10 A FALL RIGHTS GUIDE 2019 - Elina Ahlback Literary ...
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10
ANNIVERSARY
FALL RIGHTS GUIDE 2019
Literary Fiction
LITERARY FICTION
4 Johanna Sinisalo: Strangers Inside Strangers
Literary Fiction
5 Emmi Itäranta: Moonday Letters
6 Inka Nousiainen: The Blackbird
7 Eeva Rohas: Rage
Inside pg 4
8 Laura Lindstedt: My Friend Natalia Johanna Sinisalo
9 Elina Hirvonen: Red Storm
10 Laura Lindstedt: Oneiron, Scissors
Jussi Valtonen: They Do Not Know What They Do
11 Iida Rauma: On Sex and Mathematics
Saara Turunen: The Bystander; Love/Monster
12 Johanna Sinisalo: Renate’s Story; The Core of The Sun, Troll
The Story Begins 13 Emmi Itäranta: The Memory of Water; The Weaver
Facelift
Humor
Humor
HUMOR
The story of the Elina Ahlback Literary Agency began in 14 Miika Nousiainen: Facelift
pg 14
Manhattan, New York, on the Brooklyn Banks, in February 15 Miika Nousiainen: Roots; Rasberry Boat Refugee Miika Nousiainen
2009. While Elina’s son was skating in this skate park under 16 Minna Lindgren: Far Far Love; The Angry Widow
the Brooklyn Bridge, the courageous decision to establish 17 Minna Lindgren: The Sunset Grove Trilogy
the agency was made — with its mission to build bridges
CRIME
between authors and publishers worldwide and with its
passion to internationalize Finnish literature. 18 Max Seeck: The Faithful Reader
19 Max Seeck: Daniel Kuisma Trilogy
20 Leena Lehtolainen: The Oathbreaker
21 Leena Lehtolainen: Maria Kallio Series
22 Petri Karra: Dark Light The Faithful
Crime
Crime
23 Pauliina Susi: Siren
Reader pg 18
The Elina Ahlback Arto Halonen & Kevin Frazier: The Guardian Angel
Karo Hämäläinen: Cruel is the Night
Max Seeck
Literary Agency 10 years NON-FICTION
24 Frank Martela: A Wonderful Life
25 Konsta Klemetti, Harro Grönberg: The Game Designer Confessions
Literature is a work of art. Literature is universal. Literary
26 Katja Pantzar: Saving the World with Sisu, the Finnish Way
works take many forms: prose, narrative non-fiction, 27 Katja Pantzar: Finding Sisu
children’s stories, illustrated works. 28 Mia Kankimäki: The Women I Think About at Night A Wonderful Life:
On June 9th, 2009, I established The Elina Ahlback 29 Mia Kankimäki: Things That Make One’s Heart Beat Faster
Insights for Finding a
Non-Fiction
Literary Agency with great passion: I had vision and a 30 Lotta Sonninen: The Little Book of Bad Moods for Mothers
dream to bring Finnish authors and their unique works
to the US and around the globe: to multiply, to tenfold
31 Lotta Sonninen: The Little Book of Bad Moods
32 Raisa Cacciatore & Erja Korteniemi-Poikela: Non-Fiction Meaningful Existence pg 24
the export of Finnish literature. To build bridges between Will-Power, Determination & Self-Esteem
Love, Joy & Courage Frank Martela
Finnish authors and publishers worldwide!
33 Carita Harju: The Soul of Sauna
I believed Finland has to offer world class literature, and 34 Timo Honkela: The Peace Machine
today I believe even more in this mission. Finnish authors 35 Finnish Literature Exchange Grants
write hidden gems, and it has been pure joy to represent
Finland’s award-winning and bestselling authors in all YOUNG ADULT
genres, and to sell passionately literary fiction, crime, 36-37 Aino Louhi: Imaginary Girl
non-fiction, children’s and young adult fiction worldwide. 38-39 Maria Turtschaninoff: Red Abbey Chronicles
Young Adult
I am truly grateful to all our wonderful publishers around 40-41 Salla Simukka: Snow White Trilogy
the world who have believed in Finnish authors and have
CHILDREN’S Young Adult Imaginary Girl pg 36
widely published literary works from Finland!
The coming 100 years will show that many of our 42 Tuutikki Tolonen: Agnes and the Garden of Dreams Aino Louhi
Agency’s Finnish authors and their works will be part of 43 Heidi Viherjuuri: Hilja Series
the world literature heritage. 44 Petri Tamminen: How to Greet an Alien
45 Satu Kettunen: Alma’s Monster Party
Meet our wonderful team of agents and co-agents in the
46-47 Tuutikki Tolonen: Monster Nanny Series
coming book fairs. Browse through our 10th anniversary 48 Laura Ertimo: Weird Weather. Why Does Climate Change?
Fall 2019 List and we welcome you to join the success 49 Laura Ertimo: The Enchanted Planet Earth
story: Finnish authors conquering the world! 50 Laura Ertimo: What is Night, What is Water
51 Riikka Jäntti: Little Mouse Series
Agnes and the
Children’s
Yours truly, 52 Salla Simukka: Sisterland
Elina Ahlbäck, Founder & CEO 53 Magdaleena Hai: The Little Shop of Nightmares Series,
The Grumblebelly Cat Children’s Garden of Dreams pg 42
54 Mila Teräs: The Fox Who Painted the Sky
Pasi Pitkänen: Monster Tournament Tuutikki Tolonen
Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 55 Kristiina Louhi: Tomppa Series
Elina Hirvonen: Princess Rascal Series
Literary Fiction Literary Fiction
Literary Fiction
photo: Katri Kallio photo: Heini Lehväslaiho
Strangers Inside Moonday Letters
by Johanna Sinisalo by Emmi Itäranta
Modern horror story by ”The Queen Dystopian space opera meets
of Finnish Weird”. Based on the latest sci-fi thriller somewhere between
science with a sci-fi twist! the Earth, Mars and the Moon!
Humor
#modernhorror #scifi #science #metabolism #bodyhorror #family #sci-fi #future #space #moon #earth #marriage #secrets #activism
#drama #bestsellingauthor
There is a slightly unconventional family, including a more than a
little unconventional daughter with some very, very unconventional Lumi is an Earth-born healer whose Mars-born spouse Sol
thoughts. Something uncanny creeps into their lives, as these disappears unexpectedly on a work trip. As Lumi begins her
seemingly inexplicable injuries appear on the children. Something quest through space to find Sol, she delves gradually deeper
dangerous and freaky seems to be at large... With the first signs of into Sol’s secrets and into her own past — finding that their
violence, a horrible question arises: Who is trying to cruelly damage fates may have been connected for much longer than she
the family? Is it an external threat – or could it be someone... or thought.
Crime
something... from the inside?
