Literary

THE WOMEN I THINK ABOUT AT NIGHT, by Mia Kankimäki, hits US shelves!

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Mia Kankamaki The Women I think About At Night US

What a day! Published by Simon & Schuster, Mia Kankimäki’s Finnish best-seller, “The Women I Think About at Night,” hit shelves yesterday, November 10, in the United States and Canada. On that same day, incredibly, she also published an essay in the Wall Street Journal. Kankimäki’s star is officially rising in North America; definitely cause for champagne, as you can see CEO, Elina Ahlbäck raising a toast to Mia. Bravo!

Request full English manuscript of the title by clicking here.

With rights to “The Women I Think About at Night” sold to 15 countries (and counting!), we at EALA are thrilled to partner with Simon & Schuster for Mia Kankimäki’s publication in the United States and Canada, where she’s already generating incredible buzz. Putting her alongside authors such as Barack Obama, Fortune magazine named Kankimäki’s unique work one of their 6 books to read in November!

“Fortysomething, childless, and feeling stuck, Finnish author Mia Kankimäki takes that big leap we all fantasize about but never have the guts to do: She quits her job, sells her apartment, and travels the world. In a blend of travelogue, memoir, and biography, Kankimäki recounts her travels through Japan, Kenya, and Italy, while retracing the steps of 10 remarkable female pioneers from history.” – Fortune

And make sure to read her beautiful Wall Street Journal essay, The Finnish Island Where Time Stops.

A publishing sensation in Finland with over 40,000 copies sold, “The Women I Think About at Night” solidifies Kankimäki’s standing as one of Finland’s leading new authors. Her book was translated by Douglas Robinson and published by Simon & Schuster, one of the four largest English-language publishers in the world. 

Her book has already received positive reviews In Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, Travel & Leisure,
and Kirkus Review, along with Fortune magazine. 

Elina Ahlbäck Literary Agency is responsible for the sale of international rights to Mia Kankimäki’s books.  The rights to ”The Women I Think About at Night” have already been sold to 15 countries.

In 2013, Mia Kankimäki instantly became one of the top names in the literary field with her debut, ”Things That Make One’s Heart Beat Faster.” More than 80,000 of her two books have altogether been sold in Finland.

Rights Sold

FINLAND:
Otava (orig.)
CHINA:
Winshare Publishing
CZECH REPUBLIC:
Albatros Media/Motto
DENMARK:
Bilgrav Publishing
ESTONIA:
Varrak
FRANCE:
Editions Leduc.s
GERMANY:
btb Verlag/RandomHouse
ITALY:
Neri Pozza
LATVIA:
Zvaigzne
LITHUANIA:
Gelmes Publishing
NETHERLANDS:
Uitgeverij Orlando
NORWAY:
Gursli Berg Forlag
RUSSIA:
Eksmo Publishing
SLOVENIA:
Didakta
SWEDEN:
Wahlström & Widstrand
UNITED STATES & WORLD ENGLISH:
Simon & Schuster

About author


Mia Kankimäki

Mia Kankimäki is the author of two best-selling books which blend travelogue, memoir, biography, and women’s history. After taking a master’s degree in comparative literature at the University of Helsinki and working diligently in Finnish publishing, in 2010 she left her job and traveled to Japan to write her first book. Her books have received several literary awards, for example the Best Travel Book of the Year 2013, the HelMet Award 2015, and Otava Book Foundation’s Non-Fiction Award 2020. She currently lives in Helsinki, Finland, whenever she’s not traveling for her next book project.

Mia has been enthusiastic about Japanese culture for years and is a qualified ikebana teacher of the Sogetsu school. Her first book Things That Make One’s Hear Beat Faster took her to Kyoto where she has spent long periods of writing and making research ever since. Kankimäki’s second book The Women I Think About at Night has sold over 55,000 copies in Finland and the translation rights have been sold to 21 territories, including USA and China.

