Middle-Grade

AGNES sold to Germany, THE LITTLE SHOP OF NIGHTMARES series to Italy!

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We are very happy to announce 2 new children’s translation rights sales!

Tuutikki Tolonen’s AGNES AND THE GARDEN OF DREAMS was acquired by Carlsen Verlag (also German publisher for J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer etc)

Agnes is a very charming story about friendship and family, it is gripping and heartwarming at the same time. Tuutikki Tolonen takes us to a place full of mysteries and dreams and she creates an atmosphere where the reader immediately feels comfortable. We are very happy to welcome Agnes to our list!

– Wiebke Andersen, Editor, Carlsen Verlag, Germany

Ask for English sample for the title by clicking here.

We are equally excited because the first 2 titles of THE LITTLE SHOP OF NIGHTMARES series by Magdalena Hai were sold to Italian publisher Terre di Mezzo
The wonderful younger middle-grade series has already sold to 14 countries, but rights are still available in: France, United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, Lithuania, Slovenia, China, Bulgaria, Greece etc.

An original, lively series that we hope will continue for a long time. A terribly funny story, with breathtaking illustrations
– Eleonora Armaroli, Terre di Mezzo, Italy

Ask for English texts and pdfs for the series by clicking here.

AGNES AND THE GARDEN OF DREAMS
by Tuutikki Tolonen, illustrated by Kati Vuorento

First book of the series

11-years-old Agnes has to move to a small countryside town with her mother. Her parents are divorced, and Agnes doesn’t know anyone
from her new hometown. She is not having the best summer of her life.

But then something weird happens. Agnes finds an old tombstone that has her name and birthday engraved on it – only the birth year is different. Whose grave is it?

Agnes befriends a boy called ”Bun”, who is also lonely. Together they start to solve the mystery of the tombstone. They find out more and more about a family who lived in the town years and years ago. When they go visit the family’s abandoned mansion, Agnes realizes something. She has been there before – in her dreams.

What is happening? It feels like someone who lived a long time ago is trying to tell something to Agnes. Is it possible that these two Agneses from different times have some connection?

Coming up: Book #2 to be published in 2021. More information coming soon.

 

THE LITTLE SHOP OF NIGHTMARES
by Magdalena Hai, illustrated by Teemu Juhani

Nina is a is a clever, 9-year-old girl who goes to work in the Little Shop of Nightmares. During the course of the trilogy, she has to solve a mystery with tickling powder, find the lost teeth of a vampire and discover the reason why suddenly it just doesn’t stop snowing. The Little Shop of Nightmares is a mystery full of fascinating and fun characters that make young readers both wonder and laugh!

 #1  THE TERRIBLE TICKLING POWDER
When Nina, 9 years old, enters The Little Shop of Nightmares in hopes of getting a job, she is
greeted by an odd sight: shopkeeper Mr. Kook is rolling on the floor, unable to stop laughing.
With a little help from a ghost called Paddy, they start looking for the untickling powder to help
him, but things are certainly not made easier by Mr. Kook’s world-domination-planning pet octopus
Squishy McGoo, who is a bit too quick about getting into trouble with rollerblades on its tentacles.

 #2  MYSTERY OF THE MISSING TEETH
Nina goes to buy ice cream after her first work day at The Little Shop of Nightmares.
But at the ice cream shop she discovers a vampire – without teeth! Nina decides to help
vampire Lucas to find his teeth from Mr. Kook’s shop. But for some reason all the vampire
teeth seem to have disappeared. It seems like somebody has hidden them on purpose…

 #3  STICKY THE TERRIBLE SNOWMAN
Same awesome monsters. New blizzardy trouble. The Little Shop of Nightmares is
getting buried in snow! Nina and Paddy are trying to find the cause of the snowstorm,
but that’s easier said than done. A well-meaning but horribly clumsy snowman keeps
getting in their way and stopping their every effort to stop the snowing inside.

Rights sold:
AGNES
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)

CZECH REPUBLIC: Portál
DENMARK: ABC Forlag
ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat
GERMANY: Carlsen Verlag
RUSSIA: Rosman

 

Rights sold
LITTLE SHOP OF NIGHTMARES SERIES:

FINLAND:
WSOY (orig.)

CZECH REPUBLIC:
Euromedia
DENMARK:
Vild Maskine
ESTONIA:
Postimees Publishing
GERMANY:
Egmont Schneiderbuch
HUNGARY:
Cerkabella
ITALY:
Terre di Mezzo
LATVIA:
Latvijas Mediji
NETHERLANDS:
De Vier Windstreken
NORWAY:
Fontini
RUSSIA:
KompasGuide
ROMANIA:
Editura Univers
SWEDEN:
Hegas
TURKEY:
Epsilon

About author


Kati Vuorento

Kati Vuorento is an illustrator living and working in Espoo, Finland: ”In small details there is an infinite magic. I want my illustrations to stir emotion in the audience. Empathizing is important to me. In my illustrations, I always include approachable characteristics to even the most hardened anti-hero. This is how I mold the characters into personalities with depth and dimension.”

She is the illustrator of middle-grade Agnes Series by Tuutikki Tolonen that in 2021 was nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award!


Read more Author's page

About author


Magdalena Hai

Magdalena Hai is an award-winning author, lover of cross-genre fiction and all things strange. Her fiction often combines elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

Her Little Shop of Nightmares series has been sold to 30 territories around the world. Among Hai's many accolades are winning the Finlandia Prize for children's and YA literature and the Finnish Literary Export Prize, and being nominated  the Nordic Council Children & Young People's Literature Prize.

Besides being an author, Hai teaches writing and is an active member and editor in the publishing co-operative Osuuskumma.

Read more Author's page

About author


Teemu Juhani

Teemu Juhani is a Finnish illustrator, comic artist and picture book author whose illustrations have been published in picture books and children's fiction in over 20 countries. In addition to children's books Teemu has illustrated magazines and educational material. Originally from the fields and woods of North Karelia, Teemu now lives, works and eats way too many cakes in Helsinki.

Read more Author's page

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

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Hungarian rights sold to Mabel Merryweather series!

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Hungarian rights sold to MABEL MERRYWEATHER series by Noora Kunnas and Teemu Juhani
We are excited to announce the third foreign sale for Mabel Merryweather series:  Mabel Merryweather and the Miniature Pirates by author Noora Kunnas and illustrator Teemu Juhani has been sold in Hungary to Pagony!

“Mabel Merryweather and the Miniature Pirates is a vibrant, cheerful and light text from the beginning to the end. It is an adventure novel, but with new, fresh elements like a singing rooster and mini-pirates. Not only has it an exciting story, it also has a very good message – the elderly people are not depicted as passive and helpless but on the contrary: the grannies and the children solve problems together!”

– Hanna Győri, editor, Pozsonyi Pagony Kft. Hungary

Request the English samples and synopses by clicking here

This fast and wacky middle-grade series has adorable, quirky black-and-white illustrations by Teemu Juhani, and the humorous story draws inspiration from the world of Roald Dahl.

About the books:

Book 1: Mabel Merryweather and the Miniature Pirates
Otava 2019, 140 pp.
Nick and Lilly’s visit to their rule-loving, child-hating uncle Jim turns into an adventure as the children get to know their exiting, eccentric neighbor: Mabel Merryweather. Mabel and her friends are preparing for a flower arrangement competition, when the town is hit by a jeweler thief. Nick, Lilly and Mabel have their own problems as Mabel’s decorative miniature pirates have come to live and are rummaging through the backyards. And what happened to the main judge of the competition – a pop singer Monika who disappeared in the same day?  Something must be done to bring peace and order back to the town of Dalton.

#2 Mabel Merryweather and the King of the Thieves
Otava 2020, 144 pp.
The town of Dalton is celebrating a local children’s poet’s 140th anniversary, and everyone is dressed up as a character from a poem. But amongst the happy people there’s also a gentleman thief who has terrorized art museums all spring. Through many mistakes and misunderstandings Nick and Lilly help the police to catch a thief – and to teach a lesson to a grumpy literary critic.