Strangers Inside is a modern horror story, but also a stunning, gripping
and frightening description of crooked family dynamics. The story is
delivered by three different narrator voices, all of them having their
blind points of view. Is the ultimate enemy, ripping the family slowly
Itäranta’s lyrical style
Vieraat Kuunpäivän kirjeet
apart, coming from the circle of people that are closest to you? Karisto 2020, 350 pp makes a dystopian tale into Teos 2020, 300 pp
Best
Winner a beautiful exploration of Seller
Strangers Inside is classic horror Rights sold Rights sold
Non-Fiction
updated! The tension grows
FINLAND: Karisto (orig.) of a major
National environmental ethics and FINLAND: Teos (orig.)
By the
Horror Novel
beautifully and the horror seeps
Reading materials
English sample and synopsis Competition the power of ritual. Reading materials
English sample and synopsis
author of
international
2019
bestseller
into the story nice and slow. It is a – Washington Post Book World on Memory of Water The Memory
fresh and brilliant story that is both of Water
current and timeless.
– National Horror Competition Jury
Young Adult
Emmi Itäranta writes speculative fiction in Finnish and English, often using environmental and dystopian
Johanna Sinisalo is an internationally-acclaimed author, who categorizes her own works as ‘Finnish weird’ themes in her prose, praised for its lyricism. Her award-winning and widely translated debut Memory of Water is
as they defy any single genre. She has won numerous literary prizes, including the Finlandia Prize (2000), James being developed into a feature film, and it has been translated into 23 languages.
Tiptree Jr. Award (2004), Atorox (seven times), Prometheus Award (2017), and been nominated for the Nebula Her honours include the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize 2013, the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize 2012 and first place in the
Award (2009), and her works have been translated into over 20 languages. Teos Fantasy and Sci-Fi Literary Contest 2011. Her novel Memory of Water has also been nominated for the Philip
K. Dick Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award recognizing the best science fiction novel published in the UK in 2014, and
the Golden Tentacle award. In addition, Itäranta has been included on the Honor List of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.
Children’s
Read more about Johanna Sinisalo’s award-winning bibliography on page 12
See Emmi’s previous award-winning titles on page 13
4 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 5
Literary Fiction Literary Fiction
Literary Fiction
The Blackbird Rage
by Inka Nousiainen by Eeva Rohas
A heart-gripping story of loss, letting Story of divorce, alcoholism,
go, and of hope that won’t fade away — and attempts to recover.
based on a true story. Faith, hope, love… and rage!
EU Literature Prize nominee!
Humor
#brothersandsisters #familytragedy #loss #memories #truestory
#longing #sea #disappearance
#marriage #divorce #alcoholism #familydrama #love #attraction
#translation #competing #recovery
In August 1989 a young man goes on a cruise boat with his friends,
and disappears. The only thing that returns is a yellow backpack and Tuuli is a struggling translator and a mother of Luna, a four-
endless sorrow. The tragedy changes the lives of the whole family. year-old girl. When Tuuli leaves her heavily drinking husband
Uncertainty of the brother’s fate makes his little sister ask even years Ilja, the lives of three people change for good.
later, what happened on that night on M/S Fennia?
Rage is a gripping story of divorce, alcoholism, and attempts
The sister, grown up with the trauma, returns to the memories of past to recover. It’s also a novel about motherhood, commitment,
Crime
with hope to finally be able to say goodbye. relationships, and how people and literature are both just
as tricky to translate. Three narrators paint a picture of one
broken family, and one fragile lizard who seems to keep
everything together.
The story flows on, and the Mustarastas Raivo
sentences echo with sorrow, WSOY September 2019, 170 pp Otava 2018, 270 pp
secrets and longing. Nousiainen Rights sold
Rage’s structure is skillful! Rights sold European
Non-Fiction
writes in such a way that you FINLAND: WSOY (orig.) FINLAND: Otava (orig.) Union
Literature
can hear the song of a blackbird. Reading materials It takes the reader to the BULGARIA: Perseus
Prize
English sample and synopsis Reading materials nominee
– Parnasso Literary Magazine on Nousiainen’s novel
depths of the human mind, English sample and synopsis 2019
Kirkkaat päivä ja ilta and then surfaces with insight.
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Finland
Young Adult
Inka Nousiainen is an award-winning author from Helsinki, who writes Eeva Rohas is a critically acclaimed author who writes about social misfits.
fiction, children’s books and lyrics for different artists. She was only 17 years Rohas received her doctoral degree in contemporary culture research in 2016
old when her first novel was published and it won the Topelius Prize in 1994. with her study of The Sylvia Plath Forum. Raivo is her third work of fiction.
Children’s
photo: Otto Virtanen photo: Jouni Harala
6 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 7
Literary Fiction Literary Fiction
Literary Fiction
My Friend Natalia Red Storm
by Laura Lindstedt by Elina Hirvonen
A brave novel about a young woman’s A heart-breaking story of an Iraqi
sexuality, the power of narration, family’s long journey to Finland –
and identity. Playful, brilliant, and of their dream of peace.
feministic and surprisingly funny
Humor
#refugee #war #peace #immigration #integration
novel by a Finlandia-winner! #growingup #hope
#literaryfiction #mystery #bestsellingauthor #therapy #irony
As a small boy grows up in Iraq ruled by Saddam Hussein, fear is
#philosophy #art #sexuality #nymphomaniac #feminism
always present. His father is part of an underground opposition
movement that tries to overthrow the dictator. The father ends up
Natalia starts to see a therapist to help solve the problems in her sex
spending years in prison, and the boy learns that just one wrong
life. It is clear from the beginning that she is not going to play by the
word can put his life in danger.
rules of the therapy. The weekly sessions combine art, philosophy,
literature, childhood memories, and erotic experiences as a method of The family escapes to melancholy Finland, a country recovering
Crime
treatment, and slowly they make Natalia lose all her inhibitions. from financial depression. It is a safe country, but the boy grows
She starts to enjoy the therapy – maybe too much? up with mixed feelings: can one be a good Muslim and a good
Finnish boy? When ISIS in rising in Iraq, the boy returns to his home
The novel takes a deconstructive approach to the self-help narratives
country as a peace negotiator, hoping to build a country where his
of our time and drives the tools of autofiction into a dead end, asking
children can safely travel to one day.
what is concealed, when everything is revealed. Ystäväni Natalia Punainen myrsky
Teos 2019, 240 pp WSOY September 2019, 300 pp
Rights sold
Best Potent, fragile and tender,
The awaited book by Finlandia FINLAND: Teos (orig.)
Seller
“When I Forgot” is really the story of Rights sold
Non-Fiction
prize winner has the reader follow BELGIUM: De Bezige Bij
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
ESTONIA: Rahva Raamat
Laura “When I Remembered”, of a woman
a nymphomaniac through her very HUNGARY: Scolar
Lindstedt’s Reading materials
ITALY: Elliot Edizioni summoning the courage to unlock English sample and synopsis
suspicious therapy sessions. The NETHERLANDS: De Bezige Bij books are
NORWAY: Oktober sold in her memories and share them, and
plot-driven mystery has a lot to offer ROMANIA: Humanitas Fiction 18 territories!
