and horrors of love - he builds a vacation house for his family in Pärnu. One day he leaves for a short trip home to Helsinki.
“A fine and refined novel about a romantic relationship.”
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
“The magic of Sandcastles lies in the untold things.”
SUOMEN KUVALEHTI
“Viikilä’s latest novel fulfills great expectations - Sandcastles deals with the theme of love with a unique depth.”
SATAKUNNAN KANSA
Sixty years later, the woman lives by herself in a labyrinthine apartment in Helsinki, her hometown, which does no longer feel like home, instead has almost become unrecognizable to her. Just like her own life, where many (things) have disappeared. What remains is the light of a match-sized relationships that glows brightly through the years.
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation 35 pp. Synopsis
RIGHTS
Option: French (Gallimard) All rights available
”Juhani said this is a parallel world where he can live as a better man. The sad paradox of long relationships, he continued, is that familiarity does not bring one closer to another but that the uncertainty increases. In long love relationships, surrendering to the passion of kissing is rare, while with a stranger everything can be infinitely easy.”
Big Wet Secret
(Suuri Märkä Salaisuus)
three months in an artist’s residency program in London and performed in New York.
Hallikainen’s novels have been nominated for numerous literary prizes and he was made ‘Helsinki’s Writer of the Year 2023’. Big Wet Secret was awarded both Kalevi Jäntti Prize and Toisinkoinen Literary Award in 2023.
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Synopsis
ENG sample translations: Big Wet Secret 60 pp. / Canyon 50 pp.
RIGHTS
All rights available
”Hallikainen’s debut was a linguistic delight, but this novelty takes richness even further. In the work colored by class sorrow, there is a certain joy: it is uncompromising in language, structurally sound yet free. The narrator is electric, a realm of imagination in a world of twigs, or as he puts it: ‘Imagination is all I have’. ”
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
First published in Finnish by Otava / 2023 / 392 pp.
This coming-of-age story is a masterful depiction of class differences, adolescent intensities and insecurities, awakening homosexuality and devastating alcoholism.
The boy spends his nights watching age-inappropriate Hollywood movies from the 90’s, numbing his loneliness with candy. He is embarrassed by his situation and doesn’t want to share it with anyone. Instead, he prays.
The boy’s father passes away, he becomes a teenager and falls in love with one of his classmates, The Athlete, who, unlike him, comes from a wealthy family. The school is situated in eastern Helsinki and surrounded by suburbs with great inequality in income, only referred to with postal codes. The schoolkids, all anonymous and only known by epithets, come from very different backgrounds. Despite of his feeling of otherness among his well-off classmates, the boy makes friends and, with them, gets acquainted with alcohol and sex. He quickly develops an ever-growing interest in tobacco, booze, and men.
Hyper-realistic in its detail, the novel is an intense, violent, corporeal, and sensual story of growing up poor in the 1990’s eastern Helsinki. The anonymous narrators’ voice, merging the boy protagonist and the adult he later became, is stunningly achieved: natural, effortless, and believable.
Canyon
(Kanjoni)
First published in Finnish by Otava / 2020 / 185 pp.
A fiery, frenetic debut novel that turns into a literary hall of mirrors constantly surprising its reader.
A young man is desperately in love with his school bully. When an unstable relationship ends, the narrator escapes into an obsessive vortex of webcam sex. Through a miraculous coincidence, the videos open a heady gateway to a new life in the heat of Los Angeles. The narrator’s deep yearning for love takes the reader on an unpredictable journey filled with shadows and poetic expressiveness.
Simultaneously uninhibitedly physical, unabashedly funny and profoundly tragic, Canyon is a novel that creates an uncommonly passionate and irresistible relationship with the reader.
“Canyon may be seen as an exaggeration of zeitgeist: we lay all day at the computer, in search for others, obsessively pampering ourselves. Canyon convinces and impresses.”
SUOMEN KUVALEHTI
“Hallikainen builds a dizzying, downward spiral in which tragedy and comedy intertwine.”
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
NIKO HALLIKAINEN (b. 1989) is a writer and performance poet from Helsinki. He teaches creative writing at Helsinki’s Theater Academy. He has spent
© Jonne
Räsänen
STEFAN LINDBERG (b. 1971) made his literary debut in 1999 with the highly acclaimed short story collection A Thousand Needles. Since then, he has written several novels and has been nominated for the August Prize. Lindberg also works as a playwright and translator.
“It is a Lars Jakobsson and Paul Auster cosmos Stefan Lindberg moves in to, but in an entirely own and blessed vehicle.”
DAGENS NYHETER (SPLENDOR)
READING MATERIAL (SPLENDOR)
Swedish edition & PDF
Sample translation 40 pp.
‘SPLENDOR’ NOMINATED FOR THE AUGUST PRIZE 2020.
The Whispers
(Viskarna)
First published in Swedish by Albert Bonniers Förlag / 2024 / 348 pp.
In eight stories, the breathtaking novel ties together now and then, dream and reality, and paints a fresco of life in modern Sweden.
”And I can say without exaggeration that I didn’t need more problems during the period in question. I had just finished writing Splendor and, awaiting publication, was trying to gain control of my life […] The ways in which the story continued to seek me out feel too esoteric to cover here, but perhaps suffice it to say that things that I wrote in the script, and which were only the fruits of my overheated imagination, began to take shape in real life.”
After The nights at Mon Chéri and the August-nominated Splendor, author Stefan Lindberg now concludes his trilogy with the novel The Whispers. In inimitable prose, we get to know enchanted castle parks, sexual entanglements in young literary nineties Stockholm, and a childhood obscured by a father suspected of espionage.
“Devilishly skillful, Stefan Lindberg carves a labyrinth with half-angled blinds. […]”
AFTONBLADET
Splendor (Splendor)
Albert Bonniers Förlag / 2020 / 270 pp.
One summer evening, author Stefan Lindberg meets Mathias “Splendor” Johansson in a bar in Stockholm. Splendor is a part of a mysterious cult where the members have been taking mindexpanding drugs that melts souls, time, and memories together. Soon, it becomes clear that Splendor has knowledge about a repressed event from Stefan’s past. When Splendor disappears, a wild chase begins.
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
Sample translation 30 pp.
The Nights at Mon Chérie (Nätterna på Mon Chérie)
Albert Bonniers Förlag / 2016 / 238 pp.