Mia's both books have been aqcuired by Japanese publisher Soshisha:

"I am delighted to share that Mia Kankimäki’s debut title, THINGS THAT MAKE ONE’S HEART BEAT FASTER, is embraced and loved by many Japanese readers. A cross between an autobiography and a travelogue, the author finds an emotional connection with a woman geographically far apart and from a different era and tries to discover who she really was. I believe this style is reflected in THE WOMEN I THINK ABOUT AT NIGHT as well. Though some of the female figures in this second book might not be well-known locally, I am looking forward to seeing how our readers will react to their lifestyles." - Daisuke Watanabe, Editor, Soshisha

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2018, General Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction

The Women I Think About At Night

Mia Kankimäki


2013, General Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction

Things That Make One's Heart Beat Faster

Mia Kankimäki

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Feel-Good Fiction from Finland!

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Feel-Good is here to stay!
Did you know that Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the World for three consecutive years? One of the reasons for this might be the Finns’ knack for Feel-Good literature!

Although the fall weather is rough, we are glad to have some fuzzy titles to keep us positive! Find the funniest, happiest titles with the best atmosphere for your publishing house below.

 
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD by Emmi Pesonen

Warm, humorous and beautiful debut novel from the point of view of a stepmother. Patchwork family life, and new beginnings.

  • Debut novel by acclaimed screenwriter and actress
  • Feature film in development by Aurora Studios

Amanda’s life is revolutionized when Onni curves into her life with a yellow minibus, chaos and four children riding along. She has been living an extended youth and cared mainly for her house plants until she met Onni and his kids. Happiness, the laundry pile and the dish mountains grow in their new home.

When Onni’s behavior starts to get weirder, she has to decide if love truly fixes everything.

Ask for the English sample for The Most Beautiful Word by clicking here.

 
FACELIFT by Miika Nousiainen

  • Newest title, sold already to Germany and Estonia!

Sami’s biological clock has been ticking for the past 15 years so loudly that sometimes it’s hard to hear his own thoughts.

But when his latest future-mother-candidate rides off with a biker guy, he makes a series of bad choices that cause him to anger the local motorcycle gang. How to fix a life where everything seems to go wrong? Sanni, a wellbeing blogger with perfectly instagrammable life arrives to offer a solution.

Ask for the English sample for Facelift by clicking here.

 
ROOTS by Miika Nousianen

Onni Kirnuvaara left to get groceries when his son was just a child – and never returned.
Years later, during a root canal treatment, the son finds out that he has a dentist brother, left behind as a child just like him.

The brothers embark on a journey to find out the truth about their father. After many detours, they find themselves in the Australian outback.

On their way to Darwin, secrets are revealed, new family members are found, and lengths of dental floss are needed. Digging to the roots hurts, but under the Southern Cross the ache starts to ease.

Ask for the English sample and synopsis for Roots by clicking here.

 
CHARLOTTA by Sara Medberg

Strict class hierarchy and fabulous silk ruffles rule in 19th-century Turku, Finland, where seamstress Charlotta is looking for her own Mr. Darcy.

Can an ordinary lady’s maid have it all: a meaningful life and the man of her dreams?

Ask for the English sample for Charlotta by clicking here.

 
HOPE NEVER DIES by Minna Lindgren

Marja Vehmarvarsi is a 62-year-old teacher, on the verge of retirement.

Marja’s parents Aina and Toivo are almost 100 years old, but nevertheless passionate YouTubers, whose goal is to save the Finnish school system – whatever it takes.

Marja’s popularity among the students grows as her parents’ radical plans spread over the internet.

Ask for the English sample and synopsis for Hope Never DIes by clicking here.

 
ANGRY WIDOW by Minna Lindgren

74-year-old Ulla has cared for her mean and slightly alcoholic paralyzed husband for the last 12 years.

At his funeral, all she can think is: finally! She reconnects with old friends and starts living every day as if it were her last.

The Angry Widow is an amusing and entertaining story about what it means to be seventy in a world where everyone over 65 ticks the same age box in a survey.