SWEDEN: Norstedts feeling the relief of exhaling breath
for readers. Laura is a rock-star of
held too long.
literature! – Aamulehti newspaper Reading materials
English sample and synopsis
Young Adult
– The New York Times Book Review on When I Forgot
LAURA LINDSTEDT is a Finlandia-winner and one of the most celebrated young Finnish ELINA HIRVONEN is the author of adults’ and children’s prose, a journalist
authors of recent years: her novels verge on the postmodern and experiment with form and documentary filmmaker. She has written three highly acclaimed
and language in an accessible style. She is currently revising her PhD thesis on French beautiful and tragic adults’ novels: When I Forgot, Farthest From Death and
author Nathalie Sarraute and touring the world to promote her works. When Time Runs Out. She is also an author of two children’s books.
Finlandia prize
Children’s
SEE Lindstedt’s previous award-winning titles on page 10
winning author
photo: Jarkko Mikkonen photo: Jarkko Virtanen
8 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 9
Award-Winning Literary Fiction Award-Winning Literary Fiction
Full English
Literary Fiction
manuscript available!
Oneiron by Laura Lindstedt Finlandia prize winner 2015 On Sex and Mathematics Winner of Kalevi Jäntti Award 2015 and
the Finnish Literature Export Prize 2016
by Iida Rauma
Seven women meet in a white, undefined space, moments after their deaths. Time, as we
understand it, has ceased to exist, and all bodily sensations seem to have disappeared. In Berlin-based Finnish mathematician, Erika leads a controlled, ordered life trying to
turn they try to remember, to piece together the fragments of their lives, their identities, purge herself of superfluous emotions and needs. Yet when the worst thing imaginable
their lost loves, and to pinpoint the moment they left their former lives behind. happens to her, her world comes crashing down and she escapes back to her homeland.
Lindstedt plays with genres from essay to poetry, transitioning from humor to rage – while Meanwhile, in Helsinki, a young man named Tuovi is looking online for love in a
asking the reader to contemplate the question of death’s inevitability and what follows it. desperate attempt to soothe his fears. These two lost souls find salvation in each other
Over 50,000 copies sold in Finland
in unexpected ways. Sex and Mathematics is a frighteningly intelligent and visceral novel
about people in crisis, environmental disasters, about a confusing and erratic life, and the
Oneiron Teos 2015, 440p. beauty and logic of mathematics, while also exploring the agonies and ecstasies of sex.
Humor
Rights sold: FINLAND: Teos (orig.), WORLD ENGLISH: Oneworld, BULGARIA: Faber, CZECH REPUBLIC:
Argo, DENMARK: Rosinante, FRANCE: Gallimard, HUNGARY: Scolar, ITALY: Elliot Edizioni, LITHUANIA: Seksistä ja matematiikasta Gummerus 2015, 480 pp.
Versus Aureus, NORWAY: Forlaget Oktober, POLAND: Poznańskie, ROMANIA: Editura Paralela 45,
SPAIN: Armaenia, SWEDEN: Norstedts, TURKEY: Everest Yayınları Rights sold: FINLAND: Gummerus (orig.)
Reading material: English edition Author bio: Iida Rauma is an author of two prize-winning novels. Her writing tackles notions of
power, sexuality, violence and the relationship between humans and nature.
#awardwinner #literaryfiction #afterlife #death #women #feminism #identity #story
#communicationproblems #identity #intelligence #sex #mathematics #massextinction #ghosts #magic #feminism
#family #dogs #stalkers #romanticcomedies #bodies #mucus #arrythmia #transpeople
#queer #sleepparalysis #posthumanism #oil #love
Scissors by Laura Lindstedt
The Bystander by Saara Turunen
Crime
A gripping story of a mother’s love – or the lack of it for an adopted child.
Maria adopts a little girl from China. Great expectations and the desire to love turn into
The Bystander is a journey of one year in the life of its writer. When the narrator’s
inadequacies before the child’s blank stare. What happens if a child doesn’t respond at
debut novel is published, she feels like everything has changed. Strangely enough, no
all? What if the mother and the child are afraid of each other?
one else seems to notice this.
Lindstedt writes boldly about a woman’s life and the need to love one’s child. The novel
At the same time ironic and earnest, the novel burrows into the issues of art, identity
discusses sensitive matters that are not often talked about: the distance between child
and social norms. The text glows in the depiction of everyday details, it shifts between
and parent, the fear of failure, and finally a mother’s mental instability.
fiction and reality, mixing shame and self-contemptuous humor with sharp narration.
Finlandia Prize nominee 2007
Non-Fiction
Sivuhenkilö Tammi 2018, 233 pp.
Sakset Teos 2007, 240 pp.
Rights sold: FINLAND: Teos (orig.), DENMARK: Turbine Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (orig.), SWEDEN: Wahlström & Widstrand
Reading materials: Finnish and Danish editions Reading material: English sample
#motherhood #adoption #depression #love #guilt #communicationproblems #selfportrait #literarycriticism #feminism #self-irony #shame #loneliness #lifechoises
#literaryprize #houseplants #bicycle #noodles
They Know Not What They Do by Jussi Valtonen Finlandia prize
winner 2014 Love/Monster by Saara Turunen Debut Book of the Year Prize Winner 2015
A story of family conflicts, the ethics of science, and the search for identity in a commer- Love/Monster is a strong, unique novel about the lust for life, shame, yearning, and trying
Young Adult
cialized society. When professor Joe Chayefski’s neuroscience lab in Baltimore is attacked by to belong somewhere. It is a self-portrait of an artist that expands into an exploration of
animal rights activists, he doesn’t connect the dots at first. But when he receives a phone call cultural identity, gender roles, and the demand of being “normal”.
from Alina, his Finnish ex-wife, he begins to realize that the threats to his career and to his In Love/Monster a young woman is finding her own place in the world by constantly
new family may be connected to Samuel, the son he left behind in Finland two decades ago. changing the scenery. Instead of answers, the only thing she finds is her own shadow,
the feeling of worthlessness and the inability to love herself. The narrative voice is often
Over 110,000 copies sold in Finland
playful and amusing, as the novel tackles big themes with the aid of humor.
He eivät tiedä mitä tekevät Tammi 2014, 560 pp.
Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (orig.), CHINA: China International Radio Press, CZECH REPUBLIC: Leda, Rakkaudenhirviö Tammi 2015, 440 pp.
FRANCE: Fayard, GERMANY: Piper Verlag, HUNGARY: Cser, LITHUANIA: Alma Littera, NETHERLANDS:
Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
Signatuur/A.W. Bruna, POLAND: Foksal, VIETNAM: Chibooks, WORLD ENGLISH: Oneworld
Reading materials: English sample and synopsis
Reading material: English edition
Author bio: Saara Turunen is an author, playwright and director whose work often examines the
Children’s
Author bio: Finlandia-winning author and psychologist whose prose often muses with ethical issues and
themes of art gender identity and femininity.
family relationships in style of contemporary American authors like Franzen and Egan.