Kenneth Swärd was the mysterious man who became the first suspect in the murder of Sweden’s Prime Minister Olof Palme. After being released, he settles in the US but is found murdered a few years later. In the dark, forces continue to link him to the murder and the night that changed his life forever. A novel about right-wing cults, cynical detectives, and a man who wanted to be in center but saw his dreams become all too true.
ELIN WILLOWS (b. 1982) is a journalist and author. She grew up in Sweden and now lives in Finland. Her first novel Inlands was nominated for Borås Tidning’s Debutant Prize and Swedish Authors’ Association’s Katapult Prize. The film adaptation of Inlands premiered in 2020. Elin Willow’s laconic storytelling captures the indecisiveness of our time.
Ladders (Stegar)
First published in Swedish by Natur & Kultur / 2024 / 180 pp.
We have rituals to help deal with grief. An obituary, a wreath, a grave. But what happens when you don’t share in such a community, when grief becomes lonely and secretive?
“A stylish and concise novel about the transition between teenager and adult where the explosive emotions can only be sensed between the lines.”
SVERIGES RADIO
The woman in Ladders is a recently separated mother of two. She loses a man who has started to get close to her, perhaps more close than she had realized. But their relationship has been a secret to everyone around them. In strong fragments, the story is drawn of what happened and how loss transforms a person. How void holds on to its opposite, and makes what remains left shine ever so brightly.
Ladders is the final part in Elin Willow’s thematic novel trilogy that began with Inlands and continued with New Names. It explores the inner emotional worlds of women at different stages of a life, and the passage of time. By approaching the intensity of the everyday being, in the very making of life, the novels are experiments in absolute loyalty to the lived experiences.
“Willows’ tonality is very accurate, the narrator’s voice is completely believable, and when she writes that there was never a clear transition to the adult world, that the immature just disappeared, “or not at all”, that’s exactly how it is.”
DAGENS NYHETER
New Names
(Nya Namn)
Natur & Kultur , Förlaget M / 2021 / 200 pp.
Elin Willows’ tenderly and precisely captures the intense friendships that bring us to life, but which can also end abruptly. What will be left of us, when the people we felt the closest to have become shadows?
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
Sample translation 30 pp.
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
Sample translation 30 pp.
Inlands
(Inlandet)
Natur & Kultur, Förlaget M / 2018 / 200 pp.
A young woman from Stockholm relocates to her boyfriend’s hometown, a small village in the far north of Sweden. But the relationship has ended by the time she arrives. For reasons unbeknownst to herself and others, she decides to stay.
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
English translation
© Frank A Unger
OLLI JALONEN (b. 1954) is one of Finland’s most respected literary authors. Since 1978, he has written over 15 works of fiction, some non-fiction and a children’s fantasy novel. He has received several important literary prizes, including the Finlandia Prize twice, and he has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize three times. Jalonen has lived in Finland, Sweden and Ireland, working as a reporter, information officer and researcher.
“… a great novel about the stuffy atmosphere of Finnishness. The narration feels almost real. Jalonen is a great writer and paints the milieu and the picture of the times wonderfully.”
PASI HUTTUNEN, KULTUURITOIMITUS
EIGHT LANGUAGES SOLD
Stalker Years
(Stalker-vuodet)
First published in Swedish by Otava / 2022 / 509 pp.
In his latest novel, the great master of language and twotime Finlandia winner Olli Jalonen slips into the skin of a spy. The Life of Others meets John Le Carré and Graham Greene.
In 1974, a student from the University of Tampere is assigned to report on the lives and political attitudes of his former schoolmates. It feels good to be part of something big. But it’s hard to approach someone and pretend you don’t know what you know. Work takes time, which real friends soon won’t have anymore. What at first seemed like an honorable mission begins to turn into a tight straitjacket.
With its strong atmosphere, Stalker Years is an autopsy of the spiritual climate of our recent history and a deep cut into the psychology of Finnishness and the so-called dark decade of the 1970’s. It’s a portrait of a whistleblower and a snitch.
Stalker Years was nominated for the Finlandia Prize in 2022.
PUBLISHERS OF RECORD
Chinese, Simplified (PLPH)
Croatian (Fraktura)
Danish (Vild Maskine)
Dutch (Mozaiek)
Estonian (Hea Lugu)
German (mare)
Latvian (Valodu maja)
Spanish (Kalandraka)
The Art of Living Under Water (Merenpeitto)
Otava / 2019 / 462 pp.
A standalone sequel to The Celestial Sphere, Angus assists Edmond Halley with his diving bell experiments in the Thames whilst he dreams of a great future and the possibility of setting foot back on St Helena one day.
The two novels was awarded the Finlandia Prize in 2018. The two novels about Angus have sold more than 75,000 copies in Finland.
OVER 16,000 COPIES SOLD
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation 50 pp.
The Celestial Sphere (Taivaanpallo)
Otava / 2018 / 461 pp.
On the mystical island of St. Helena, a young peasant boy, Angus, is appointed assistant to Edmond Halley and later follows his master to London in this glorious novel where science and religion go head-to-head in a duel at the dawn of the Enlightenment.
© Pekka Nieminen
PASI ILMARI JÄÄSKELÄINEN (b. 1966) is an author and a Finnish and literature teacher. In the early 1970’s, when he was five, Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen lived in a block of flats by an old cemetery and believed in vampires. In the early 1980’s, he still had vampire dreams and fell in love with Jeanne Moreau in Truffaut’s Jules et Jim. Ten years later, Pasi wrote his first short stories. He won the writing competition of SciFi and fantasy stories four times and then decided to become a writer. In Pasi’s works, the world is thrown out of place and new dimensions are revealed beneath the familiar reality, somewhat in the spirit of the early works of Mihail Bulgakov, Peter Høeg and Stephen King. Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen has won numerous awards for his short stories and his works have been translated into 14 languages.
An Anatomy of Hide-and-Seek
(Kuurupiilon anatomia)
First published in Finnish by Atena / 2023 / 400 pp.
The Finlandia Prize nominated author returns with a magical novel about the search for a lost brother who disappeared during a game of hide-and-seek.