Ask for the English sample and synopsis for Angry Widow by clicking here.

 
SUNSET GROVE TRILOGY by Minna Lindgren

1st book:
Death in Sunset Grove is a devilishly funny and suspenseful story about old age, friendship and life in a relatively ordinary retirement home. Here the only fate worse than death is being drugged up and locked away inside the dementia ward. Even the sharpest senior can’t decipher all the nuances of this place; thankfully a few young people, including members of the biker gang and a grandchild’s boyfriend, offer some help.
2nd book: Residents Siiri, Irma and Anna-Liisa, all older than 90, decide to move from the retirement home into a shared apartment in the exotic neighbourhood of Hakaniemi

3rd book: The final part of the trilogy marks a return to the retirement community. But the place no longer feels like home, and has turned into a state-funded, technology-driven pilot project in elderly care. The conclusion brings together characters lost along the way, and murky details are brought to light. Legal justice is also served – in unexpected ways. A natural, long-awaited death finally collects some, but still not all, of our main characters.

Ask for the full English pdfs for Sunset Grove trilogy by clicking here.

About author


Emmi Pesonen

Emmi Pesonen (1977) is a Helsinki-based writer, screenwriter and actress. She graduated in 2001 as a Master of Theater Arts and has worked as an actor in several in theaters, movies, and TV series. Pesonen is bilingual (Finnish-Swedish) and she has translated and dramatized Swedish-language plays. She is also the screenwriter of a movie The Violin Player (Violinist, Mjölk Movies), which premiered in Finland in 2018, and has toured successfully at more than 20 film festivals around the world (including Gothenburg, Moscow, Singapore, Kaliningrad). The film deals with power structures in the art world, passion and giving up.  The Most Beautiful Word (Otava, August 2020) is Pesonen’s debut novel. The book tells a story of a patchwork family from the point of view of the new step-mother. It’s a story of endless love, irreversible decision and learning new things. The movie rights have been optioned by Aurora Studios and a film is currently being developed.

Read more

About author


Miika Nousiainen

Miika Nousiainen (b. 1973 in Säynätsalo) has worked as a news and current affairs journalist for MTV3's news department. In addition, he has written for several popular TV-shows.

Nousiainen’s debut novel, Raspberry Boat Refugee (2007), tells the story of Mikko Virtanen, a man who desperately wants to become Swedish at any cost. In this tragicomic work, Nousiainen makes sharp observations about our western neighbor and illustrates that we’re all self-proclaimed experts on Sweden.

Roots (2016) follows the search for a missing father, taking readers across continents from Lieksa, Finland, to Australia. The book was also well-received internationally.

In Facelift (2020), Nousiainen gently explores themes of family and the longing for connection.

In addition, he has written The Danger of the Long Distance Runner (2009) and Forrest Giant (2011).

Nousiainen's novels have been adapted countless times and translated into languages such as Swedish, German, Dutch, Italian, and Estonian.

Miika Nousiainen have been awarded with: Laila Hirvisaari Foundation Grant (2008), Kalevi Jäntti Prize (2009) and Honorable Mention in the Sports Museum Foundation’s Sports Book of the Year Competition (2010)

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen / Otava 2020

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About author


Minna Lindgren

Minna Lindgren (b. 1963) is a freelance journalist and columnist known for her whimsical writing style and fearless approach to topics as strange as opera and death. In addition to novels, she has authored nonfiction books on classical music. In 2009, Lindgren won the Bonnier Journalism Prize for her article entitled “Father’s Death” (“Isän kuolema”).

Lindgren is best known for the Sunset Grove trilogy, which has been sold to 18 territories, and the final part, The End of Sunset Grove, was nominated for the International Dublin Literature Award in 2019. She has also written four standalone novels and a non-fiction book about the history of opera.

Minna Lindgren’s books have been critical and commercial successes, in Finland and internationally.