#femaleodyssey #findingyourway #family #mother #shame #genderroles #humor #normality
#awardwinner #thriller #father #lostson #familydrama #science #ethics
#autofiction #escaping #home #skiing #cleaning #raking #bible
10 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 11
Award-Winning Literary Fiction Award-Winning Literary Fiction
Literary Fiction
Renate’s Story by Johanna Sinisalo The Memory of Water Nominated for Arthur C. Clarke
Award & Philip K. Dick Award
by Emmi Itäranta
The story of a young woman, surrounded by a world at war, who lives in the middle
of hostile forces in Nazi fortress on the dark side of the moon. Lyrical dystopia of the world without water!
Renate’s Story contains pitch-black humor narrating the ways in which its main character, Rights sold in 23 territories and an international feature film in development!
Renate Richter – raised on the National Socialist values of the 1940s – regards the cultures The story is set in a drought-ravaged, war-ridden future world where fresh water has
and habits of those inhabiting the distant Planet Earth. become a privilege of the few, and tea masters have been the keepers of natural springs
The feature film “Iron Sky – Coming Race” was released in the US on July 19th, 2019. for centuries, Memory of Water tells the story of seventeen-year-old Noria, set to
become the next tea master in her village. When her father dies, she finds herself alone
Renaten tarina Johnny Kniga 2018, 358 pp. with the dangerous responsibility of guarding a hidden spring that can save lives – or
Humor
Rights sold: FINLAND, Johnny Kniga (orig.), FRANCE: Actes Sud, GERMANY: Klett-Cotta, provoke people to kill.
HUNGARY: Metropolis Media
Reading materials: English sample, German and French edition Teemestarin kirja Teos 2012, 266 pp.
Author bio: see page 4
Rights sold: FINLAND: Teos (orig.) ARABIC: Dar Al Muna, BRAZIL: Record, BULGARIA:
#blackhumor #nazis #moon #dystopia Perseus, CHINA: Sichuan People’s Publishing House, CZECH REPUBLIC: Albatros Media/
Plus, DENMARK: Turbine, ESTONIA: Koolibri, FRANCE: Place des Editeurs, GEORGIA: Palitra L
Publishing, GERMANY: DTV/Reihe Hanser, HUNGARY: Metropolis Media, ITALY: Piemme, JAPAN:
Nishimura Shoten, KOREA: The Book in My Life, LATVIA: Janis Roze, LITHUANIA: Nieko Rimto,
The Core of the Sun by Johanna Sinisalo Prometheus Prize ’Best Novel’
FILM Best
NORWAY: Gresvik Forlag, RUSSIA: Text Publishers, SPAIN: Ediciones B, SWEDEN: Modernista,
TURKEY:Dogan Egmont, WORLD ENGLISH: HarperCollins, FILM RIGHTS: Bufo
winner 2017 Seller
How did Finland turn into the North Korea of Europe? Reading material: English edition
Crime
Author bio: see page 5
The Eusistocratic Republic of Finland has prioritized social stability and national health,
International Feature Film in
and outlawed practically everything that might give one pleasure or cause addiction. Well, development by Bufo Films. #bestseller #awardwinner #dystopia #friendship #growingup #beautifullanguage
almost everything: the distribution of sex, an essential commodity of pleasure, is made as #globalwarming #teaseremony #watershortage #militaryrule
Rights sold in 23 territories!
efficient as possible. In order to achieve this, the state has bred a new human subspecies:
one that is receptive, submissive, and always willing. They used to be called “women”.
Auringon ydin Teos 2013, 340 pp.
The Weaver Tampere City Literary Award Winner
Rights sold: FINLAND: Teos (orig.), CZECH: Euromedia, DENMARK: Jensen & Dalgaard, FRANCE: UK title The City of Woven Streets
Actes Sud, GERMANY: Klett-Cotta, HUNGARY: Metropolis Media, LATVIA: Petergailis, SPAIN: Roca,
Non-Fiction
TURKEY: Ithaki, WORLD ENGLISH: Grove Atlantic
by Emmi Itäranta
Reading material: English edition
#awardwinner #bestseller #literaryfiction #finnishweird #dystopia #socialcommentary The globally praised dystopian eco-novel about a drowning city with political plotting
#femalenarrator #sex #satire #patriarchy #genderpolitics #suspense #chillipeppers worthy of Game of Thrones.
Eliana, an innocent young woman becomes entangled in a web of ancient secrets and
deadly lies that lie at the dark center of her prosperous island world. She is a model
Troll by Johanna Sinisalo Finlandia Prize Winner 2000
citizen of the island, a weaver in the prestigious House of Webs, but she also harbors a
Mikael, a young gay photographer, finds in the courtyard of his apartment block a small, man- dangerous secret in the shape of a forbidden ability: she can dream.
like creature. It is a young troll, familiar from Scandinavian mythology – a demonic, wild beast – Avoiding the usual tropes associated with the genre, The Weaver offers beautifully
Young Adult
and it is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. Mikael gives the troll a name, Pessi, and descriptive and detailed characterizations told in Itäranta’s fresh prose. With expectations
takes him home and hides him. running high after Itäranta’s prize-winning debut, here she fulfills them gracefully and
What Mikael does not know is that trolls exude pheromones that have a profound aphrodisiac delivers another masterpiece.
effect on all those around it. With tragic consequences, Mikael learns that the troll is the
Kudottujen kujien kaupunki Teos 2015, 335 pp.
interpreter of man’s darkest, most forbidden impulses…
Rights sold: FINLAND: Teos (orig.), BRAZIL: Record, FRANCE: Place des Editeurs, GEORGIA: Palitra L
Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi Tammi 2000, 260 pp. Publishing, GERMANY: Arctis, HUNGARY: Metropolis Media, JAPAN: Nishimura Shoten,
Rights sold: ALBANIA: Dituria, BRAZIL: Devir, BULGARIA: Perseus, CZECH REPUBLIC: One Woman Press, UK: HarperVoyager, US: HarperVoyager
DENMARK: Jensen & Dalgaard, FRANCE: Actes Sud, GERMANY: Tropen (Klett-Cotta), JAPAN: Sunmark*, Reading material: English edition
LATVIA: Atena, LITHUANIA: Vaga, POLAND: Terytoria*, RUSSIA: Amphora*, SLOVENIA: Modrijan*,
Children’s
SPAIN: Polledro*, SWEDEN: Wahlström & Widstrand, UK: Peter Owen, USA: Grove Atlantic *Rights reverted #bestseller #ecosciencefiction #atypicalcharacters #corruption
Reading material: English edition
#bestseller #awardwinner #literaryfiction #troll #homosexuality #darkimpulses #aphrodisiac
12 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 13
Humor Humor
Literary Fiction
photo: Otava Publishers
Facelift Raspberry Boat Refugee Roots
by Miika Nousiainen by Miika Nousiainen
by Miika Nousiainen
Tragicomic tale of life’s biggest
questions and their surprisingly
simple answers.