PUBLISHERS OF RECORD
Czech (Paseka)
Danish (Jensen & Dalgaard)
Dutch (Nieuw Amsterdam)
English (Pushkin Press)
Estonian (Skarabeus)
French (de l’Ogre)
Galician (Urco)
German (Aufbau)
Hungarian (Typotex)
Italian (Salani)
Korean (Bungnogeu)
Lithuanian (Versus Aureus)
Serbian (Agora)
Spanish (Duomo; Rinoceronte)
M is no ordinary child. Like a spy from another world, M meticulously studies their peers to learn about everyday things that seem to come so easy to others, and has a hard time fitting into the mould of the city of Marrasvirta in the late 1970’s. M’s older brother, the brilliant Alvar, brings some joy into the sibling’s life by inventing a peculiar game: ‘the Martian Hide-and-Seek’. The setup is simple, Alvar hides and M has to find him, but the rules are disproportionately harsh: M can’t refuse the game and Alvar can only come back home once M has found him.
Alvar makes use of his vast knowledge of illusionist tricks, and as the hide-and-seek progresses, M begins to experience it at the frontier of dream and reality. But one day, Alvar really disappears, leaving M tormented with guilt.
Years later, M heads out on a search to find out the truth about Alvar and his strange game. The journey brings M to new parts of the city of Marrasvirta, where night creatures in studded jackets and fanatical skinheads indulge in nightly dances of death.
Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen’s fifth novel is an amazing journey into loyalty, betrayal and guilt.
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation 35 pp. Synopsis
“Jääskeläinen is a skillful storyteller whose books always turn out to be something else than they looked like in the first place.”
KIRJAVINKIT
“Reading Jääskeläinen is like watching H. C. Andersen’s fairy tale worlds collide head-on with the Datsun of paranoia master, William S. Burroughs. In the background, the wailing waves of a broken guitar, a speeding musical instrument, and a singer’s wolf howl.”
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
HANNELE MIKAELA TAIVASSALO (b. 1974) has a unique, feminine voice, a distinct spark in her writing, and an exceptional sensitivity to rhythm in her language which make her truly stand out. She explores themes of continuous movement, restlessness and displacement, desire and sex. Taivassalo has been awarded several prizes including the Runeberg Prize.
The Past Returns
(Det förflutna återvänder)
First published in Swedish by Förlaget M / 2023 / 300 pp.
The beautiful language of the story follows the logic of the dream, and the emotions crawl close to the skin. The Past Returns is a novel about the despair of love that is both sensual and painful.
A woman tries to forget a man. The man, who tries to forget her, is called Selim and is a photographer. His work is about seeing, but he understands neither himself nor others. Greater than the love and passion that united them - and they are gigantic - is the black hole, the pain that radiates from their shared past. Memories they can’t forget, fragments they can’t piece together. If it hurts terribly to remember, is it worth trying?
In the woman’s past, in the outskirts of the city, there was Alisa. They were almost the same person. If you’ve had a best friend and sister who abandoned you, could that memory ever be erased? What happens when the past returns and grows stronger than the present?
“In the end, the novel The Past Returns deals with the initial question of biography and autofiction: the limits of memories and the right to remember.”
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
“The language of the new novel trembles poetically.”
SUOMEN KUVALEHTI MAGAZINE
“A masterpiece in few words.”
ÅBO UNDERRÄTTELSER
“With a skillful feeling for the shifts of language, she expresses how mourning someone who has been so close is like mourning a part of oneself.”
HUFVUDSTADSBLADET
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
Sample translation 30 pp.
RIGHTS
All rights available
“The novel manages to take something that can seem ordinary on the surface and deal with it with a seriousness bigger than life, to chisel it even into the finest blood vessels, to think with it and get me as a reader to see something new.”
HUFVUDSTADSBLADET
ASKO SAHLBERG (b. 1964) is one of the most distinguished contemporary Finnish authors. He has been living in Sweden, near Gothenburg, since 1996.
Sahlberg writes both dense and intense novellas, and large-scale frescos on historic subjects. He excels at discussing profound timeless issues and contemporary problems alike. He has received several important awards and has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize, the Dublin Literary Award and the Finlandia Prize three times.
PUBLISHERS OF RECORD
Czech (Havran)
English (Peirene Press)
German (Luchterhand)
Romanian (Polirom)
Swedish (Norstedts)
Pompeius
(Pompeius)
First published in Finnish by LIKE / 2024 / 500 pp.
This timeless story paints a dazzling portrait of the man destined to be the saviour of the Roman Republic.
When the young warlord Gnaeus Pompeius returns to the rebellious capital, he is offered a path to power - if he can meet three conditions. He sacrifices years of his life in the service of Rome’s interests and ascends to the top of the empire with his fair share of hate and love. But a shadow falls over everything when a rumour spreads through the Republic that Gaius Julius Caesar is threatening to challenge the authority of the Senate.
Master storyteller Asko Sahlberg’s richly flowing novel brings ancient Rome to life in all its glory.
“Rome was where he was, walking with him, his skin flushed.”
“Asko Sahlberg is one of the leading writers of the historical novel. [...] Such entertainment is simply a pleasure to read, knowing at the same time that you are exploring the past in a relatively faithful way.
Sahlberg’s fiction has been compared to [Mika] Waltari’s work, with good reason.”
KULTTUURITOIMITUS
Amanda’s Worlds (Amandan maailmat)
LIKE / 2017 / 150 pp.
Amanda has spent a sheltered and peaceful life in a small house on the outskirts of a town. When she meets a young refugee, Amanda wants to help him in his distress. She doesn’t realise that at the same time she is putting her own life in jeopardy.
Amanda’s Worlds was awarded the Savonia Literary Prize
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation 35 pp.
Synopsis
Pilate (Pilatus)
LIKE / 2016 / 420 pp.
Pontius Pilate thinks he has experienced everything, until the gods of Rome decide once again to make a mockery of him. Tragedy meets comedy, mythical figures, Roman emperors and Jewish prophets. In the style of Mika Waltari, Pilate mercilessly portrays social ascension, greed and thirst for power.
© Peter Svensson
HISTORICAL FICTION / JENNA KOSTET
The Red Witch (Punainen noita)
First published in Finnish by Aula & Co / 2024 / 328 pp.
A historical novel about a strong-willed woman, a healer who was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death.