Read more Author's page

About author


Sara Medberg

Sara Medberg is a historian, who has just finished her doctoral dissertation about the education of highborn girls in the 18th century. The ideas for her novels come from her research. In her thesis she studies young womens' conduct manuals in Sweden in the 18th century from the perspective of the modernising ideals for women and the upbringing of girls.

Sara has received academic scholarships from the Swedish Cultural Foundation, Waldemar von Frenckell's Foundation and the Swedish Literature Society. Including others, her literary work is sponsored by the Finnish Author Association and Otava's Book Foundation.

Medberg enjoys costume dramas, fashion from the past, castles, mansions, shopping and running. Her novels have sold over 100,000 copies across all territories.

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Two new deals for Miika Nousiainen!

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We are more than excited to announce that Eesti Raamat from Estonia has pre-empted 2 titles of Miika Nousiainen: FACELIFT (2020) and ROOTS (2016).
The first title  – ROOTS  – will most likely be published already in 2021 and FACELIFT will follow.

FACELIFT
by Miika Nousiainen

Sami has a dream: he desperately wants to be a father. His biological clock has been ticking for the past 15 years so loudly that sometimes it’s hard to hear his own thoughts. But it’s not so easy to become a father, first of all, you need to find a suitable future mother candidate.

But when Sami’s latest future-mother-candidate rides off with a biker guy, he makes a series of bad choices that cause him to anger the local motorcycle gang. How to fix a life where everything seems to go wrong? Sini, a wellbeing blogger with perfectly instagrammable life arrives to offer a solution.

”Nousiainen comes to grips with profound topics, managing them with an ease and wits that keeps readers hooked from the page one. In “Facelift”
the modern superficiality gets pointed out in the most entertaining manner.”
– Reet Trummal, editor, Eesti Raamat, Estonia

Ask for English materials for FACELIFT by clicking here

ROOTS 
by Miika Nousiainen

Onni Kirnuvaara left to get groceries when his son was just a child – and never returned. The father was never mentioned again. Years later, during a root canal treatment, the son finds out that in addition to his bad dental karma he has a dentist brother, left behind as a child just like him.

The brothers embark on a journey to find out the truth about their father. After many detours they find themselves in the Australian outback. Lousy fathers are fathers too, after all.

”Nousiainen´s novel about the laws of life is truly enjoyable: both amusing and thought-provoking, sharp and warm. Life has its own unique ways to make us face the problems that are not necessarily the most comfortable to face. With or without anesthesia – one simply cannot bypass his roots!”
– Reet Trummal, editor, Eesti Raamat, Estonia

Ask for English materials for ROOTS by clicking here

Rights sold: ROOTS

FINLAND, Otava (Original publisher)

CZECH REPUBLIC, XYZ
ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat
GERMANY, Nagel & Kimche
HUNGARY, Kossuth
ITALY, Iperborea
LITHUANIA, Alma Littera
NETHERLANDS, Prometheus
SWEDEN, Brombergs

 

Rights sold: FACELIFT

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat
GERMANY: Kein & Aber

About author


Miika Nousiainen

Miika Nousiainen (b. 1973 in Säynätsalo) has worked as a news and current affairs journalist for MTV3's news department. In addition, he has written for several popular TV-shows.

Nousiainen’s debut novel, Raspberry Boat Refugee (2007), tells the story of Mikko Virtanen, a man who desperately wants to become Swedish at any cost. In this tragicomic work, Nousiainen makes sharp observations about our western neighbor and illustrates that we’re all self-proclaimed experts on Sweden.

Roots (2016) follows the search for a missing father, taking readers across continents from Lieksa, Finland, to Australia. The book was also well-received internationally.

In Facelift (2020), Nousiainen gently explores themes of family and the longing for connection.

In addition, he has written The Danger of the Long Distance Runner (2009) and Forrest Giant (2011).

Nousiainen's novels have been adapted countless times and translated into languages such as Swedish, German, Dutch, Italian, and Estonian.