Humor
#humour #problems #wellbeing #socialmedia #fake #facelift
What connects a 70-year old widow, a guy from a motorbike club, a
single-father, and a personal carer? — They are all looking for an easy
solution for their problems.
In this case, the solution is Sanni, a wellbeing blogger with a perfect life.
But can every day be filled with freshly-baked spelt bread and rustic
pottery arrangements? It takes 3 seconds to get a perfect picture for
Crime
Instagram, but perhaps one should focus a little more on the rest of
the day, beyond those three seconds? Mikko Virtanen has a problem. He does not want to Nousiainen is the master of Finnish comedy. Roots is
be a Finnish man, the grumpy epitome of anxiety and a story of fathers, sons, road trips, and teeth.
low self-esteem. He has decided to become Swedish
“In life there are three big questions. Who are you?
German Rights sold instead, by any means necessary.
Where are you going? Do you want anesthesia? I can
Reading a novel by Nousiainen is prior to publication! The road to Swedishness is a long one, and the price only answer the third. It is always better to do anes-
Best
like a scenic ride in a ropeway: Seller to pay is high. But what wouldn’t you do for a chance thesia. Even for feelings.”
Pintaremontti
a comfortable, entertaining spectacle to live as a member of the most democratic society of
Onni Kirnuvaara left to get groceries when his son
Non-Fiction
Otava 2020
the world, in the ‘folkhemmet’ of ABBA, mamma’s meat
while looking into deep abysses. Miika balls and social democracy?
was just a child – and never returned. Years later,
Nousiainen during a root canal treatment, the son finds out that
I can’t wait to read more and start Rights sold
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
has sold Mikko Virtanen becomes Mikael Andersson – the in addition to his bad dental karma, he has a dentist
laughing and at the same time having GERMANY: Kein & Aber
over 100 000
books
empathic, loving and forever patient father of two from brother, left behind as a child just like him. The broth-
Gothenburg, but when his lifetime wish is fulfilled, ers embark on a journey to find out the truth about
this awkward and thrilling feeling Reading materials
worldwide
everything goes haywire. their father.
of facing existential questions. English sample and synopsis
Vadelmavenepakolainen Otava 2007, 270 pp Juurihoito Otava 2016, 334 pp
– Patrick Sielemann, Editor, Kein & Aber, Germany
Young Adult
Rights sold: Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (Orig. publisher) FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
GERMANY: Nagel & Kimche CZECH REPUBLIC: XYZ
SWEDEN: Brombergs GERMANY: Nagel & Kimche
HUNGARY: Kossuth
Reading materials: English sample and synopsis, ITALY: Iperborea
Miika Nousiainen writes sharp, gentle and German edition LITHUANIA: Alma Littera
Funniest writing often tragicomical novels about surprising
themes like long-distance running, the desire
#humour #neighbourenvy #satire #cantstopreading
NETHERLANDS: Prometheus
SWEDEN: Brombergs
from Finland! to be Swedish, and dentistry. He works as a Reading materials: English sample and synopsis,
journalist and writes also for television. German edition
Children’s
#humor #lostfather #family #journey #menincrisis #fun
14 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 15
Humor Humor
Literary Fiction
A Far, Far Love The Angry Widow
by Minna Lindgren
minna lindgren
Ricomincio by Minna Lindgren
The Sunset Grove Trilogy
da vedova
romanzo
by Minna Lindgren
Three 90-year-old ladies solving murders, moving house and defeating
tech-geniuses? Turns out life in a retirement home is not boring at all!
Best
Rip-roaring, hilarious and poignant.
Seller For the fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Mma Ramotswe!
Humor
Best Best
Seller Seller
Death in Escape From The End of
Sunset Grove Sunset Grove Sunset Grove
A story of longing, love, and loss. For the fans of A Man Called Ove meets Sex and the City.
The Red Address Book – with a humorous twist.
For the past 12 years, 74-year-old Ulla has cared for her
Kauko Koskinen is a man of order: receipts are organized, paralyzed husband, a mean and slightly alcoholic man. At
60 years of calendars are safely stored, and every day has his funeral, all she can think is: finally! She reconnects with
certain rhythms and routines. But when he gets banned old friends and starts living every day as if it were her last.
Crime
from the dementia care home where his wife resides, Her adult children try to stop her newfound debauchery
his life turns upside down. Memories of his youth bring a in many ways – but the biggest change comes along in
person from the past back to his mind: where is his first love the guise of an older gentleman.
now? Kauko starts to track down a woman he knew sixty
Vihainen leski, Teos 2018, 247 pp.
years ago, but is he chasing only a memory or a dream?
Rights sold:
Kaukorakkaus, Teos 2019, 240 pp. FINLAND: Teos (orig.)
CZECH REPUBLIC: XYZ
Rights sold: FINLAND: Teos (orig.) GERMANY: Kiepenheuer & Witsch Death in Sunset Grove is a devilishly Sunset Grove retirement home turns The final part of the trilogy marks a
Non-Fiction
Reading material: English sample and synopsis ITALY: Marsilio funny and suspenseful story about into a kind of hell when it is taken return to the retirement community.
SLOVAKIA: XYZ old age, friendship and life in a over by foreign construction workers But the place no longer feels like
#literaryhumor #aging #longing #love #loss #feelgood SPAIN: Suma/Penguin Random House
relatively ordinary retirement home. cursing fluently in Finnish. The noise home, and has turned into a state-
#cozycrime
Reading materials: English sample and synopsis, Here the only fate worse than death is deafening, a hole appears in the funded, technology-driven pilot
Spanish edition
is being drugged up and locked away wall, things disappear and residents project in elderly care. The conclusion
#humor #aging #farce #blackhumor #widowat74 inside the dementia ward. Even the have to use a portable toilet. brings together characters lost along
#liveaseachdayisthelast #yo sharpest senior can’t decipher all the the way, as murky details are brought
Residents Siiri, Irma and Anna-Liisa,
nuances of this place; thankfully a to light. Legal justice is also served –
all older than 90, decide to move
few young people, including members in unexpected ways.
into a shared apartment in the exotic
Young Adult
Minna Lindgren’s notions on modern fads are spot of a biker gang and a grandchild’s
neighbourhood of Hakaniemi. Ehtoolehdon tuho
boyfriend, offer some help.
on, and her talent to mock them phenomenal! Ehtoolehdon pakolaiset
Teos 2015, 290 pp.
Kuolema Ehtoolehdossa Teos 2014, 256 pp. Reading material: English edition
– Kirjasta kirjaan blog Teos 2013, 305 pp.