The year is 1635. Valpuri Kinni, a woman from Courland in western Latvia, is thrown into the river in Turku. The trial by water is used to determine her guilt or innocence: if she sinks she is innocent, but if she floats she is a witch. Valpuri has traveled a long way to Finland, but there doesn’t seem to be a corner in the world where she can live in peace without accusations of witchcraft.
She is also a knitwear designer known for enchanting patterns and the author of the book Knitted Kaleval, which has been translated into several languages.
Valpuri can read spells and use herbs to cure the ailments of both people and livestock, but churchmen and townspeople only see her as a woman who has sinned and been tricked by the devil into unnatural acts. In the 17th century, maleficium is a sin, and witchcraft is a crime punishable by death.
Based on historical details found in various archival sources, The Red Witch is the story of a stubborn, outspoken and eccentric woman who does not adapt to her role in society. Her story is as timely today as it was nearly four hundred years ago.
”A consistently strong historical portrayal of a time and a person.”
TUIJATA BLOG, FINLAND
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation 15 pp. Synopsis
RIGHTS
All rights available
”Jenna Kostet’s new novel is a fascinating depiction of how witchcraft arises in Valpuri Kinni’s life, both as an identity and as a social stigma.”
TURUN SANOMAT
JENNA KOSTET is a writer from Turku who has written both novels and non-fiction books. She has studied ethnology and folkloristics and worked at Turku Castle.
© Sami
Makinen
JP KOSKINEN is a versatile author who has written historical fiction, crime, and children’s books. He has been short listed for the Finlandia Prize twice, for Firewing and for My Friend Rasputin. He holds master’s degrees in creative writing and mathematics. Koskinen won both the Savonia Prize and The Book of the Year 2019.
Thunderbird
(Ukkoslintu)
LIKE / 2024 / 300 pp.
The award-winning ‘Firewing’ trilogy comes to a conclusion in an engaging story about a young man searching for the truth.
As the great war rages in Europe, Janne Kuura, a reporter for The New York Times, realises that a tectonic shift is underway. In 1917, he crosses the Atlantic, and his work as a war correspondent takes him across a turbulent Europe, all the way to the Eastern Front, where the waves of the Russian Revolution crash fiercely. The flame of revolution begins to ignite in Janne’s heart as well. In the end, he must choose between passionate idealism and love.
The Firewing trilogy, which tells the story of the Finnish-born immigrant family in the US, has been both a commercial and critical success.
“Thunderbird flies high. It is a grand novel that completely engrosses the reader.”
“A stunning and chilling conclusion to the trilogy about Finnish immigrants. Thunderbird captivates with nearly the same force as Firewing, which can be called with such a profound term as a masterpiece.”
ETELÄ-SUOMEN SANOMAT
KANSAN UUTISET
“Thunderbird beautifully completes JP Koskinen’s trilogy. (...) The characters and settings in Thunderbird become profoundly tangible and relatable.”
SAVON SANOMAT
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
RIGHTS
Czech (Argo)
Hawkeye (Haukansilmä)
LIKE / 2021 / 467 pp.
A family leaves Finland behind in the 1860s and sails across the seas to America in search of happiness. In a country divided by the Civil War, work is hard to find, and the family sets out to inhabit the great prairies of the West. The West is even wilder than they think, and soon the family’s son George disappears into the night.
Firewing (Tulisiipi)
LIKE / 2019 / 352 pp.
An expansive, emotionally rich bildungsroman and epic tale covering large parts of the 20th century, Firewing follows a group of immigrants in search of a paradise, and one boy whose biggest dream is to fly - no matter what it takes.
Toni Harkonen
The Black Tongue
(Musta kieli)
First published in Finnish by Tammi / 2023 / 316 pp.
A haunting horror novel about loneliness and its consequences.
Hautala’s story Pale Toes was nominated for the 2020 Shirley Jackson Award. In his native Finland he has received the Tiiliskivi Prize, Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize and was nominated for the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize in 2013.
Numerous people have disappeared in the town of Vaasa over the years. In desperation, the police turn to a local medium for help. In spiritualist sessions, the police find out about things that the whole city has been silent about for a long time. Four objects tell four overlapping stories about nine victims.
With a keen eye for detail in everyday life and local history, Hautala creates interesting characters who are each broken or lonely in some way. He writes about the permanence of generational traumas and the rites of passage between childhood, youth, and adulthood in rich and imaginative language, revealing just the right amount and leaving enough in the shadows. The result is a literary horror novel that will chill you to the spine.
PUBLISHERS OF RECORD
Czech (Euromedia; Knižní Klub, Golden Dog)
German (dtv)
English (AmazonCrossing)
Italian (Newton Compton)
”An insanely good novel, Hautala’s best.”
ILKKA-POHJALAINEN
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
“ Marko Hautala’s latest novel proves that the comparisons to Stephen King are not unjust.”
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
“Hautala has once again succeeded in creating something truly eerie and dark. Such reliability is a remarkable characteristic in an author. Hautala’s latest creation can be wholeheartedly recommended to fans of horror.”
KIRJAVINKIT
MARKO HAUTALA is a writer of literary horror whose work has been translated into eight languages. Two of his stories have been optioned for film.
© Mika
Aalto
TAUNO KAUKONEN (b. 1929 d. 1983) was a Finnish writer from a working class background. He worked as a warehouse assistant, construction worker, farmer, ironworker, and painter before becoming a writer. The author of three novels and various plays, dramatisations and novellas, Kaukonen received critical acclaim for his debut, The Clan, which won the Tampere City Literature Prize in 1963.
The Clan (Klaani)
Weilin+Göös / 1963 / 397 pp.
Hailed as a timeless classic, The Clan is a Dostoyevskian novel about a working class family living on the margins of society where violence and deprivation overrule any attempts to forge a more virtuous path in life.
Following the Sammakko family, brothers Samuli, Benjamin and Leevi endure a hard-scrabble life where the Sammakkos and their loved ones balance their lives on the line between right and wrong. The counterforce is represented by the police - a clan of their own. Awakened to the intersection of society’s values and his own family’s choices, Aleksanteri Sammakko, the youngest son, realises the possibility of a better life. But the young hopeful of the family is drawn into fights and larceny.
Tauno Kaukonen received critical acclaim for a narrative power rarely seen in debuts, garnering him success and an immediate bestseller status in Finland at the time. In timelessly fresh and colourful language, coupled with its realistic narrative and expressive portrayal of humanity, The Clan remains as relevant as ever sixty years after its first publication.