Miika Nousiainen have been awarded with: Laila Hirvisaari Foundation Grant (2008), Kalevi Jäntti Prize (2009) and Honorable Mention in the Sports Museum Foundation’s Sports Book of the Year Competition (2010)

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen / Otava 2020

Read more

Bibliography


2024, Commercial/Upmarket, Humor

Push, Pace, Position, Pray

Miika Nousiainen


2020, Commercial/Upmarket, Humor

Facelift

Miika Nousiainen


2016, Humor

Roots

Miika Nousiainen


2007, Humor

Raspberry Boat Refugee

Miika Nousiainen

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Estonian rights sold for THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD!

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We are very excited to announce that Emmi Pesonen’s debut novel THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD now has a first international publisher!
Eesti Raamat from Estonia was very happy to acquire the title:

”Emmi Pesonen takes a warm and calm approach when describing the delicate subject of becoming a stepmother. It is a story of love at its finest.”
– Reet Trummal, editor, Eesti Raamat, Estonia

Ask for English materials by clicking here

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD
by Emmi Pesonen

Warm, humorous and beautiful debut novel from the point of view of a stepmother. Patchwork family life, and new beginnings.

  • Debut novel by acclaimed screenwriter and actress
  • Feature film in development by Aurora Studios

Amanda’s life is revolutionized when Onni curves into her life with a yellow minibus, chaos and four children riding along. She has been living an extended youth and cared mainly for her house plants until she met Onni and his kids. Happiness, the laundry pile and the dish mountains grow in their new home. Everything is always lost and the house is permanently messy, but Amanda firmly believes that love conquers all obstacles. But when Onni’s behavior starts to get weirder, she has to decide if love truly fixes everything.

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat
TV & MOVIE RIGHTS: Aurora Studios

About author


Emmi Pesonen

Emmi Pesonen (1977) is a Helsinki-based writer, screenwriter and actress. She graduated in 2001 as a Master of Theater Arts and has worked as an actor in several in theaters, movies, and TV series. Pesonen is bilingual (Finnish-Swedish) and she has translated and dramatized Swedish-language plays. She is also the screenwriter of a movie The Violin Player (Violinist, Mjölk Movies), which premiered in Finland in 2018, and has toured successfully at more than 20 film festivals around the world (including Gothenburg, Moscow, Singapore, Kaliningrad). The film deals with power structures in the art world, passion and giving up.  The Most Beautiful Word (Otava, August 2020) is Pesonen’s debut novel. The book tells a story of a patchwork family from the point of view of the new step-mother. It’s a story of endless love, irreversible decision and learning new things. The movie rights have been optioned by Aurora Studios and a film is currently being developed.

Read more

Bibliography


2022, Literary Fiction

The Magician's Daughters

Emmi Pesonen


2020, Commercial/Upmarket

The Most Beautiful Word

Emmi Pesonen

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Emmi Itäranta’s brilliant third novel THE MOONDAY LETTERS published today

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Emmi Itäranta is one of the most internationally successful contemporary Finnish authors. Her first novel MEMORY OF WATER is published in 23 territories, and filming of the movie has begun this fall.

The Moonday Letters by award-winning author Emmi Itäranta, focuses on big themes. It is dedicated to all those who have lost their homes. Itäranta worked on The Moonday Letters for three and a half years while the world went through increasing turmoil. The climate crisis grew more urgent, authoritarianism and populism gained more ground in world politics. The novel did not strive to directly reflect these issues, but they could not help but filter into the fictional reality of the book.
Emmi Itäranta tells about the writing process:

“Years ago my editor cleverly planted the idea in my mind that there were not many space operas by Finnish authors, and that it might be interesting to see some. The thought began to take root. In January 2017 the first image of the story emerged in my imagination: a woman is sitting in a coffee shop on the Moon, watching Earth from there and thinking that she can never return to her home planet. The image spoke to me not only of a future world, but also of loss and longing for home. The book grew around these themes.”   “And on top of it all I completed the book in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.”