Rights sold for the series:

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)

DENMARK: ABC Forlag
GERMANY: Mixtvision Verlag
HUNGARY: Pagony

About author


Noora Kunnas

Noora Kunnas is a children’s author from Helsinki, Finland. She has the knack for making both children and grownups laugh while they’re immersed in her zany books. She loves animals and British humor – she grew up watching Jeeves and Wooster and eating ice cream straight from the container. Kunnas draws her inspiration from the world of Roald Dahl. The trademark of her books is a nutty humor, spiced with quirky characters, as well as the titillating mood of various settings, where anything – and we mean anything – is possible.

Noora Kunnas has published eight children’s books at Otava (2015 – 2022),  and her works have been nominated for the prestigious Tiiliskivi and Lukuvarkaus literary prizes in Finland. She graduated from the Turku Academy of Arts with a degree in film, and she worked in television since.

Read more

About author


Teemu Juhani

Teemu Juhani is a Finnish illustrator, comic artist and picture book author whose illustrations have been published in picture books and children's fiction in over 20 countries. In addition to children's books Teemu has illustrated magazines and educational material. Originally from the fields and woods of North Karelia, Teemu now lives, works and eats way too many cakes in Helsinki.

Read more Author's page

Estonian rights sold to HILJA’S SUMMER AT THE GREEN HOUSE

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We cannot be happier to announce that Hilja-series has now a publisher in Estonia!

Eesti Raamat acquired the rights for the first book in the series: HILJA’S SUMMER AT THE GREEN HOUSE.
Previously, the series has been published in Finland and Germany.

”We love that children can easily relate to “Hilja´s Summer in The Green House”. Stories of Hilja are heartfelt and funny, with a twist of irony.
Who needs superpowers or fairy godmothers when you have two sisters, grannies and aunties!”
– Reet Trummal, editor, Eesti Raamat, Estonia

 

HILJA’S SUMMER IN THE GREEN HOUSE (#1 in Hilja-series)
by Heidi Viherjuuri, illustrated by Nadja Sarell

Hilja is a seven-year-old girl who lives in a wooden house that always needs some fixing. Her family consists of her mother, father, little sister Taimi and big sister Veini. Grandpa is also closely involved in the life of the Green House. He helps Dad with the renovation, takes the kids to fish, and tells jokes.  Hilja has only seen her grandma in an old photograph. However, there are three ladies in the neighborhood who are making sure that Hilja doesn’t have just one grandma but three!

The late summer is full of hustle and bustle. Weather they are celebrating something, catching fish or making Midsummer magic it is never boring! When cousin Martti comes to visit, Agent H and Agent M begin a spy mission to Aunt Strawberry’s house. The excursion ends up in the aunt’s vegetable garden, where secret agents are assigned the task K – weeding.

The idyllic countryside scenery provides room for imagination. These stories are not full of action and crime., but life in the Green house is never too smooth, and the story is spiced with just the right touch of anarchist humor.

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Mäkelä (orig.)
ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat
GERMANY: WooW Books

About author


Heidi Viherjuuri

Heidi Viherjuuri lives in Cologne, Germany, where she writes about things big and small and also everyday life situations. She loves green tea, weekdays, history, traveling by train and having silly laughs with her son. Heidi´s works have rich language and are straight-to-the-point at the same time and one of her favorite books is the Finnish thesaurus.

Read more Author's page

About author


Nadja Sarell

Nadja Sarell is an illustrator living in Helsinki, Finland. She graduated with MA in Dance from Theatre Academy Helsinki. Soon after that she moved to a small town in North Wales to study children’s book illustration. She graduated from North Wales School of Art and Design with BA in Illustration for Children’s Publishing in 2004.

Since then she has worked as a freelance illustrator for children’s publishing in Finland and abroad. She loves to teach art, illustration and dance for both children and adults. She is also passionate about surface pattern design and enjoys creating charismatic, expressive book characters.
If Nadja was an animal, she would be a cat living in an old mansion with a large fireplace and a comfy sofa. Her favourite things are her family, music, dancing, black coffee and chocolate.

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29th territory for MONSTER NANNY series!

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We are very happy to announce that Ukrainian publisher School Publishing House has now acquired the rights for all 3 titles in Monster Nanny series. The series now has 29 rights sold and a feature film in development by Scott Free Productions.

Congratulations to Tuutikki Tolonen, Pasi Pitkänen and School Publishing House!

The rights are still available in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Japan, Serbia, Slovakia, Iceland, Korea, Croatia, Israel etc
If you are interested, request the full English materials for Monster Nanny trilogy by clicking here.

 

MONSTER NANNY TRILOGY:

Book 1: Monster Nanny
Mörkövahti. Tammi 2015, 300 pp.

The Hellman children must make do with a nanny while their mother is away at a spa. The only problem? Their nanny is a monster.

Grah is hairy, dusty, and doesn’t talk. When the siblings discover that other neighborhood kids have been left with similar creatures, they start to wonder where the monsters came from. With the parents away, the kids work together (between bickering) to figure out the mystery of the monsters.
Book 2: Monster Route
Mörköreitti. Tammi 2016, 280 pp.

Mimi 6 years, has snuck into the monsters’ underground world after her monster friend Grah. She travels in their tunnels, led by the odd Gate Keeper. Back at home, Koby and Halley put their heads together and manage to get in touch with Mimi. But who is the mysterious and frightening ruler of the monster world?

Book 3: Monster Message
Mörköviesti, Tammi, March 2020, 250 pp.

Hellman kids face new troubles. Mom and Dad want to move into a bigger home on the other side of the city. Mimi’s talking bathrobe feels strangely shrunk, and drops hints of leaving. Monstrologist Runar Kalli is starting to act his age without his rejuvenating root potion – and he’s 122. Something must be done. When Mimi finds crumpled leaves with strange markings in her room, they look like messages from underground, but who’s delivering them and why? And why does the Gatekeeper of the underground world appear in their bathroom?

The three books are all illustrated by Pasi Pitkänen.

MONSTER NANNY SERIES:

Rights sold:

FINLAND, Tammi (orig. publisher)

AUSTRALIA, Allen & Unwin
BOSNIA, Šahinpašić
BRAZIL, DarkSide Books
CHINA, Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CZECH REPUBLIC, Portál
DENMARK, Turbine
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Editions Robert Laffont
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon
ITALY, Salani/Mauri Spagnol
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
LITHUANIA: Nieko Rimto
NETHERLANDS, Luitingh-Sijthoff
NEW ZEALAND, Allen & Unwin
NORWAY, Gyldendal Norsk
OCEANIA, Allen & Unwin
POLAND, Vesper
PORTUGAL, Asa Editiones/Leya
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
RUSSIA, Rosman
SLOVENIA, Mladinska knjiga
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY, SEV Redhouse Kidz
UKRAINE: School Publishing House
VIETNAM, Nha Nam
UNITED STATES: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
FILM RIGHTS, Scott Free Productions

 

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

Read more Author's page

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

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German and Danish rights sold to MABEL MERRYWEATHER series by Noora Kunnas and Teemu Juhani

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We are excited to announce that the first foreign rights of Mabel Merryweather series by author Noora Kunnas and illustrator Teemu Juhani have been sold. The German rights were acquired by Mixtvision Verlag, and Danish rights went to ABC Forlag.

”We are beyond delighted to publish Noora Kunnas’ and Teemu Juhani’s books at Mixtvision in 2021. The story is hilariously funny and quirky in the very best way and we can’t wait to see what our German readers think about the books!” – Kerstin Rabe, Editorial Director, Mixtvision Verlag, Germany

This fast and wacky middle-grade series has adorable, quirky black-and-white illustrations by Teemu Juhani, and the humorous story draws inspiration from the world of Roald Dahl.

About the books:

Book 1: Mabel Merryweather and the Miniature Pirates
Otava 2019, 140 pp.
Nick and Lilly’s visit to their rule-loving, child-hating uncle Jim turns into an adventure as the children get to know their exiting, eccentric neighbor: Mabel Merryweather. Mabel and her friends are preparing for a flower arrangement competition, when the town is hit by a jeweler thief. Nick, Lilly and Mabel have their own problems as Mabel’s decorative miniature pirates have come to live and are rummaging through the backyards. And what happened to the main judge of the competition – a pop singer Monika who disappeared in the same day?  Something must be done to bring peace and order back to the town of Dalton.