Reading material: English edition #humor #retirementhome #oldage
Reading material: English edition #technologyandelderly #dignity
#humor #retirementhome
#humor #bestseller #elderly #constructionworks #euthanasia
#friendship #retirementhome
Minna Lindgren is a renowned and awarded journalist and expert of #bikergang #goldenoldies
classical music. In her fiction, she writes about life of elderly people with
Children’s
acerbic wit, which has been met with delight in many countries. Rights sold FINLAND, Teos (orig.) CZECH REPUBLIC: Albatros Media, DENMARK: Jensen & Dalgaard, ESTONIA: Varrak,
GERMANY:Kiepenheuer & Witsch, FRANCE: Calmann-Lévy, ITALY:Marsilio, SLOVAKIA: Albatros Media, SPAIN:Penguin Random House,
photo: Heli Sorjonen
SWEDEN:Norstedts, WORLD ENGLISH: Pan Macmillan
16 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 17
crime crime
Literary Fiction
The Faithful Reader The Daniel Kuisma Trilogy
by Max Seeck by Max Seeck
A book-inspired serial killer is on the
Max Seeck writes the best thrillers in Finland right now.
– Suomen Kuvalehti magazine
loose. Jessica Niemi - a detective with
a mysterious past - steps up. A chase Angels of The Mephisto The Call of
for the faithful reader has begun!
Humor
Hammurabi Touch Hades
#serialkiller #rituals #copycat #femaledetective #catandmouse #nordicnoir Debut
Prize
Detective Jessica Niemi is called to investigate a murder case that is
unordinary. The wife of a famous writer, Roger Koponen, seems to have
been killed in a bizarre ritual. As more ritual murders occur, it becomes
obvious that Jessica is after a serial killer. Full English
Manuscript
But the murders are not random – they follow a pattern taken from available
Crime
Roger’s bestselling trilogy. Has a fan gone mad, or is this case more
personal? How can Jessica stop a criminal who knows every detail of the
book even better than the author?
1st part of the Kuisma trilogy! An action- 2nd part of the Kuisma trilogy! 3rd part of the series! Kuisma trilogy’s
Uskollinen lukija
Tammi, August 2019, 400 pp packed page-turner about revenge, Missing-presumed-dead Finnish dip- final installment begins with four
The perfect mix of Scandinavian Best war, international crime – and love. For lomat, Jare Westerlund has fled from executed men found in a Zagreb
Seller
thrill, frosty Helsinki and the novelty Rights sold
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.),
fans of Jo Nesbo and James Bond! Jare Croatia on a forged passport, leaving apartment. The place is owned by the
Westerlund, an employee of the Finnish behind a decapitated body and his U.K. government, but no one seems to
Non-Fiction
of the plot line caught me so much I CZECH REPUBLIC: Grada
Max Seeck’s Embassy in Zagreb goes missing. The trail goes cold at Stockholm airport. know anything about the case. When
could not get it out of my head. books have local police have no leads, except for When Interpol officer Annika Lehto Daniel Kuisma receives an unexpected
Full English sold over
There is simply everything a riveting Manuscript 40,000 copies
the anonymous threats Westerlund
received before his disappearance.
hears of his escape, she abandons
her sick leave to go off in pursuit of
guest from Southern Europe he hears
something that makes him board
available in Finland
thriller should have! Daniel Kuisma from the Finnish Defence Westerlund, with the aid of special the next plane to Zagreb: the lives of
Forces is sent to investigate, along forces specialist Daniel Kuisma. What thousands of people might be at risk.
– Marie Hajdová, Editor, Grada, Czech Republic with Annika Lehto from the Ministry for follows is a dramatic chain of events, Meanwhile Annika Lehto is recovering
Foreign Affairs. The investigation gets from northern Norway, to San Francisco, from an assault, but offers him all the
Young Adult
unexpectedly complicated when the to The Hague, as the pair continue the help she can from her sickbed.
mysteries of the past start to unravel on chase. Haadeksen kutsu
the stony shores of the Adriatic Sea. Mefiston kosketus Tammi 2018, 400 pp
Hammurabin enkelit Tammi 2017, 408 pp Reading materials:
Tammi 2016, 416 pp Reading materials: English synopsis, Finnish edition
English sample and synopsis #thriller #kuismatrilogypartthree #croatia
MAX SEECK has a background in sales and marketing. Increasingly, Seeck devotes Reading materials:
#thriller #kuismatrilogyparttwo #norway #international
Full English ms and synopsis
his time to writing professionally. An avid reader of Nordic Noir for personal #sanfrancisco #hague
#thriller #kuismatrilogypartone #balkans
pleasure, he listens to film scores as he writes. His accolades include the Debut
#revenge #war
Thriller of the Year Award 2016 and Toisinkoinen Literature Prize Nominee.
Children’s
photo: Päivi Puustinen Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (orig.), ESTONIA: Pegasus, GERMANY: Blanvalet, ICELAND: Forlagid, ITALY: Newton Compton, SLOVENIA: Didakta
18 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 19crime crime
Literary Fiction
The Oathbreaker Maria Kallio series
by Leena Lehtolainen by Leena Lehtolainen
A man is abducted at Helsinki airport Over 2 million copies sold world-wide!
and left to die in the winter.
He survives and an international International TV series
in development based on
journey for answers begins! MARIA KALLIO SERIES
Humor
#crime #revenge #espace #secretsfromthepast tv
Finland’s most popular crime series, the Maria Kallio #1 MY FIRST MURDER
A new novel by Finland’s #1 female crime writer Ensimmäinen murhani, Tammi 1993, 251 pp.
mysteries, follows the career of a tough, down-to-
Aino is a ranger, located at a distant corner of the Finnish earth and emotionally intelligent police officer who #2 HER ENEMY
wilderness. One day she finds a man fighting for his final breath. works in the Helsinki violent crimes unit. Every book Harmin paikka, Tammi 1994, 244 pp.
The man, Tomas, has been abducted at the airport, drugged, centers around murder, but there are also elements of
#3 COPPER HEART
Crime
and abandoned to die. Aino saves his life, and when Tomas social issues, and through the series Maria’s personal
recovers, together they hope to find out what happened and why.
Kuparisydän, Tammi 1995, 248 pp.
development is present, as we follow her struggle to
Tomas learns that he has gotten involved in a murderous plot by balance police work and motherhood. #4 SNOW WOMAN
bloodthirsty motorbike gang. Luminainen, Tammi 1996, 352 pp.
Do they stand a chance against their new enemies? Can they find #5 DEATH SPIRAL
a way out of the nightmare that someone else has started? Or is it Valapatto
Tammi 2019, 320 pp
Nobody tells equally Kuolemanspiraali,Tammi 1997, 359 pp.
time to break the oaths, made so long ago...
Best
Seller
thrilling whodunits #6 FATAL HEADWIND
Tuulen puolella,Tammi 1998, 348 pp.
Non-Fiction
Rights sold
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.) spiced with Finnish #7 BEFORE I GO
Lehtolainen’s crime series Reading materials
Leena Lehtolainen
peculiarities. Ennen lähtöä,Tammi 2000, 375 pp.
has been
has reached a cult status. English sample and synopsis
translated to over
29 languages – Stern Magazine, Germany
#8 BELOW THE SURFACE
Veren vimma, Tammi, 2003, 314 pp.