“As I was putting the finishing touches on the book, the parallels with the current reality took even me by surprise.” Itäranta, who lives in the United Kingdom and is currently visiting Finland, says The Moonday Letters portrays first and foremost the grief of losing Earth, the only home of the human species, as it was.

“I believe we are already living in the middle of this grief in relation to the loss of biodiversity and the climate crisis that we see all around us. I also believe it is possible and meaningful to process these feelings of loss through fiction.”

 

About author


Emmi Itäranta

Emmi Itäranta (b.1976) holds two MA degrees, one in Drama and another in Creative Writing. Her award-winning debut novel Memory of Water (Teemestarin kirja) was published in Finland in 2012 to great accolades, followed by The Weaver (Kudottujen kujien kaupunki) in 2015, and The Moonday Letters (Kuunpäivän kirjeet) in September 2020. Her new title Snowsinger (Lumenlaulaja) was published in 2025.

Itäranta’s writing has been compared to that of Ursula K. Le Guin. Her honours include the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize 2013, the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize 2012 and first place in the Teos Fantasy and Sci-Fi Literary Contest 2011.

Memory of Water has sold to over 25 languages to date, and it 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 Otherwise Award (formerly James Tiptree, Jr. Award).

Itäranta’s CV is an eclectic mix of writing-related activities, including stints as a columnist, theatre critic, press officer and dramaturge. Her poems, short stories, articles and essays have appeared in anthologies, film magazines and science fiction magazines in the UK and Finland. She now lives in Finland after 14 years in the United Kingdom.

Photo credit: Liisa Takala

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2025, Literary Fiction, Fantasy & Science Fiction

Snowsinger

Emmi Itäranta


2020, Fantasy & Science Fiction

The Moonday Letters

Emmi Itäranta


2015, Fantasy & Science Fiction

The Weaver

Emmi Itäranta


2012, Fantasy & Science Fiction

Memory of Water

Emmi Itäranta

Related news

2020 Fiction Fall Rights Guide is published!

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We are proud to announce that our 2020 Fall Rights Guide is published, and this time it is completely digital.

What’s new: Author videos! 360 views on books
Browse different categories from the top menu, see 360 degree views of the titles and enjoy video clips from our authors. Ask for materials by only clicking a button.

Browse the fiction list here

We are super excited about our list! Below we have introduced our brand-new fiction titles. Take a look and get in touch to register your interest and request English materials!

WHEN THE KING DIES by Elina Backman

Beginning of a new detective series – already an international hit!

  • Rights sold to 8 countries and counting.
  • Immediate bestseller in Finland! Amazing reviews!
  • International TV series in development!

Saana is a former click-bait journalist who spends a summer in a quiet town of Hartola. But when she begins to dig into a case of a teenage girl who died 30 years earlier, the peace of the small town is shaken. Meanwhile in Helsinki a crime investigator Jan Leino is solving a murder at King’s Gate at Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. Saana and Jan continue working on their own cases until their paths cross – for more than one reason.

 

Rights sold in 2-book-deals:  FINLAND: Otava (orig.), CZECH REPUBLIC: Grada (Book 1), ESTONIA: Varrak, GERMANY: Piper Verlag, LITHUANIA: BALTO (Book1), NETHERLANDS: De Bezige Bij/Cargo, NORWAY: Cappelen Damm, SWEDEN: Bokfabriken, FILM & TV RIGHTS: tba

Book 2 coming in Summer 2021.

Reading materials: English sample & synopis – click here to request them

Author bio:
Elina Backman, is a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki, in an old wooden 1920 house with a family of 2 kids and a husband. Elina loves books (all sorts), travelling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club.

IRRATIONAL THINGS by Saara Turunen

Autofictive story of love, death and life between two countries. Turunen’s funny, witty and melancholic voice examines the contradiction of sense and sensibility.