#2 Mabel Merryweather and the King of the Thieves
Otava 2020, 144 pp.
The town of Dalton is celebrating a local children’s poet’s 140th anniversary, and everyone is dressed up as a character from a poem. But amongst the happy people there’s also a gentleman thief who has terrorized art museums all spring. Through many mistakes and misunderstandings Nick and Lilly help the police to catch a thief – and to teach a lesson to a grumpy literary critic.

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
DENMARK: ABC Forlag
GERMANY: Mixtvision

About author


Noora Kunnas

Noora Kunnas is a children’s author from Helsinki, Finland. She has the knack for making both children and grownups laugh while they’re immersed in her zany books. She loves animals and British humor – she grew up watching Jeeves and Wooster and eating ice cream straight from the container. Kunnas draws her inspiration from the world of Roald Dahl. The trademark of her books is a nutty humor, spiced with quirky characters, as well as the titillating mood of various settings, where anything – and we mean anything – is possible.

Noora Kunnas has published eight children’s books at Otava (2015 – 2022),  and her works have been nominated for the prestigious Tiiliskivi and Lukuvarkaus literary prizes in Finland. She graduated from the Turku Academy of Arts with a degree in film, and she worked in television since.

Read more

About author


Teemu Juhani

Teemu Juhani is a Finnish illustrator, comic artist and picture book author whose illustrations have been published in picture books and children's fiction in over 20 countries. In addition to children's books Teemu has illustrated magazines and educational material. Originally from the fields and woods of North Karelia, Teemu now lives, works and eats way too many cakes in Helsinki.

Read more Author's page

2020 Children’s & YA 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 Children’s & YA list here

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

 

YOUNG ADULT:

A Beautiful Day to Die by Veera Salmi

Isra has decided to die. But before that she needs to complete a rescue mission! Embark on a road trip with Isra, her friend Leo, 900 euros and a stolen sky-blue Hyundai.

Leo and Isra are not the most popular kids of their high school. They don’t have high expectations, and nobody expects much of them. So why not take a break from school – and a break from life, and try to do something meaningful before it’s all too late?

Funny, realistic and tragic story of teenagers who don’t know what they want, and are tired of trying to figure it out on their own.

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

Author bio:
Veera Salmi is a writer who lives in Helsinki. She worked for 15 years as a kindergarten teacher prior to becoming a writer. The real starting point for her career as a writer was given by the children in the kindergarten, who said they no longer wanted to hear the same old stories that take place somewhere in the countryside. They wanted to hear stories about the city, the kind of place where they themselves lived. So she started writing such stories.

MIDDLE-GRADE:

Mabel Merryweather Series by Noora Kunnas, illustrated by Teemu Juhani

#1 Mabel Merryweather and the Miniature Pirates

Nick and Lilly’s visit to their rule-loving, child-hating uncle turns into an adventure as the children get to know their exiting, eccentric neighbor: Mabel Merryweather. Mabel and her friends are preparing for a flower arrangement competition, when the town is hit by a jeweler thief. Nick, Lilly and Mabel have their own problems as Mabel’s decorative miniature pirates have come to live and are rummaging through the backyards. And what happened to the main judge of the competition – a pop singer Monika who disappeared in the same day?  Something must be done to bring peace and order back to the town of Sparton.

#2 Mabel Merryweather and the King of the Thieves

The town of Sparton is celebrating a local children’s poet’s 140th anniversary, and everyone is dressed up as a character from a poem. But amongst the happy people there’s also a gentleman thief who has terrorized art museums all spring. Through many mistakes and misunderstandings Nick and Lilly help the police to catch a thief – and to teach a lesson to a grumpy literary critic.

Reading materials: English samples & synopses – request here

Author bio: 
Noora Kunnas (born in 1987) is a children’s author from Helsinki, Finland. She has the knack for making both children and grownups laugh while they’re immersed in her zany books. She draws her inspiration from the world of Roald Dahl. The trademark of her books is a nutty humor, spiced with quirky characters, as well as the titillating mood of various settings, where anything – and we mean anything – is possible.

About author


Noora Kunnas

Noora Kunnas is a children’s author from Helsinki, Finland. She has the knack for making both children and grownups laugh while they’re immersed in her zany books. She loves animals and British humor – she grew up watching Jeeves and Wooster and eating ice cream straight from the container. Kunnas draws her inspiration from the world of Roald Dahl. The trademark of her books is a nutty humor, spiced with quirky characters, as well as the titillating mood of various settings, where anything – and we mean anything – is possible.

Noora Kunnas has published eight children’s books at Otava (2015 – 2022),  and her works have been nominated for the prestigious Tiiliskivi and Lukuvarkaus literary prizes in Finland. She graduated from the Turku Academy of Arts with a degree in film, and she worked in television since.

Read more

About author


Veera Salmi

Veera Salmi is a Helsinki-based writer, who has worked over 15 years as a kindergarten teacher. The real starting point for her career as a writer was given by the children in the kindergarten, who said they wanted to hear stories of children who live in the city. So she started writing such stories. Now Veera Salmi is a bestselling author of over 20 books.

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New deals for MISS SWIFT’S WEIRD AND WONDERFUL HOUSE and PRINCESS RASCAL SERIES!

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We are very happy to start July with 2 new children’s deals!

Just 2 days after the original Finnish publication, we now have the first international sale for MISS SWIFT’S WEIRD AND WONDERFUL HOUSE!

The first international publisher is Grada from Czech Republic. Congratulations!

MISS SWIFT’S WEIRD AND WONDERFUL HOUSE is a new middle-grade title by bestselling writer-illustrator duo Magdalena Hai and Teemu Juhani, whose Little Shop of Nightmares series has already been sold to 13 countries.

ABOUT THE BOOK: Miss Swift lives happily alone in a very extraordinary house that has tigers in the garden and a ghost in the living room. She doesn’t have family, friends, and even people in the pictures on the wall have disappeared.
But one day three children appear on her doorstep, and seems like she might have forgotten something very important…
The answer can be found behind a locked door in the third floor. What’s behind the door you might ask? It’s Miss Swift’s past.

Request the English reading materials for Miss Swift’s Weird and Wonderful House by clicking here!

We are also glad to announce that we now have another sale for PRINCESS RASCAL series!
Danish rights for both books were acquired by Gads Forlag. Previously, PRINCESS RASCAL was acquired by Nieko Rimto in Lithuania.

Princess Rascal is a spirited and resourceful little girl with a great imagination, like the kid sister of Pippi Longstocking!
The heartwarming and funny picture books are written by Elina Hirvonen and illustrated by Mervi Lindman – 2 titles have been published thus far.

Request the full English pdfs for the Princess Rascal series by clicking here!

ABOUT THE SERIES:

#1 PRINCESS RASCAL is a picture book about a little girl who knows her mind and has a heart of gold, though sometimes it’s difficult to know the right thing to do. The book has been praised for its accurate and hilarious depictions of everyday life in a toddler family: sometimes parents get tired, too.

#2 PRINCESS RASCAL AND POTTY WORDS Princess Rascal starts pre-school. She’s nervous about her new mates and new teacher. Especially nervous she is about going to the toilet. When she uses toilet words in a completely wrong situation, she’s sure that she is the most embarrassing girl in the world. But a solution for the problem can be found in her secret treasure chest.

”If your child can’t stop laughing at potty words, then this book is the best Christmas present.
The book made such an impression on the 5-year old in our family that it was read dozens of times a day for a week…. And in the starring role is Princess Rascal’s stunning imagination that rescues her from trouble!”

– Janica Vilen, Turun Seutusanomat newspaper, Finland on PRINCESS RASCAL AND POTTY WORDS

MISS SWIFT’S WEIRD AND WONDERFUL HOUSE
Neiti Kymenen ihmeellinen talo,
Otava, July 2020, 250 pp.
Ages 7+

Rights sold:

FINLAND:
Otava (orig.)

 

 

PRINCESS RASCAL SERIES:

Prinsessa Rämäpää
Tammi, 2017 42pp
Prinsessa Rämäpää ja vessasanat
Tammi, 2019 42pp

Rights sold:

FINLAND:
Tammi (orig.)

DENMARK:
Gads Forlag
LITHUANIA:
Nieko Rimto

About author


Elina Hirvonen

Elina Hirvonen is an award-winning author of adults' and children's prose and documentary filmmaker whose works have been translated into many languages. Hirvonen’s debut novel, When I Forgot, made the front page of The New York Times Book Review, and received rave reviews from the Independent, Guardian, Financial Times and Globe and Mail.