– Bunte magazine, Germany and sells tens
of thousands of #9 THE NIGHTINGALE MURDER
books each year Reading materials: Rivo Satakieli, Tammi, 2005, 346 pp.
English editions Books 1–11,
German editions Books 1–14 #10 DERAILED
Young Adult
Väärän jäljillä, Tammi, 2008, 378 pp.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.) #11 WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG GIRLS GONE
BRAZIL: Autentica Minne tytöt kadonneet, Tammi, 2010, 342 pp.
ESTONIA: Pegasus
LEENA LEHTOLAINEN is Finland’s #1 bestselling and award-winning FRANCE: Gaia #12 THE IRON TRIANGLE
Best female crime author who writes hard-boiled realism from a female GERMANY: Rowohlt
Rautakolmio, Tammi 2013, 352 pp.
Selling GREECE: Livani
author perspective. A household name in Finland, her books have sold more ISRAEL: Penn
#13 A STROKE OF SADNESS
than 2 million copies worldwide. JAPAN: Tokyo Sogensha
LATVIA: Zvaigzne
Surunpotku, Tammi 2015, 432 pp.
She is also passionate about figure skating! RUSSIA: Ast
#14 THE END OF INNOCENCE
Children’s
photo: Veikko Somerpuro TAIWAN: Linking
WORLD ENGLISH: Amazon Crossing Viattomuuden loppu, Tammi 2017, 457 pp.
20 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 21crime Crime Classics
Literary Fiction
Siren by Pauliina Susi
Dark Light Security at the port of Barcelona is already tight when Leia Laine and her sister embark
on a luxury cruise of the Mediterranean aboard the Siren a new luxury cruise ship.
by Petri Karra Their holiday becomes increasingly overshadowed by strange coincidences and a
growing sense of unease in Leia as she begins to suspect that all is not well aboard the
A literary professor covers up his son’s luxury liner, with its thousands of passengers. Soon, the relaxing holiday onboard the
vessel turns into a living nightmare as Leia witnesses firsthand the injustices of global
crime and plunges himself and his inequality, a terror threat, and the face of a ghost from her past.
detective wife into mortal danger. Seireeni Tammi 2017, 520 pp.
For the fans of Breaking Bad!
Humor
Rights sold: FINLAND: Tammi (Orig. publisher), GERMANY: DTV
Reading material: English synopsis, German edition
#familydrama #darkhumor #absurd #fathersandsons Author bio: Author and journalist who tackles not only suspense and thriller but also clever chick-lit
#familycrimedrama #darkmarriagecounseling #darklighthealing in a sovereign manner.
#mystery #cruise #terrorism #inequality #humor #thriller #sistersaretheworst
Henrik Valli despises his drug addict son, Niko. They’ve been an
unhappy family as long as they can remember. Henrik has done his
best to purge Niko from his life. But one night the telephone rings.
The Guardian Angel by Arto Halonen and Kevin Frazier
Niko has made a bigger mess of his life than Henrik ever feared. True crime meets psychological suspense in a gripping thriller about hypnosis
A father’s love wins out: he has to help his son, but it requires a murders in post-war Copenhagen.
Crime
crime. The Guardian Angel, based on true events, is about a bizarre double murder that shook
Copenhagen in the 1950s. Palle Hardrup, a former Nazi collaborator recently released
Henrik’s wife, and Niko’s mother Anna, is a police detective, and from prison walks into a bank, demands money, and shoots two employees point
they have to hide the crime from her. But that’s easier said than blank. The police caught the man in no time, but according to the witnesses, he was in
done, and soon the family enters a nightmare, in which everyone’s a trancelike state. Inspector Anders Olsen’s suspicions are aroused: what if the man was
notions of right and wrong must be re-evaluated. What are you operating under hypnosis – and what if the real killer is still at large?
Musta valo
willing to do to protect your child? Tammi 2019, 400 pp The book has been written alongside the feature film, The Murderous Trance. The film
will be released in the US nationwide theatrical distribution in the fall 2019, and it has
tv already been sold to 60 countries around the world. The Murderous Trance will be one
Non-Fiction
Rights sold FILM A feature film
Dark Light reminds you FINLAND: Tammi (orig.) based on the book
sold to USA and
of the most screened Finnish-made films of all time!
Suojelusenkeli WSOY 2018, 300 pp.
of Breaking Bad and the Reading materials
English sample and synopsis
Dark Light
TV series
60 other countries
Rights sold: FINLAND: WSOY (orig.), DENMARK: Hr. Ferdinand, ITALY: Piemme, PORTUGAL: Grupo Planeta,
in production
bestselling thriller Gone Girl. in 2020 for
SERBIA: Vulkan
Reading materials: English manuscript, English synopsis
international Author bio: Arto Halonen is a film director and a screenwriter. Kevin Frazier is a novelist, non-fiction writer,
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Finland audience! essayist and a reviewer.
#truecrime #hypnosismurders #1950s #postwardenmark #bankrobbery
Young Adult
Cruel is the Night by Karo Hämäläinen
Three cell phones ring in an opulent London apartment. The calls go unanswered because
their recipients are all dead... Mikko has arrived in London with an agenda, and he thinks he
PETRI KARRA is a writer from Helsinki, who is also known as a TV and film can get away with murder, but he has no idea what’s on the menu for the night: not only
screenwriter. His works are often focused around families, and the circle of life. does every dinner guest have a bone to pick with another, but there’s an arsenal of deadly
His debut novel The House of Branching Love (2008) and fourth novel The weapons hiding in plain sight. And by the end of the night, there will only be one survivor…
Homecoming (2015) have been made into feature films. A TV series based on his Ilta on julma WSOY 2013, 345 pp.
novel Dark Light is currently in development.
Rights sold: FINLAND: WSOY, FRANCE: Actes Sud, ITALY: Newton Compton,
FILM International
Children’s
photo: Aki Roukala WORLD ENGLISH: Soho Press, FILM RIGHTS: tba
feature film in
Reading material: English edition
development with a
Author bio: Karo Hämäläinen is an award-winning novelist and economics reporter.
Hollywood production
company
#dinner #crime #murder #closedroom #whodunnit
22 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 23Non-Fiction Non-Fiction
Literary Fiction
photo: Frank Martela
A Wonderful Life: The Game Designer
Insights for Finding Confessions
a Meaningful Existence by Konsta Klemetti, Harro Grönberg
by Frank Martela
How do leading game designers
engage players and create hit games?
What is the meaning of life? Why
Humor
Read the stories of the creative minds
doesn’t happiness work as a life goal?
behind games such as Angry Birds,
Don’t worry, globetrotting researcher
Max Payne and Clash of Clans.