The narrator travels to Barcelona to study theatre. After a few weeks she falls in love with a local man. Thus begins an intensive relationship that tears her between two countries and two cultures. She learns that relationships are between two individuals who have their own ways of expressing love to others and to themselves.

Click here to watch the author video

Reading materials: English sample available in September

Author bio: 
Saara Turunen is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author, playwright and director. She is known for her bold and direct style and much of her work examines the themes of identity and social norms.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD by Emmi Pesonen

Warm, humorous and beautiful debut novel from the point of view of a stepmother. Patchwork family life, and new beginnings.

  • Feature film in development by Aurora Studios

Amanda’s life is revolutionized when Onni curves into her life with a yellow minibus, four children riding along. She has been living an extended youth and cared mainly for her house plants and herself until she met Onni and his kids. Happiness, the laundry pile and the dish mountains grow in their new home. Everything is always lost, and the house is permanently messy, but Amanda firmly believes that love conquers all obstacles. But when Onni’s behavior starts to get weirder, she has to decide if love truly fixes everything.

Click here to watch the author video

Reading materials: English sample and synopsis available in September

Author bio:
Emmi Pesonen is a Helsinki-based writer, screenwriter and actress. She graduated in 2001 as a Master of Theater Arts and has worked as an actor in several in theaters, movies, and TV series. Pesonen is bilingual (Finnish-Swedish) and she has translated and dramatized Swedish-language plays.

THE OTHERS OF US by Mooses Mentula

Meet Jack Kerouc, Charles Bukowski, Edgar Allan Poe and Jane Austen!

To escape the demands and responsibilities, Tino fetches a jar from the closet, digs out a pill, sets it on the back of his tongue, and accelerates the medicine’s journey to his stomach with some coffee.  He sinks into images of lives that are experienced elsewhere, at different times, through the eyes of other people. He suddenly finds himself writing only stories – and not just stories of the world outside, but he is also writing his own life into a story which events he is no longer able to control.

Click here to watch the author video

Rights sold: GERMANY: Weidle Verlag

Reading materials: English sample & synopsis – click here to request materials

Author bio:
Mooses Mentula works as a teacher, but writing is his passion. He strives for intelligence and challenge and aims for a simple surface. Most importantly, all of his books contain hope and warmth. The Others of Us is Mentula’s third novel and some of his works have been translated in German.

About author


Elina Backman

Elina Backman is an author and a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki. Elina loves books (all sorts), traveling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club. She is a creative soul with a commercial mind, and her goal is to find readers globally.

Her debut novel All the King's Men was published in 2020 and immediately gained an enormous amount of attention from the Finnish media, including a praising review by the biggest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. The Saana Havas series is now a best-selling series in Finland and an international TV series is in development. Elina's books have sold over 190 000 copies in Finland.

Together with Heidi Holmavuo, Elina has also narrated the true crime podcast Ratkaisematon (Unsolved), which turned into a full-length audio book as the two crime writers started investigating the murder of a young girl in 1955. They were able to uncover new evidence and their research led the police to reopen the investigation. This story is narrated in the book Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo.

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen

Read more Author's page

About author


Emmi Pesonen

Emmi Pesonen (1977) is a Helsinki-based writer, screenwriter and actress. She graduated in 2001 as a Master of Theater Arts and has worked as an actor in several in theaters, movies, and TV series. Pesonen is bilingual (Finnish-Swedish) and she has translated and dramatized Swedish-language plays. She is also the screenwriter of a movie The Violin Player (Violinist, Mjölk Movies), which premiered in Finland in 2018, and has toured successfully at more than 20 film festivals around the world (including Gothenburg, Moscow, Singapore, Kaliningrad). The film deals with power structures in the art world, passion and giving up.  The Most Beautiful Word (Otava, August 2020) is Pesonen’s debut novel. The book tells a story of a patchwork family from the point of view of the new step-mother. It’s a story of endless love, irreversible decision and learning new things. The movie rights have been optioned by Aurora Studios and a film is currently being developed.

Read more