Hirvonen has won the Kalevi Jäntti Prize, the Young Aleksis Prize, has been nominated for the prestigious Finlandia Prize. She has received the prestigious 2023 Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö Literary Foundation Award, recognizing the artistic independence and high standard of her writing.

Her new novel, The Logbook of Love, was published in Finland in August 2023. The Logbook of Love is the first part of a trilogy of novels that create their world through conversations.

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About author


Magdalena Hai

Magdalena Hai is an award-winning author, lover of cross-genre fiction and all things strange. Her fiction often combines elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

Her Little Shop of Nightmares series has been sold to 30 territories around the world. Among Hai's many accolades are winning the Finlandia Prize for children's and YA literature and the Finnish Literary Export Prize, and being nominated  the Nordic Council Children & Young People's Literature Prize.

Besides being an author, Hai teaches writing and is an active member and editor in the publishing co-operative Osuuskumma.

Read more Author's page

About author


Mervi Lindman

Mervi Lindman is a much-loved illustrator whose cheerful artworks have been published in 19 different countries to date. Her work is full of humor, warmth, and emotional depth. She captures the magical world of childhood and the wonders of everyday life in her illustrations. Lindman’s passion lies in creating imagery that speaks to children while also entertaining adults. Lindman’s illustrations have been regularly appraised by critics and public alike.

Read more

About author


Teemu Juhani

Teemu Juhani is a Finnish illustrator, comic artist and picture book author whose illustrations have been published in picture books and children's fiction in over 20 countries. In addition to children's books Teemu has illustrated magazines and educational material. Originally from the fields and woods of North Karelia, Teemu now lives, works and eats way too many cakes in Helsinki.

Read more Author's page

Salla Simukka’s DETAINED sold to Estonia, Magdalena Hai’s THE LITTLE SHOP OF NIGHTMARES 3 to Sweden

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Salla Simukka’s DETAINED sold to Estonia, Magdalena Hai’s THE LITTLE SHOP OF NIGHTMARES 3 to Sweden
We are happy to share excellent new deals for our children’s and YA titles!

DETAINED by Salla Simukka has been sold to Pegasus in Estonia.

Salla Simukka’s previous bestselling Young Adult SNOW WHITE trilogy sold to 52 countries around the world.

In her new exciting YA novel DETAINED, a group of teenagers find themselves jailed for the crimes they are yet to commit. They must figure out their future crimes and confess them before turning 18 years old and staying in jail. The clock is ruthlessly ticking.

The first foreign deal for the title was completed on Salla Simukka’s birthday and only one day after the original Finnish publication date.

Congratulations, Salla!

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

THE LITTLE SHOP OF NIGHTMARES series continues, 3rd book now sold to Sweden, Estonia and Romania!

The wonderful younger middle-grade series has already sold to 13 countries, but rights are still available in: France, United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Poland, Lithuania, Slovenia, China, Bulgaria, Greece etc.

Ask for English texts and pdfs for the series by clicking here.

Book 3 will be published in Finland in September, but Hegas forlag in Sweden already secured the rights to the 3rd book STICKY THE HORRIBLE SNOWMAN.
The rights were previously aquired by Postimees in Estonia and Univers in Romania.

Congratulations Magdalena Hai and illustrator Teemu Juhani!

”We are really happy to publish The Little Shop of Nightmares in Swedish. It is a wonderful book series with humor and just the right amount of spookiness. The hilarious characters and imaginative world enchants even the most reluctant reader. It is also a wonderful reading experience for adults who want to read with their kids.”
– Malin Nyman, Publisher, Hegas, Sweden

About author


Magdalena Hai

Magdalena Hai is an award-winning author, lover of cross-genre fiction and all things strange. Her fiction often combines elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

Her Little Shop of Nightmares series has been sold to 30 territories around the world. Among Hai's many accolades are winning the Finlandia Prize for children's and YA literature and the Finnish Literary Export Prize, and being nominated  the Nordic Council Children & Young People's Literature Prize.

Besides being an author, Hai teaches writing and is an active member and editor in the publishing co-operative Osuuskumma.

Read more Author's page

About author


Salla Simukka

Salla Simukka is the author of the international success story The Snow White Trilogy: rights are sold in 53 territories and in Hollywood. She has written several novels for young readers and her accolades include the Topelius Prize 2013 and the Finland Prize 2013. Simukka has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award  every year 2021–2024. Where It All Begins, published in 2022, is her first novel for adults and in 2024 she started a collaboration with JP Ahonen on a middle grade novel.

Previously Simukka has written book reviews for the newspapers, translated all kinds of texts into Finnish, worked as an editor at a literary magazine and as a screenwriter for a popular TV show for young audiences.  She has also been working on the programme of Turku Book Fair in 2017–2020.

Read more

About author


Teemu Juhani

Teemu Juhani is a Finnish illustrator, comic artist and picture book author whose illustrations have been published in picture books and children's fiction in over 20 countries. In addition to children's books Teemu has illustrated magazines and educational material. Originally from the fields and woods of North Karelia, Teemu now lives, works and eats way too many cakes in Helsinki.

Read more Author's page

Russian rights sold for ENCHANTED PLANET EARTH

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Today we are very happy to announce that Laura Ertimo and Satu Kontinen’s ENCHANTED PLANET EARTH now has a Russian publisher.
The publishing house is AST – one of the biggest publishers in Russia.

Here is what they said about the title:

”We are happy to be the future publisher of this beautiful book. Those maps of the enchanted planet Earth will help children learn a lot more about our planet and will fascinate the adults, too. We feel that such wonderful books may become even more important in this time of uncertainty to show us that life on the planet Earth still goes on and on.”

– Anastasia Filippova, AST Publishing Group, Russia

About the book:

ENCHANTED PLANET EARTH
by Laura Ertimo, illustrated by Satu Kontinen

There is a planet where plants plan world domination. Where beasts are good, and trees live for thousands of years, collecting memories in their bark. This enchanted place is Earth.

This book has 10 stories and 10 maps. They may sound or look like they are out of a fairy-tale, but they are real, true maps of our planet. The Enchanted Planet Earth is a children’s non-fiction book that also engages adults. Through magical maps, it teaches about nature, oceans and the history of continents. The stories also provide a context where adults and kids can discuss environmental issues and how people’s actions affect nature. Through narratives, the book explains the real processes that change our planet and make the Earth habitable.

Rights sold:

FINLAND (orig.): Kustantamo S&S
RUSSIA: AST

 

About author


Laura Ertimo

Laura Ertimo is a geographer and author. She has previously worked in publishing of geography-related non-fiction and maps, and now she writes full time, specializing in children’s non-fiction. A recurring theme in her work is the holistic worldview, the interaction between phenomena, people and nature.

In 2020, she received the prestigious Tietopöllö Award for her work as a Non-Fiction writer. Her children's title WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu, was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!

Read more

About author


Satu Kontinen

Satu Kontinen is a graphic designer and illustrator obsessed with flowers. She is known for her detailed ink works as well as creating quirky creatures and imaginary worlds that spark the imagination of kids and adults alike. She has been awarded for designing and illustrating one of the most beautiful books/book covers in Finland (_Vuoden kaunein kirja_ by the Finnish Book Art Committee) in 2008, 2015, 2016 and in 2018. In 2004 she was nominated for the Finlandia Junior Prize and in 2017 she was one of the top 10 finalists in the prestigious Rudolf Koivu illustration awards. In 2020 she was given a Merit Award in the Three x Three International Illustration Awards.

In her free time Satu enjoys designing floral fabrics and writing children's and YA fiction in secrecy. Maybe some day she will show them to a publisher.

Read more

Watch Elina Hirvonen talk about Julia & P.A.L// Introducing – Enchanted Planet Earth

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Introducing: Julia & P.A.L. by Elina Hirvonen

Toy Story meets The Avengers! The first part of the new exciting middle-grade series where plush animals have super powers.

More than anything else, Julia, 10 years, wishes that somebody would like her. She can explain the structure of the universe, but has no idea how to talk to her classmates. What she doesn’t know is that she already has her very own best friend – her toy bunny Buck, who in reality is a top secret agent of the Plush Animal League (P.A.L.).