“The Clan is not just any debut, but bold, cheerful and fantastic - and a surprisingly confident piece of work at that. The words flow and hurt; the subject matter and its handling is exceptional in its monstrous rogueishness.”
KAUPPALEHTI
“The Clan is a novel of skilful storytelling and expressive, vivid portrayal of humanity. It is a legend of the fringes, whose author has held an extraordinary breadth of imagination and skill in tying his rich material into a whole that is of interest and value.”
SUOMEN KUVALEHTI (1963)
“Tampere’s answer to Mark Twain.”
SOSIAALIDEMOKRAATTI (1963)
The novel was adapted into a feature film in 1984, directed by Mika Kaurismäki, with an award-winning original soundtrack composed by Anssi Tikanmäki. Most recently, it was adapted for the stage by Tampere Theatre in 2023. The novel has only ever been translated into Hungarian and Rights & Brands is pleased to be the first-ever foreign rights representation for the novel. A full English translation will be available soon.
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Full English translation (tk)
Synopsis Reviews
RIGHTS
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“... a very polished text and lively sentences.”
PEKKA PIIRTO, HELSINGIN SANOMAT (1963)
“What delights in Kaukonen’s novel, alongside the tremendous epic power development, is the author’s innate and unsentimental warmth, which creates a rare beautiful and luminous portrayal of young love as a wonderful adventure in the shadow of crime and danger and the foreboding of sad disappearances. It has also enabled Kaukonen, like Dostoyevsky, to bestow on bitter misery, on deep decay, on bad people, a piece of undeniable human dignity.”
CHRISTER KIHLMAN, DAGENS NYHETER (1964)
ARTO PAASILINNA (1942-2018) worked as a lumberjack and journalist before becoming a full-time writer. He published thirty-five novels and twelve non-fiction works during his lifetime, cementing his authorship as one full of creative vision, humour, and uplifting portrayals of man’s relationship with nature. One of Finland’s most well-known writers, his works have been translated into over 40 languages and have sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
The Year of the Hare
(Jäniksen vuosi)
Weilin+Göös / 1975 / 182 pp.
The internationally bestselling comic novel about a man who realises what’s important in life after he befriends an injured hare. Celebrating 50 years since its first publication in 2025.
“A change-your-life novel.”
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
MORE OF
Journalist Vatanen is burned out and sick of the city. One summer evening he accidently hits a young hare on a country road. He tends to the hare’s leg, befriends the creature, and gradually sheds his former life.
The incident becomes a life-changing experience for Vatanen, who decides to quit his job, leave his wife, and sell his possessions to travel Finland with his new-found friend. Their adventures lead them to forest fires, pagan sacrifices, and killer bears before they settle down in a cosy cabin in the wilds of Lapland.
The Year of the Hare is a wildly entertaining mix of fable, farce, mid-life crisis, and travel book. It’s a tale of freedom, commitment, and survival that has been charming readers around the world for decades and is also credited with having inspired Jonas Jonasson’s The 100-YearOld Man Who Climbed Out the Window.
This award-winning book is widely considered Arto Paasilinna’s best work and a Finnish literary classic which will be reissued in a special anniversary edition by WSOY in 2025.
The Year of the Hare was adapted for film in France in 2006 (dir. Marc Rivière) and Finland in 1977 (dir. Risto Jarva). It has also been adapted for stage. The UNESCO Collection of Representative Works classified it as a masterpiece of world literature.
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
French, German & Swedish PDFs Synopsis
“Sums up the Finnish culture and people.”
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
”A fable of the joys of freedom... The hare proves to be a delightful, undemanding, and loyal companion, who can laugh, listen, and feel embarrassment.”
BOSTON GLOBE
“No wonder the French have made this book into a cult. Finnish wit as sharp as the Arctic weather.”
MAIL ON SUNDAY
© Veikko Somerpuro
DISCOVER
ARTO PAASILINNA
A Charming Mass Suicide
(Hurmaava joukkoitsemurha)
WSOY / 1990 / 234 pp.
Two depressed men, Onni Rellonen and Colonel Hermanni Kemppainen, decide to found a ‘Let’s do it together’ suicide association to help the suicidal achieve their goal.
The two men realise they have a lot in common and decide to support each other from here on out. Together they place an advert in their local newspaper, which prompts over 600 responses from suicidal individuals. With strength in numbers, Rellonen and Kemppainen decide to form a suicide association in order to help everyone achieve their shared goal. The story reaches its climax as a busload of suicidal individuals embark on a trip across Europe in search of the best spot for a mass suicide.
A Charming Mass Suicide is one of Paasilinna’s most popular titles. It’s a joyful celebration of life that shows off his exceptional talent for dark comedy. Delving into the gloomy Finnish psyche, A Charming Mass Suicide ultimately turns the group’s misery on its head and showcases a surprising zest for life.
A Charming Mass Suicide was adapted for film in Finland in 2000 (dir. Ere Kokkonen). It was also adapted for a musical in South Korea in 2009.
The Howling Miller
(Ulvova mylläri)
WSOY / 1981 / 236 pp
The Sweet Poison Cook
(Suloinen myrkynkeittäjä)
WSOY / 1988 / 119 pp.
A dark fairytale of community, conformity and our place in the world set in backwoods Finland.
When Gunnar Huttunen turns up in a small village to restore its run-down mill, its inhabitants are wary. Gunnar is big. He’s a bit odd. And, strangest of all, he howls wildly at night.
If Gunnar is different, then he must be mad, the villagers decide. Hounded from his home, he must find a way to survive the wilds of nature and the greater savagery of civilization.
The Howling Miller is a fable of freedom and swimming against the societal current. The novel has been adapted for the stage and twice into a feature film, most recently in 2017.
“The Howling Miller has the feel of an ominous Hansel and Gretel-style bedtime story—part myth, part fable and part novel—a form that has a funny way of bypassing the head and directly affecting the animal instincts.”
LA TIMES
In the yard of a quaint red-painted house, where the midsummer rose is in bloom and a gentle breeze blows through the birch trees, Colonel’s wife Linnea Ravaska paces about anxiously. It’s pension day and, as per usual, a gang of loudmouthed louts turn up at her door demading her pension money. Led by her foster son, Kauko Nyyssönen, the rowdy gang turns up today in a stolen car. They upturn Linneas house and, after forcing Linnea to make her will to Kauko, they kill her cat.