Frank Martela has got you covered on
these questions. #gamedesign #angrybirds #clashofclans #maxpayne
#meaningoflife #searchforhappiness #selfhelp #meaningfullife
In 2018, gaming is a bigger industry than the music and movie
#itsawonderfullife
industries combined, touching billions of lives globally. As an
industry it hasn’t been around very long – the golden age of video
Crime
In this engagingly insightful book, Frank Martela – one of the only
A Wonderful Life: games started in the ’80s. When we reached the 2000s, Finland,
academic experts who has contributed to both the philosophical and Insights for Finding a
psychological research on meaning in life – takes you on a voyage a nation of five million inhabitants, became a game industry
Meaningful ExistencE
through the history, philosophy, and psychology of meaningfulness Harper Design 2020, 200 pp.
Best superpower seemingly overnight.
Seller
and worthy living. From Nokia’s ubiquitous Snake to gangster-chasing Max Payne,
Rights sold The Game Designer Confessions
The journey starts in the 19th century, where it is revealed why and UNITED STATES (World English): to the social community phenomenon Habbo Hotel to Supercell’s Engagement Insights from Finland’s
HarperCollins / Harper Design 6 territories wildly successful Clash of Clans and the most downloaded game Top Game Designers, 2018, 115 pp.
how the Scottish author Thomas Carlyle came to be the first person in FINLAND: Gummerus sold before
history who actually used the phrase “meaning of life”. The life stories publishing of all time, Angry Birds, Finland’s game designers have enjoyed a
ESTONIA: Rahva Raamat
Non-Fiction
of Carlyle and Russian author Leo Tolstoy serve as representative KOREA: Across Publishing streak of unequivocal triumphs that simply cannot be overlooked Rights sold
NETHERLANDS: Ambo Anthos as a mere fluke. What is it in the Helsinki water? Game industry KOREA: Turning Point
examples of the transformation that this book aims to guide you,
RUSSIA: Bombora RUSSIA: Alpina
the reader, through. Finally, an answer is provided to the question of insiders Konsta Klemetti and Harro Grönberg interviewed the
meaning that is compatible with the latest scientific knowledge about Reading material leading game designers to find out.
Reading materials
English manuscript English manuscript with illustrations
human nature, yet still both inspiring and actionable.
The Korean edition will be
published in August 2019
Harper Design is pleased to be publishing this very special book.
Young Adult
Its offer of hope and how to achieve a life that is truly worth living is
the right message for the right time. – Marta Schooler, Publisher, Harper Design
Frank Martela, PhD., is an academic researcher who is a leading expert in the topics of the meaning in life,
happiness, and human well-being. He has collaborated with key experts of these topics and presented his research
KONSTA KLEMETTI & HARRO GRÖNBERG have worked for several leading
in numerous academic conferences as well as invited lectures at universities on four continents, including Stanford
game companies in Helsinki and now form the core of the story-driven
University, Harvard University, and the University of Edinburgh. He is a popular lecturer and author of three well-
transmedia studio Action Squad Studios.
Children’s
received and bestselling non-fiction books. Currently a postdoctoral researcher at Aalto University, Finland, he has
been a visiting scholar at the University of Rochester, NY. and Australian Catholic University.
photo: Petri Juntunen
24 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 25NON-FICTION: LIFESTYLE NON-FICTION: LIFESTYLE
Literary Fiction
photo: Katja Tähjä
Saving the World with Finding Sisu
Sisu, the Finnish Way US title: The Finnish Way
by Katja Pantzar
by Katja Pantzar
Finally, a practical advice on how to
tackle climate change in our daily lives Simple and sensible ways to boost
wellbeing and happiness based on
Humor
using sisu – a unique form of Finnish
fortitude. Finnish Sisu!
#sisu #Nordiclifestyle #Finland #TheFinnishWay #FindingSisu
#sustainability #climatechange #lifestyle #sisu #thefinnishway
#wellbeing #mindfulness
#communities #actions #timeisup #Nordiclifestyle
Forget hygge–it’s time to blow out the candles and get out into
Feeling overwhelmed by the worsening state of our planet and
the world! Journalist Katja Pantzar did just that, taking the huge
underwhelmed by the lack of actionable advice to stop it, journalist and
leap to move from North America to the remote Nordic country
writer Katja Pantzar once again turns to Finns for advice.
Crime
of Finland. What she discovered there transformed her body,
The Finns have a unique form of Finnish fortitude - sisu - which means Saving the World with
Sisu, the Finnish Way mind and spirit. In this engaging and practical guide, she shows
acting in the face of great challenge. readers how to embrace the “keep it simple and sensible” daily
In this wonderful book, Katja Pantzar shares practical Nordic examples
Reading materials
English proposal and
Best practices with the power of sisu that makes Finns one of the
Seller happiest populations in the world, year after year. Finding Sisu: In Search of
of how to save the world with sisu by making changes in the way we sample chapters Courage, Strength and
consume, move and eat. Topics include winter swimming, movement as medicine, Happiness the Finnish way Best
Hodder & Stoughton (UK); Seller
From a small Finnish town in northern Finland with the goal of being From the author forest therapy, healthy eating and the Nordic diet, and the gift
TarcherPerigee (US), 2018, 320 pp.
of international of sisu: Why Finns embrace a special form of courage, grit and
Non-Fiction
the world’s first zero waste community, to the heartfelt stories from bestseller
regular people, experts and groups who are creating positive change, determination as a national virtue – and how anyone can dig Rights sold
Finding Sisu. BULGARIA: Skyprint Rights sold to
this book will offer readers – no matter where they live – the practical deeper to survive and thrive through tough times. 22 territories
CHINA: Yeeyan Publishing
tools to make greener choices in their daily lives. Find your courage. Find your grit. Find your sisu. CZECH REPUBLIC: Mladá Fronta
FINLAND: Siltala
FRANCE: Belfond
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe
HUNGARY: Jaffa Kiado
INDONESIA: Gramedia Pustaka Utama
It was with delight that I ITALY: Marsilio/Sonzogno
JAPAN: Hojosha
Young Adult
chanced upon The Finnish Way, NETHERLANDS: Kosmos
POLAND: WUJ
a self-help book promoting the joy PORTUGAL: Marcador
RUSSIA: AST, SPAIN: Roca Editorial (WS)
and restorative power of sisu. SPAIN: Roca Editorial (WS)
TAIWAN: My House
THAILAND: OpenBooks
TURKEY: Mona Kitap/Alfa
UK: Hodder/Hachette (WE) (orig.)
KATJA PANTZAR works as a writer, editor and broadcast journalist. Raised in Canada, with stints in the UK and US: Tarcher Perigee/Penguin Random House
New Zealand, she is currently based in Helsinki, where she swims in the sea almost every day, all year round. – Vogue, USA on The Finnish Way VIETNAM: Alpha/Omega
Her first book about sisu and wellbeing has been sold to 22 different territories.
Children’s
Reading material
English edition
26 Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com Reading materials and rights enquiries: info@ahlbackagency.com 27You can also read