See the author reading from the book by clicking on the video below.

Ask for the English sample for Julia & P.A.L here.

 

Introducing: Enchanted Planet Earth by Laura Ertimo

There is a planet where plants plan world domination. Where beasts are good, and trees live for thousands of years, collecting memories in their bark. This enchanted place is Earth.

This book has 10 stories, and 10 maps. They may sound or look like they are out of a fairy-tale, but they are real, true maps of our planet. The Enchanted Planet Earth is a children’s non-fiction book that also engages adults. Through magical maps it teaches about nature, oceans and the history of continents. The stories also provide a context where adults and kids can discuss the environmental issues and how people’s actions affect nature. Through narratives the book explains the real processes that change our planet and make the Earth habitable.

Ask for the English sample and full Finnish pdf for Enchanted Planet Earth here.

Map of migratory birds and animals.

About author


Elina Hirvonen

Elina Hirvonen is an award-winning author of adults' and children's prose and documentary filmmaker whose works have been translated into many languages. Hirvonen’s debut novel, When I Forgot, made the front page of The New York Times Book Review, and received rave reviews from the Independent, Guardian, Financial Times and Globe and Mail.

Hirvonen has won the Kalevi Jäntti Prize, the Young Aleksis Prize, has been nominated for the prestigious Finlandia Prize. She has received the prestigious 2023 Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö Literary Foundation Award, recognizing the artistic independence and high standard of her writing.

Her new novel, The Logbook of Love, was published in Finland in August 2023. The Logbook of Love is the first part of a trilogy of novels that create their world through conversations.

Read more

About author


Laura Ertimo

Laura Ertimo is a geographer and author. She has previously worked in publishing of geography-related non-fiction and maps, and now she writes full time, specializing in children’s non-fiction. A recurring theme in her work is the holistic worldview, the interaction between phenomena, people and nature.

In 2020, she received the prestigious Tietopöllö Award for her work as a Non-Fiction writer. Her children's title WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu, was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!

Read more

About author


Nadja Sarell

Nadja Sarell is an illustrator living in Helsinki, Finland. She graduated with MA in Dance from Theatre Academy Helsinki. Soon after that she moved to a small town in North Wales to study children’s book illustration. She graduated from North Wales School of Art and Design with BA in Illustration for Children’s Publishing in 2004.

Since then she has worked as a freelance illustrator for children’s publishing in Finland and abroad. She loves to teach art, illustration and dance for both children and adults. She is also passionate about surface pattern design and enjoys creating charismatic, expressive book characters.
If Nadja was an animal, she would be a cat living in an old mansion with a large fireplace and a comfy sofa. Her favourite things are her family, music, dancing, black coffee and chocolate.

Read more Author's page

About author


Satu Kontinen

Satu Kontinen is a graphic designer and illustrator obsessed with flowers. She is known for her detailed ink works as well as creating quirky creatures and imaginary worlds that spark the imagination of kids and adults alike. She has been awarded for designing and illustrating one of the most beautiful books/book covers in Finland (_Vuoden kaunein kirja_ by the Finnish Book Art Committee) in 2008, 2015, 2016 and in 2018. In 2004 she was nominated for the Finlandia Junior Prize and in 2017 she was one of the top 10 finalists in the prestigious Rudolf Koivu illustration awards. In 2020 she was given a Merit Award in the Three x Three International Illustration Awards.

In her free time Satu enjoys designing floral fabrics and writing children's and YA fiction in secrecy. Maybe some day she will show them to a publisher.

Read more

SISTERLAND by Salla Simukka getting rave reviews in the US

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We are thrilled to share some of the rave reviews that Salla Simukka’s middle-grade novel Sisterland has gotten since its recent US publication.

Fall under the spell of this contemporary fairy tale that’s perfect for fans of Emily Winfield Martin’s Snow & Rose and the Chronicles of Narnia series. English edition available. Translated by Owen Witesman.

 

While a few readers may wish for longer pauses in this Odyssey-paced journey, most will delight in the wondrous details and flexible metaphors.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A girl-centered hero’s journey, at once princess-free and enchanting.”
—Kirkus

“A humorous, delightfully sweet tale of magic and sisterhood.”
—Booklist

“The enchanting writing contains rich descriptions and similes, and will be accessible to reluctant readers.“
—School Library Journal

“Enjoy the plethora of fantastic creatures and the paean to friendship.”
—Bulletin

“This book is gorgeous, lush, and dreamy with the atmosphere of fairy tales we all know and love. It’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, but for this generation. It’s a beautiful exploration of friendship and the way children forget, of bravery and the beauty of remembering.”
— Book Shop of Fort Collins, USA

 

About the book:

Welcome to Sisterland, a fantastical world where it is always summer. The most enchanting magic of all, though, is Alice’s new friend Marissa. But as the girls explore the strange land, they learn Sisterland’s endless summer comes at a price. Back on Earth, their homes are freezing over. To save their families, Alice and Marissa must outwit the powerful Queen Lili. But the deeper they go into Sisterland, the less Alice and Marissa remember about their homes, their lives before, and what they are fighting for. A wondrous tale about heroism, loyalty, and friendship from one of the most celebrated Finnish children’s authors.

About the author:
Salla Simukka is the author of the international success story The Snow White Trilogy: rights are sold in 52 territories and in Hollywood. She has written several novels for young readers and her accolades include the Topelius Prize 2013 and the Finland Prize 2013.
Her new YA novel, Detained, will be published in the fall 2020.

Rights sold:

FINLAND, Tammi (Orig.)
ARAB WORLD, Arab Scientific Publishers
BELGIUM, Clavis
CHINA, Hunan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
ESTONIA, Pegasus
FRANCE, Hachette Livre
JAPAN, Nishimura
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
NETHERLANDS, Clavis
UNITED STATES, Random House/Crown (World English)

Reading materials:
English edition

About author


Salla Simukka

Salla Simukka is the author of the international success story The Snow White Trilogy: rights are sold in 53 territories and in Hollywood. She has written several novels for young readers and her accolades include the Topelius Prize 2013 and the Finland Prize 2013. Simukka has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award  every year 2021–2024. Where It All Begins, published in 2022, is her first novel for adults and in 2024 she started a collaboration with JP Ahonen on a middle grade novel.

Previously Simukka has written book reviews for the newspapers, translated all kinds of texts into Finnish, worked as an editor at a literary magazine and as a screenwriter for a popular TV show for young audiences.  She has also been working on the programme of Turku Book Fair in 2017–2020.

Read more

Bibliography


2025, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Four Birthdays and a Funeral

Salla Simukka


2024, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

The Secret Staircase

Salla Simukka


2022, Literary Fiction

Where It All Begins

Salla Simukka


2021, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

In the Dark I Can Be Yours

Salla Simukka


2020, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Detained

Salla Simukka


2018, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Turn off the Lights! Turn on the Lights!

Salla Simukka


2016, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Sisterland

Salla Simukka


2014, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

As Black as Ebony

Salla Simukka


2013, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

As Red as Blood

Salla Simukka


2013, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

As White as Snow

Salla Simukka


2012, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Elsewhere

Salla Simukka


2012, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

Without a Trace

Salla Simukka

Related news

EALA Spring 2020 Children’s & YA Rights Guide is published!

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EALA Spring 2020 Children’s & YA Rights Guide is published!

Download the guide here!
 

This Spring 2020 we are thrilled to introduce new wonderful middle-grade adventures, a startling YA thriller and a new non-fiction series by bestselling & award-winning Finnish authors:

Elina Hirvonen has written a new exciting middle-grade series, illustrated beautifully by Nadja Sarell:  Julia & P.A.L.  is the first part of the series where plush animals have superpowers. Pitched as Toy Story meets The Avengers!
Come with Julia to Plush Animal League headquarters in space where all children are monitored by their stuffed animals in case they need help.

Salla Simukka, Finland’s most internationally translated contemporary author, has written a YA thriller Detained,  a startling story of a world where teenagers are getting captured and imprisoned for the crimes they are expected to commit in the future.

In Non-Fiction, we are excited about a new Mini Science series for the smallest in the family.  Where Are You? is written by our bestselling non-fiction author Laura Ertimo and illustrated by Sanna Pelliccioni,  and tackles big science questions with lovely illustrations, and encourages kids to wonder and ask questions.