Frightened, Linnea signs and feels she is no longer safe. She flees the farm with a dark gleam in her eye. With unexpected cunning and resolve, she begins to retaliate against her tormentors using unconventional and lethal means, blending traditional hospitality with deadly intent..
“The author concocts situational comedy highlighted by dead-pan, sometimes black humour, the kind familiar in the American Middle West.”
NEW YORK TIMES
TOVE JANSSON (1914-2001)
Finnish-Swedish writer and artist, achieved worldwide fame as the creator of the Moomins. Already admired in Nordic art circles as a painter, cartoonist and illustrator, she would go on to write a series of classic novels and short stories. She remains Scandinavia’s best-loved author.
The True Deceiver
(Den ärliga bedragaren)
First published in Swedish 1982 / 208 pp.
Everybody’s talking about Katri Kling and Anna Aemelin. Katri is a yellow-eyed outcast who lives with her simpleminded brother and a dog she refuses to name. Anna, an elderly children’s book illustrator, ventures out from her large, empty house only in spring to paint exquisitely detailed forest scenes. Anna has something Katri wants – and by the time spring arrives, the two women are caught in a conflict that threatens the equilibrium of the whole village.
The Summer Book
(Sommarboken)
First published in Swedish 1972 / 160 pp.
An elderly artist and her six-year-old granddaughter Sophia spend the summer together on a tiny island in the Gulf of Finland. They wander the island, having philosophical conversations of all kinds, talking about death, or how best to dive into water. They fight. They curse. They have adventures, building things and breaking into the new summer house on a neighbouring island, outraged that the businessman who built it doesn’t leave the door open. Written with clarity, brusque humour and wisdom, The Summer Book is a fresh, vivid and magical novel about seemingly endless summers of discovery.
The Summer Book feature film, featuring Glenn Close in the lead, to be released soon.
The Listener
(Lyssnerskan)
First published in Swedish 1971 / 192 pp.
The Listener was the first of Tove Jansson’s books to be published after the death of her mother, the point at which she declared the Moomin series over. This collection of short stories is different from Tove’s previous work; fragmentary, starting and stopping in the middle of things. Fascinatingly, the illustrator Edward Gorey appears in one of the stories saying: “It’s the unexpressed that interests me ... it’s a mistake to clarify everything.” This seems to aptly describe Tove’s writing.
The Field of Stones
(Stenåkern)
First published in Swedish 1984 / 108 pp.
A recently retired journalist leaves the city to spend the summer in the country with his two daughters. Tasked with writing the biography of the unpleasant ‘Y’, he soon finds his chronicle of this character’s life morphing into his own family’s troubled story. The darkness that surfaces is handled with Tove’s distinct humour and lightness of touch.
Fair Play
(Rent spel)
First published in Swedish 1989 / 152 pp.
Through a series of vignettes, we look in on the lives of two female artists, Mari and Jonna, who live on opposite sides of an apartment building, separated by an attic. They are each other’s closest friend, greatest critic, and lover. We encounter them lost in a fog, vacationing on a remote Finnish island, fishing, feeding the cat, or simply rearranging photos on a wall. Tove’s whimsical yet philosophical prose about human generosity and respect perfectly echoes her signature subjects: work and love.
© Per Olov Jansson
Sun City (Solstaden)
First published in Swedish 1974 / 160 pp.
This novella, about the inhabitants of a Florida retirement home, hints at the dark reality found behind a utopian vision. Alienation, abandonment and ageing foreshadow the spectre of death – with some people simply choosing to ignore it.
Letters from Klara (Brev från Klara)
First published in Swedish 1991 / 175 pp.
In this nimble, beautifully crafted yet disquieting collection of stories, Tove Jansson explores the complicated games and relationships between people, writing from the perspective of a bewildered young artist, a resilient child or an irascible elderly correspondent. Discomfiting encounters and periods of isolation can span decades, generations even. A simple letter can reveal as much of the sender as the receiver, and how easy it can be to misunderstand one another.
The Doll’s House (Dockskåpet)
First published in Swedish 1978 / 208 pp.
A collection of twelve short stories about obsession and ambition. Witty, sharp and often disquieting, these stories explore human nature and the way in which mysteries and uncertainty — even illness and danger — can have positive and magical potential. The stories share a recurring theme: what happens when artists and eccentrics, who hide away in the back corners of middle-class society, try to change their already difficult relationship with the world?
Messages: A selection of short
stories
(Meddelande)
First published in Swedish 1998 / 303 pp.
A marvellous collection of Tove Jansson’s prose, spanning most of the twentieth century and scattered with insights into beauty found in the everyday. Messages features several stories from A Sculptor’s Daughter as well as Tove’s later story collections.
Discover the new website, Instagram, and newsletter dedicated to the life and work of Tove Jansson at Tovejansson.com
A
Sculptor’s Daughter
(Bildhuggarens dotter)
First published in Swedish 1968 / 192 pp.
Tove Jansson’s first book for adults captures her childhood memories, as she grew up in an early twentiethcentury Helsinki that was getting used to independence from Russian rule. This atmospheric book is filled with sharp observations on the mysteries of winter ice, the bonhomie of balaika parties, and the limitless excitement of Christmas viewed from beneath the tree. While Tove learns a lot from her father, her identity as a writer is formed partly in opposition to him — especially when it comes to the subject of women and art.
“Tove Jansson was one of the 20th century’s most brilliant, enigmatic prose writers.”
BOSTON GLOBE
Travelling Light
(Resa med lätt bagage)
First published in Swedish 1987 / 224 pp.
A collection of twelve short stories about journeys of different kinds: some inward, some outward, all with complicated, unpredictable characters observing their surroundings as travellers, or with the unfettered gaze of a child. Tove’s signature deftness of touch and imagination gives these stories a duality between light and darkness.
SAONEGIN is a Helsinki-based editor and writer with roots in the North. She has been walking on cloudberry mires since she was six.
NIINA KIVILÄ is a hiker, berry picker and a social scientist, who has often trekked the northern wilderness. She has studied creative writing at the Critical Academy in Helsinki.
Cloudberry Confessional:
Essays on Life, Land and Legends
(Hillasuolla kaikki on toisin)
First published in Finnish by Into Kustannus / 2023 / 270 pp.