Our bestselling children’s series  The Little Shop of Nightmares by Magdalena Hai and Teemu Juhani is now sold in 13 territories, and Weird Weather  by Laura Ertimo and Mari Ahokoivu is also sold in 13 territories.

Browse through our Spring Rights Guide 2020, find your next bestseller, and we’ll be happy to send you reading materials

 

Portál in Czech Republic completes the Monster Nanny trilogy!

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Portál in Czech Republic completes the Monster Nanny trilogy!
We are very happy to announce another deal for Monster Nanny trilogy!

Czech publisher Portál acquired the rights for the third part of Monster Nanny series: Monster Message, thus completing the trilogy!

Monster Nanny trilogy has already sold to 28 countries and a feature film is in development by Scott Free Productions.

Request the full English materials for Monster Nanny trilogy by clicking here.

CZECH PRAISE FOR TUUTIKKI TOLONEN:

”Reality blends with dreams in the stories of Tuutikki Tolonen, just as children like. We are extremely happy that her books are published in our publishing house and that we can introduce them to Czech readers.”
– Hana Zobačová, Portál, Czech Republic

MONSTER NANNY TRILOGY:

Book 1: Monster Nanny
Mörkövahti. Tammi 2015, 300 pp.

The Hellman children must make do with a nanny while their mother is away at a spa. The only problem? Their nanny is a monster.

Grah is hairy, dusty, and doesn’t talk. When the siblings discover that other neighborhood kids have been left with similar creatures, they start to wonder where the monsters came from. With the parents away, the kids work together (between bickering) to figure out the mystery of the monsters.
Book 2: Monster Route
Mörköreitti. Tammi 2016, 280 pp.

Mimi 6 years, has snuck into the monsters’ underground world after her monster friend Grah. She travels in their tunnels, led by the odd Gate Keeper. Back at home, Koby and Halley put their heads together and manage to get in touch with Mimi. But who is the mysterious and frightening ruler of the monster world?

Book 3: Monster Message
Mörköviesti, Tammi, March 2020, 250 pp.

Hellman kids face new troubles. Mom and Dad want to move into a bigger home on the other side of the city. Mimi’s talking bathrobe feels strangely shrunk, and drops hints of leaving. Monstrologist Runar Kalli is starting to act his age without his rejuvenating root potion – and he’s 122. Something must be done. When Mimi finds crumpled leaves with strange markings in her room, they look like messages from underground, but who’s delivering them and why? And why does the Gatekeeper of the underground world appear in their bathroom?

The three books are all illustrated by Pasi Pitkänen.

PS! Are you attending Bologna Children’s Book Fair? So are we! Send us a meeting request to info@ahlbackagency.com and let’s discuss Monster Nanny and our new spring list in Bologna!

MONSTER NANNY SERIES:

Rights sold:

FINLAND, Tammi (orig. publisher)

AUSTRALIA, Allen & Unwin
BOSNIA, Šahinpašić
BRAZIL, DarkSide Books
CHINA, Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CZECH REPUBLIC, Portál
DENMARK, Turbine
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Editions Robert Laffont
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon
ITALY, Salani/Mauri Spagnol
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
LITHUANIA: Nieko Rimto
NETHERLANDS, Luitingh-Sijthoff
NEW ZEALAND, Allen & Unwin
NORWAY, Gyldendal Norsk
OCEANIA, Allen & Unwin
POLAND, Vesper
PORTUGAL, Asa Editiones/Leya
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
RUSSIA, Rosman
SLOVENIA, Mladinska knjiga
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY, SEV Redhouse Kidz
VIETNAM, Nha Nam
UNITED STATES: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
FILM RIGHTS, Scott Free Productions

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

Read more Author's page

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

Read more

New year’s sales for WEIRD WEATHER and MONSTER NANNY trilogy!

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We are very happy to start the new year with 3 new children’s deals!

Weird Weather! Why Does Climate Change? was just acquired by Ordinal Books for the Latin American Spanish market.

The book was only published in October 2019 and has already sold to Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey!

The accurate but hopeful children’s non-fiction book explains how humans are responsible for climate change and what we can do to ensure a brighter future. It also gives tips on how everyone can make better choices and practice climate skills every day. The book is written by Laura Ertimo and illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu.

Request the reading materials for Weird Weather here!

Chinese publisher Beijing Children and Juvenile Publishing House acquired the rights for both Tuutikki Tolonen’s Monster Route and Monster Message, completing the Monster Nanny trilogy!

Monster Nanny trilogy has already sold to 28 countries and a feature film is in development by Scott Free Productions.

Request the full English materials for Monster Nanny trilogy by clicking here.
MONSTER NANNY TRILOGY:

Book 1: Monster Nanny
Mörkövahti. Tammi 2015, 300 pp.

The Hellman children must make do with a nanny while their mother is away at a spa. The only problem? Their nanny is a monster.

Grah is hairy, dusty, and doesn’t talk. When the siblings discover that other neighborhood kids have been left with similar creatures, they start to wonder where the monsters came from. With the parents away, the kids work together (between bickering) to figure out the mystery of the monsters.
Book 2: Monster Route
Mörköreitti. Tammi 2016, 280 pp.

Mimi 6 years, has snuck into the monsters’ underground world after her monster friend Grah. She travels in their tunnels, led by the odd Gate Keeper. Back at home, Koby and Halley put their heads together and manage to get in touch with Mimi. But who is the mysterious and frightening ruler of the monster world?

Book 3: Monster Message
Mörköviesti, Tammi, March 2020, 250 pp.

Hellman kids face new troubles. Mom and Dad want to move into a bigger home on the other side of the city. Mimi’s talking bathrobe feels strangely shrunk, and drops hints of leaving. Monstrologist Runar Kalli is starting to act his age without his rejuvenating root potion – and he’s 122. Something must be done. When Mimi finds crumpled leaves with strange markings in her room, they look like messages from underground, but who’s delivering them and why? And why does the Gatekeeper of the underground world appear in their bathroom?

The three books are all illustrated by Pasi Pitkänen.
Don’t forget that until 1st of February you can apply for a FILI grant covering up to 70% of the translation costs and another covering up to 1000€ children’s books’ printing costs. More info from FILI’s website.

WEIRD WEATHER
Ihme ilmat!
Into Kustannus 2019, 48 pp.
235 x 250 mm, four-color-illustrations

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Into Kustannus (orig.)

ESTONIA: Avita
HUNGARY: Ciceró Könyvstúdió
ITALY: Mondadori/Edizioni Piemme
LITHUANIA: Obuolys
MEXICO: (Latin America Spanish rights): Ordinal Books
NORWAY: Aschehoug
POLAND: Amber
SERBIA: Odiseja
SLOVAKIA: Ikar
SPAIN: Astronave
SWEDEN: Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY: Kolektif

 

MONSTER NANNY SERIES:

Rights sold:

FINLAND, Tammi (orig. publisher)

AUSTRALIA, Allen & Unwin
BOSNIA, Šahinpašić
BRAZIL, DarkSide Books
CHINA, Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CZECH REPUBLIC, Portál
DENMARK, Turbine
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Editions Robert Laffont
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon
ITALY, Salani/Mauri Spagnol
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
LITHUANIA: Nieko Rimto
NETHERLANDS, Luitingh-Sijthoff
NEW ZEALAND, Allen & Unwin
NORWAY, Gyldendal Norsk
OCEANIA, Allen & Unwin
POLAND, Vesper
PORTUGAL, Asa Editiones/Leya
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
RUSSIA, Rosman
SLOVENIA, Mladinska knjiga
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY, SEV Redhouse Kidz
VIETNAM, Nha Nam
UNITED STATES: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
FILM RIGHTS, Scott Free Productions

About author


Laura Ertimo

Laura Ertimo is a geographer and author. She has previously worked in publishing of geography-related non-fiction and maps, and now she writes full time, specializing in children’s non-fiction. A recurring theme in her work is the holistic worldview, the interaction between phenomena, people and nature.

In 2020, she received the prestigious Tietopöllö Award for her work as a Non-Fiction writer. Her children's title WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu, was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!

Read more

About author


Mari Ahokoivu

Mari Ahokoivu is a Finnish illustrator and a comics artist. She’s been drawing professionally for over 10 years, mainly drawing graphic novels and comics for children, including Sanni & Joonas and Lola Olifante. Ahokoivu loves everything cute and scary. She lives and works in Copenhagen. 

Mari Ahokoivu won the Puupäähattu Comic Book Award 2023, and together with Laura Ertimo, they won the Tieto-Lauri Award 2022 and were nominated for the Finlandia Prize 2021 for WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO?!

Read more

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

Read more Author's page

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

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Frankfurt Children’s Deals: Weird Weather, Agnes, Little Shop of Nightmares

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Frankfurt Children’s Deals: Weird Weather, Agnes, Little Shop of Nightmares
We are very excited to announce our Frankfurt Book Fair 4 new children’s deals!

Weird Weather: Why Does Climate Change? is an excellent children’s non-fiction book about climate change by Laura Ertimo, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu. The book was acquired by Aschehoug in Norway and Odiseja in Serbia.
The book was published for only 3 weeks ago and has already sold to 5 territories: Estonia, Italy, Norway, Serbia, and Sweden!About the book: WEIRD WEATHER! Why Does Climate Change? is accurate but hopeful children’s non-fiction book that explains how humans are responsible for climate change and what we can do to ensure a brighter future. It also gives tips on how everyone can make better choices and practice climate skills every day.

Request the almost full English pdf for Weird Weather here!

Danish publisher ABC Forlag acquired the rights for Tuutikki Tolonen’s Agnes and the Garden of Dreams.
The book will be first published in Finland in the beginning of 2020 and the translation rights have already been sold to 3 countries: to Denmark, Estonia and Russia.About the book: Moving to a new city is frightening enough for 11-year-old Agnes. But when she makes an exciting discovery at the local cemetery the summer isn’t the same anymore!

Tuutikki Tolonen is the award-winning author of Monster Nanny trilogy that is sold to 20+ countries worldwide. Agnes and the Garden of Dreams also includes beautiful illustrations by Kati Vuorento.

Request the English reading materials for Agnes here!

Latvian publisher Latvijas Mediji purchased rights for the 1st part of The Little Shop of Nightmares series – The Little Shop of Nightmares: Terrible Tickling Powder.

About the series: The Little Shop of Nightmares by Magdalena Hai and Teemu Juhani is a new early readers’ series about a strange little shop and its employees – who are even stranger. It all starts with 9-year old Nina, who wants to earn money for a bicycle. So she applies to work in a Little Shop of Nightmares!

The lovely early reader’s series has now been sold to 10 territories in 2 months!
”The Little Shop of Nightmares” is a richly illustrated funny tale for children with a fascinating storyline. The book doesn’t only entertain – it also conveys a message to young readers that it is necessary to work and make efforts to fulfill their dreams and let think about topics such as friendship, sincerity, helpfulness, courage, dedication, perseverance.”

– Gunta Apse, Editor, Publishing House Latvijas Mediji, Latvia

Request the full English pdfs for the Little Shop of Nightmares series here!
Rights sold (Weird Weather):

FINLAND:
Into Kustannus (orig.)
ESTONIA:
Eesti Raamat
ITALY:
Mondadori/Edizioni Piemme
NORWAY:
Aschehoug
SERBIA:
Odiseja
SWEDEN:
Rabén & Sjögren

 

Rights sold (Agnes):

FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
DENMARK: ABC Forlag
ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat
RUSSIA: Rosman

 

Rights sold (Little Shop of Nightmares):

FINLAND:
WSOY (orig.)
CZECH REPUBLIC:
Euromedia
DENMARK:
Vild Maskine
ESTONIA:
Postimees Publishing
GERMANY:
Egmont Schneiderbuch
HUNGARY:
Cerkabella
LATVIA:
Latvijas Mediji
NETHERLANDS:
De Vier Windstreken
NORWAY:
Fontini
RUSSIA:
Teenbooks Publishing / Kompas Guide
SWEDEN:
Hegas
TURKEY:
Epsilon

About author


Kati Vuorento

Kati Vuorento is an illustrator living and working in Espoo, Finland: ”In small details there is an infinite magic. I want my illustrations to stir emotion in the audience. Empathizing is important to me. In my illustrations, I always include approachable characteristics to even the most hardened anti-hero. This is how I mold the characters into personalities with depth and dimension.”

She is the illustrator of middle-grade Agnes Series by Tuutikki Tolonen that in 2021 was nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award!


Read more Author's page

About author


Laura Ertimo

Laura Ertimo is a geographer and author. She has previously worked in publishing of geography-related non-fiction and maps, and now she writes full time, specializing in children’s non-fiction. A recurring theme in her work is the holistic worldview, the interaction between phenomena, people and nature.

In 2020, she received the prestigious Tietopöllö Award for her work as a Non-Fiction writer. Her children's title WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu, was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!

Read more

About author


Magdalena Hai

Magdalena Hai is an award-winning author, lover of cross-genre fiction and all things strange. Her fiction often combines elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

Her Little Shop of Nightmares series has been sold to 30 territories around the world. Among Hai's many accolades are winning the Finlandia Prize for children's and YA literature and the Finnish Literary Export Prize, and being nominated  the Nordic Council Children & Young People's Literature Prize.

Besides being an author, Hai teaches writing and is an active member and editor in the publishing co-operative Osuuskumma.

Read more Author's page

About author


Mari Ahokoivu

Mari Ahokoivu is a Finnish illustrator and a comics artist. She’s been drawing professionally for over 10 years, mainly drawing graphic novels and comics for children, including Sanni & Joonas and Lola Olifante. Ahokoivu loves everything cute and scary. She lives and works in Copenhagen. 

Mari Ahokoivu won the Puupäähattu Comic Book Award 2023, and together with Laura Ertimo, they won the Tieto-Lauri Award 2022 and were nominated for the Finlandia Prize 2021 for WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO?!

Read more

About author


Teemu Juhani

Teemu Juhani is a Finnish illustrator, comic artist and picture book author whose illustrations have been published in picture books and children's fiction in over 20 countries. In addition to children's books Teemu has illustrated magazines and educational material. Originally from the fields and woods of North Karelia, Teemu now lives, works and eats way too many cakes in Helsinki.

Read more Author's page

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

Read more

Russian rights sold for Agnes and the Garden of Dreams!

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The largest children’s books publisher in Russia – Rosman – bought the rights for Tuutikki Tolonen’s Agnes and the Garden of Dreams.

Moving to a new city is frightening enough for 11-year-old Agnes. But when she makes an exciting discovery at the local cemetery the summer isn’t the same anymore!

Tuutikki Tolonen is the award-winning author of Monster Nanny trilogy that is sold to 20+ countries worldwide.  Agnes and the Garden of Dreams also includes beautiful illustrations by Kati Vuorento.

Agnes is a character who is very natural to sympathize with. She is curious, vivid and sincere. Her friendship with Bun is very much likable and heartwarming. To follow these two on their investigation was a great pleasure due to the incredible imagination and excellent writing skill of Tuutikki Tolonen. We believe Tuutikki has a really bright future in such kind of books.
– Polina Vlastovskaya, Head of children’s fiction books department, ROSMAN Publishing house

Request the reading materials for Agnes here!

Rights sold (Agnes):

FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat
RUSSIA: Rosman

About author


Kati Vuorento

Kati Vuorento is an illustrator living and working in Espoo, Finland: ”In small details there is an infinite magic. I want my illustrations to stir emotion in the audience. Empathizing is important to me. In my illustrations, I always include approachable characteristics to even the most hardened anti-hero. This is how I mold the characters into personalities with depth and dimension.”

She is the illustrator of middle-grade Agnes Series by Tuutikki Tolonen that in 2021 was nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award!


Read more Author's page

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

Read more

Apply for Finnish translation and printing grants now!

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Do you need financial help with publishing and promoting your next Finnish bestseller?

Finnish Literature Exchange grants can help!
FILI’s grant programme is funded by Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture and it provides foreign publishers with various grants:

Translation grants
Up to 70% of translation costs from Finnish or Finland-Swedish can be covered by a FILI translation grant. There are 3 application periods in a year and the autumn application period has already started and it ends on 01.11.2019

Printing grants
If you are publishing translations of Finnish picture books or comics, you can apply for up to 1000€ printing cost grant. There are 3 application periods in a year and the autumn application period has already started and it ends on 01.11.2019

Promotional grants
If you would like to bring a Finnish author to your country to promote a translation of his/her works, you can apply for a grant that can be used for airfare and accommodation costs of the author. The grant must be applied for a minimum of 2 months before the event is happening.