Structured like a conversation with a good friend, this collection of essays transports the reader into nature, where, treacherous and sinking, the mire becomes a paradise and a home as the cloudberry becomes a muse for its pickers.
Foraging berries is a quintessentially Nordic pastime and the berry pickers gold, the mire-loving cloudberry, rubus chamaemorus, thrives on the northernmost pine mires of the Nordic countries. It is there, where writers and friends Niina Kivilä and Kati Saonegin head to in an old Saab every summer to hunt their mutual golden berry muse, equipped with rubber boots, buckets, and a dogged forager’s determination.
Like a conversation between friends, whose friendship is cemented on the boggy tussocks of the cloudberry mire amidst clouds of mosquitoes, the mire opens up as a space, a sanctuary to tackle weighty subjects such as mental health, death, and childlessness, while the friends obsessively hunt the tenacious cloudberry.
“Picking cloudberries is the best thing a person can do. A mutual love of cloudberries and mires saw two friends write a book together in which the mire is a life - in all its joys and sorrows - unto its own.”
LAPIN KANSA
A lyrical, intertextual manifesto for safeguarding our relationship to nature and the inherent value of its seemingly most inhospitable parts, Kivilä and Saonegin approach the history and ecology of the pine mires via their mutual foraging passion as well the creation myths of the Kalevala, intertextual references, and ecology. Ultimately showing us that the cloudberry plant is wiser than man, Cloudberry Confessional strikes the perfect balance between intimate yet objective, concise yet poetic, immersing readers in the Nordic relationship to nature with the life-affirming power of nature in Long Litt Woon’s The Way Through the Woods, and the essayistic style of Nina Mingya Powles’ Small Bodies of Water.
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation 48 pp. Outline
Author Letter
RIGHTS
All rights available
“An evocative, conversational book that is great to immerse yourself in.”
KATI
© Jenny Rostain
ARI TURUNEN is the editor-in-chief of the Finnish edition of Le Monde Diplomatique and a non-fiction author specialising in the history of customs and culture. His works have been translated into eleven languages.
PETRI LAUKKA is the editorial writer for Kaleva newspaper.
Good Sea, Bad Sea:
The Stormy History of the Baltic Sea
(Paha meri, hyvä meri: Itämeren myrskyisä historia) Aula & Co. / 2024 / 300 pp.
Good Sea, Bad Sea not only tells the history of this vital maritime region but also contemplates the future of the Baltic Sea, both politically and ecologically.
The fascinating history of Europe’s largest inland sea.
The Baltic Sea has been an important route for both trade and the spread of new ideas for centuries—both for better and for worse. The Romans called it Mare Barbarum, or the Sea of Barbarians. The legendary Vikings and later warrior kings also sailed its waters.
Connections between the cities established along the Baltic Sea’s shores have been strong, and we can still see their influence today. Port cities were the first to adopt new products, ideas, and trends. When the gates of these ports were closed for any reason, it drove nations into intellectual and economic decline.
Unfortunately, the Baltic Sea is also one of the most polluted seas in the world, a situation with roots stretching back decades. After World War II, vast amounts of waste were dumped into the Baltic as part of the East-West struggle.
RIGHTS
All rights available
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Outline
ANDERS LANDÉN (b. 1982) is an author and journalist whose interest in Moomin products was awakened at a young age when he worked in a second-hand shop. Landén is a big fan of Tove Jansson and the Moomin books and has a collection of Moomin products of his own.
Treasures from Moominvalley
The Collector’s Guide to Tove Jansson’s Moomins (Skatter från Mumindalen: Samlarens guide till Tove Janssons mumintroll) First published in Swedish and English by Parler Förlag / 2024 / 512 pp.
In Treasures from Moominvalley, Moomin lovers around the world will discover the righly-illustrated, comprehensive reference guide they deserve.
This meticulously curated volume offers an in-depth exploration of the rich legacy of Moomin culture, delving into both the beloved books and the wide array of collectibles inspired by Tove Jansson’s enchanting creations. Readers will find detailed descriptions and vibrant illustrations of a diverse range of Moomin memorabilia, from the charming handmade dolls crafted by Atelier Fauni to the delicate ceramic figurines that capture the whimsical essence of the Moomin characters. The book also features a collection of children’s bedroom paintings as well as an assortment of handkerchiefs adorned with delightful Moomin motifs.
This treasure trove of Moomin artifacts is a testament to the enduring appeal and cultural significance of the Moomin stories, offering fans an unparalleled journey through the myriad ways in which these beloved characters have touched the hearts of generations.
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
English edition & PDF
RIGHTS
All rights available
“This book is a treasure for anyone with a special interest in Tove Jansson’s Moomins. Overall rating: 5.”
BIBLIOTEKSTJÄNST
“Thanks to Landén’s tireless research, Treasures From Moominvalley is also fit-to-burst with whimsical facts and fascinating findings.”
VOGUE SCANDINAVIA
A Home - The world of Carl and Karin Larsson
(Ett hem – Carl och Karin Larssons värld)
First published in Swedish by Bookmark Förlag / 2023 / 172 pp.
Welcome to Carl-Larsson-gården, home to two of the greatest artists Sweden has ever seen.
CARL & KARIN LARSSON were active in Sweden at the turn of the 20th century. Their artistry worked in strong symbiosis, among other things through her creating the environments that he then depicted. The motifs from their home Lilla Hyttnäs in Sundborn have come to represent the image of Sweden and are loved worldwide.
When the world-famous artist couple Carl and Karin Larsson made the decision to move back home to Sweden after several years abroad, they were gifted a small cottage by Karin’s father.
The simple timbered house, located in idyllic Sundborn in Dalarna, became Carl’s and Karin’s joint art project where their creative talents were brought together to produce a remarkably modern and personal home, with bold colors and innovative interior design. Today, Carl Larsson-gården is an icon within Scandinavian interior design and family life. A home – The World of Carl and Karin Larsson gives a unique insight into this famous house and inspires readers to create the same feeling in their own homes.
After meeting at the Scandinavian artists’ colony in Grez-zur-Loing outside Paris, Carl and Karin Larsson started to work together in strong symbiosis and Karin’s creative power and artistic taste became a major component in Carl’s art. Her bold interior decoration, modern textiles, and rustic furniture – most of which she designed herself – are the motifs in many of beloved Carl’s watercolour paintings that have since come to represent the image of Sweden that is cherished around the world.
In A Home, lifestyle expert Elsa Billgren shows Carl Larsson-gården in a way in which it has never been seen before. The book offers a historical context combined with beautiful photos, recipes and illustrations to give all admirers of the turn-of-the-century artists the chance to discover their greatest work of all: the home.
READING MATERIAL
Swedish edition & PDF
English edition & PDF
RIGHTS
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ELSA BILLGREN
Paintings by Carl Larsson
© Mira Wickman
PETRI TAMMINEN (b. 1966) is the Finnish master of laconic humour. Tamminen’s works are concise, and the secret of his accurate expression is simple: ‘I trust in the readers’ understanding, but not their patience.’ Some of his favourite topics are shyness and shame, which he describes with wry humour through his personal experiences without ever sparing himself. A prolific author, Tamminen has been awarded numerous times and nominated for the Finlandia Prize. His works have been translated into more than ten languages.
NINKA REITTU (b. 1982) is an award-winning author-illustrator, who is based in Eastern Finland. Reittu imbues both images and text with a uniquely heart-warming air. Her inspiration of her children and animals are visible in the lively details in her illustrations. Her touching Super-series on a father and son relationship has been nominated for various awards, including You Are Super Loved for Finlandia Junior in 2017. Her books have been translated into ten languages to date.
The Doorman of the Mind
(Ajatusten vahtimestari)
Otava / 2023 / 48 pp.
This delightfully illustrated and compact guidebook is an inspirational story about how you can become the doorkeeper of your own thoughts.
Have you ever felt worried, anxious or ashamed, all the while knowing that you are overthinking? Author Petri Tamminen has confessed to feeling a lot of shame and anxiety himself and has now written a book for everyone who wants to gain control of their own negative thoughts.
With this inspiring book, everyone can learn to examine what kind of gang is intruding their thoughts today, and to ponder if all of them really have the right to demand so much time and energy. And maybe learn to turn away unwanted guests and say: No, you can’t come in here today, not in that state!
An encouraging, supportive book full of mindful gems. The adorable illustrations are made by Ninka Reittu.
RIGHTS
All rights available
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation
“I have suffered from needless shame and fear for decennials. I start my morning by feeling ashamed for yesterday and fearing for today. After following this torment from the outside, my wife Anu-Liisa asked me if there wasn’t someone who could guard the door of my thoughts and watch what kind of gang was going to force their way in. Support and listening are generous gifts, but apparently, an even greater gift is when you develop the actual trick of thinking about your own thinking.”
EXCERPT
KAROLIINA KORHONEN says she is a female ‘Matti’ herself, and that the situations she depicts are largely from her own experiences. According to her, the Matti comics were born by accident, when she drew some sketches for her foreign friends to explain ‘Finnishness’. Korhonen is a graphic designer who lives in the city of Oulu, in central Finland.
READING MATERIAL
Finnish edition & PDF
English edition & PDF RIGHTS
Dutch (BBNC)
English (Atena)
Japanese (Hōjōsha)
Korean (Munhakdongne)
New Finnish Nightmares
Atena / 2024 / 90 pp.
A Finnish Nightmare is when you go for a walk in the forest but “everyone else” is there as well.
Suomi-Matti is here again! Matti loves silence and personal space. If you feel somewhat uncomfortable when reading this book, you just might have a tiny Matti living in you.
Finnish Nightmares
Text & Illustations by Karoliina Korhonen Atena
100,000 COPIES SOLD IN FINLAND
Meet Matti, a stereotypical Finn who appreciates peace, quiet and personal space. Among the things that make Matti anxious are receiving compliments, sitting next to a stranger on a bus, and replying to small talk with lengthy descriptions of his day. Matti tries his best to give space, be polite and not bother with unnecessary chit chat.
Finnish Nightmares have been bestsellers worldwide from Finland to Japan and from the USA to China. Matti figured in The New York Times and in The Guardian, and he even inspired a new term for social awkwardness in Mandarin: jingfen, or ”spiritually Finnish”.
Matti in the Wallet - “Matti Kukkarossa” and Other Adventures in Finnish Language Nightmares
Atena / 2019 / 100 pp.
Some say learning Finnish is like drinking tar. Nonsense!
In Matti in the Wallet, Matti clings to the Finnish language and tells how our beloved Northern people communicate.
Finnish Nightmares - A Different Kind of Social Guide to Finland
Atena / 2016 / 100 pp.
Finnish Nightmares is a book about what it is like to be a Finn in social occasions.
For a foreigner the book opens implied codes that can be difficult to understand but are shared with all Finns.
Pocket Matti - “Taskumatti” and Other New Adventures in Finnish Language Nightmares
Atena / 2022 / 96 pp.
Now you have to be as precise as a carrot! In this book, Matti bends from iron wire what the most beloved Finnish idioms mean. Literally.
Finnish Nightmares 2 - An Even More Different Kind of Social Guide to Finland
Atena / 2017 / 96 pp.
Matti does things the way a regular Finn would do: in silence and trying his best not to stand out or bother anyone.
Finnish Nightmares 2 takes Matti abroad, where he encounters even more uncomfortable social situations.
© Karoliina Korhonen
Coloring books
by Maria Trolle
Bookmark Förlag
MARIA TROLLE is an artist whose coloring books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies internationally and keep finding new fans with every new release. She’s also the illustrator of several picture books. She lives and works outside of Stockholm, Sweden.
Dive into the wonderful world of the Swedish artist Maria Trolle in this selection of adult coloring books full of natural wonders and dream-like landscapes!
Maria Trolle’s books and her unique style have gained her a wide international fan following. In her coloring books, the audience is invited on a journey through fairy-tale-like lands and deep forests. From peacock feathers and lily of the valley, to autumn leaves and lavish flowers, the books are a continuous source of wonder and beauty. With her style that draws inspiration from Scandinavian landscapes and classical children’s stories.
Sägen 2024 / 90 pp.
Luna 2021 / 88 pp.
Starfall 2023 / 91 pp.
Botanicum 2020 / 96 pp.
Universum 2022 / 91 pp.
Flora 2019 / 96 pp.
Moon Valley 2022 / 88 pp.
Nightfall 2018 / 96 pp.
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