What if you haven’t bought a Finnish title yet and would like to look into one?

Reader’s report grants
If you need a native speaker to give you a report of a Finnish manuscript, you can apply for a reader’s report grant (for up to 5 reports a year, max 100€ per report).

Sample translation grants
If you need a sample translation of the work which you are considering.

Now go pick out your next Finnish bestseller from our new Fall Catalogue and apply for the FILI grants already this month!

See the full conditions and apply for all the FILI grants here: https://www.finlit.fi/fili/en/grants/

Four new deals for The Little Shop of Nightmares

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Magdalena Hai and Teemu Juhani’s quirky and hilarious early reader’s series The Little Shop of Nightmares has been the biggest hit of this late summer! We couldn’t be more excited to announce these 4 new deals, that make the number of territories 8 in total!

In Denmark we closed the deal with Vild Maskine, the Dutch rights were acquired by De Vier Windstreken, Czech rights went to Euromedia, and in Turkey Epsilon bought the rights.

”We really like the Little Shop of Nightmares series, and we’re sure that the Danish children will love the universe as well. Simply just cute and funny little books, but the illustrations really take it to another level: all pages are inspiring to look at, with a lot of details for the young readers.”
– Mads Heinesen, Publisher, Vild Maskine, Denmark

“A little bit spooky, a lot of fun!”
– Nathalie Bierhuizen, De Vier Windstreken, The Netherlands

The Little Shop of Nightmares by Magdalena Hai and Teemu Juhani is a new early readers’ series about a strange little shop and its employees – who are even stranger.

Book 1: The Terrible Tickling Powder
WSOY 2018, 64 pp.
Full English PDF

Book 2: The Lost Teeth
WSOY 2019, 64 pp.
Full English PDF

Rights sold:

FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
CZECH REPUBLIC: Euromedia
DENMARK: Vild Maskine
GERMANY: Egmont Schneiderbuch
NETHERLANDS: De Vier Windstreken
NORWAY: Fontini
SWEDEN: Hegas
TURKEY: Epsilon
RUSSIA: Teenbooks Publishing / Kompas Guide

About author


Magdalena Hai

Magdalena Hai is an award-winning author, lover of cross-genre fiction and all things strange. Her fiction often combines elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

Her Little Shop of Nightmares series has been sold to 30 territories around the world. Among Hai's many accolades are winning the Finlandia Prize for children's and YA literature and the Finnish Literary Export Prize, and being nominated  the Nordic Council Children & Young People's Literature Prize.

Besides being an author, Hai teaches writing and is an active member and editor in the publishing co-operative Osuuskumma.

Read more Author's page

About author


Teemu Juhani

Teemu Juhani is a Finnish illustrator, comic artist and picture book author whose illustrations have been published in picture books and children's fiction in over 20 countries. In addition to children's books Teemu has illustrated magazines and educational material. Originally from the fields and woods of North Karelia, Teemu now lives, works and eats way too many cakes in Helsinki.

Read more Author's page

Allen & Unwin acquires Australian and New Zealand rights to Monster Nanny!

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We are absolutely thrilled to share the wonderful news that ALLEN & UNWIN has acquired Australian and New Zealand and Oceania rights to Tuutikki Tolonen’s internationally bestselling MONSTER NANNY (Tammi 2015) and will publish the book in Australia and New Zealand in Spring 2020 with Pasi Pitkänen’s charming illustrations.

Rights are now sold in 26 territories and a feature film is in development with Scott Free Productions and Ridley Scott co-producing.

Allen & Unwin is Australia’s leading independent publisher and has been voted ”Publisher of the Year” thirteen times including the inaugural award in 1992 and eleven times since 2000.

“Allen & Unwin are delighted to be publishing Tuutikki Tolonen’s MONSTER NANNY in Australia and New Zealand. Like others before us, we fell in love with the matter-of-fact way Tuutikki Tolonen’s contemporary world intersects with the fantastical. And what a delightful fantastical world it is: those non-talking dusty monsters, the oracle-like talking bathrobe, those fierce monster-piercing pixies. All very strange and yet completely believable. It’s dreamlike and funny – and very much a world I’d love to inhabit!”

– Anna McFarlane | Publisher, Books for Children and Young Adults | Allen & Unwin, Australia & New Zealand,  Publisher of the Year 2016

Rights sold: 

FINLAND, Tammi (orig.)
AUSTRALIA, Allen & Unwin
BOSNIA, Šahinpašić
BRAZIL, DarkSide Books
CHINA, Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CZECH REPUBLIC, Portál
DENMARK, Turbine
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Editions Robert Laffont
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon
ITALY, Salani/Mauri Spagnol
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
NETHERLANDS, Luitingh-Sijthoff
NEW ZEALAND, Allen & Unwin
NORWAY, Gyldendal Norsk
OCEANIA, Allen & Unwin
POLAND, Vesper
PORTUGAL, Asa Editiones/Leya
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
RUSSIA, Rosman
SLOVENIA, Mladinska knjiga
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY, SEV Redhouse Kidz
VIETNAM, Nha Nam
WORLD ENGLISH, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

FILM RIGHTS, Scott Free Productions

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

Read more Author's page

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

Read more

EALA Fall Children’s & YA Rights Guide and New Deals

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Our new Fall catalogues are here: we have wonderful new titles, and big announcements of new deals!

Browse our Children’s and YA catalogue here.
Or download our full Fall catalogue here!

Here is a round-up of all of your brand new children’s & young adult titles for this fall.

Imaginary Girl by Aino Louhi
(Mielikuvitustyttö, Suuri Kurpitsa 2019)

Young love is often fragile and tragic. But it’s also beautiful and unforgettable. Discover the story of the imaginary girl in this breathtaking graphic novel.

Agnes and the Garden of Dreams by Tuutikki Tolonen, illustrated by Kati Vuorento
(Agnes ja unien avain, WSOY 2020)

Moving to a new city is frightening enough for 11-year-old Agnes. But when she makes an exciting discovery at the local cemetery the summer isn’t the same anymore!

The Estonian rights to this wonderful middle-grade book were sold last week to Eesti Raamat!

Rights sold: Estonia, Eesti Raamat

 

Hilja series by Heidi Viherjuuri, illustrated by Nadja Sarell 
(Hilja-sarja, Mäkelä 2017-2019)

Meet Hilja, an energetic and curious little girl, and her three granny friends! Three books published and more to come!

Perfect for 6-11 year olds!

Rights sold: Germany, WooW Books

 

How to Greet an Alien by Petri Tamminen, illustrated by Valpuri Kerttula
(Kun kohtaat avaruusolennon, Karisto 2019)

Sweet and funny picture book that teaches you how to meet Aliens — can be used with humans as well.

Alma’s Monster Party by Satu Kettunen
(Mörköjuhlat, Tammi 2019)

Alma’s family has moved to a new house. It is big, and bleak, and far from the neighbors. Alma is certain that they aren’t alone in the house: she sees shadows fleeing in the corners, and hears footsteps of all kinds of monsters. Alma’s mother is a party planner, and that gives her an idea: She will throw a party for all the ghosts and ogres.

Weird Weather by Laura Ertimo, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu
(Ihme ilmat, Into Kustannus 2019)

Sold in Estonia!

Climate changes, so should we! This book answers children’s tough questions about climate change, and tells how we can all fight against it.

Rights sold: ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat

NEW DEAL:

The Little Shop of Nightmares by Magdalena Hai and Teemu Juhani.
(Painajaispuoti-sarja, WSOY 2018, 2019)

This hilarious horror for early readers has been our highlight for the summer! The Norwegian rights were just sold to Fontini in Norway!

”The Little Shop of Nightmares takes the reader straight into a fantastic world where everything can happen. And it does! Its scary, funny and entertaining. Lots of wonderful details and interesting characters. That’s where every child wants to be!”
– Lindy Andersen, Publisher, Fontini, Norway

Rights sold: GERMANY: Egmont Schneiderbuch, NORWAY: Fontini, RUSSIA: Teenbooks Publishing / KompassGuide, SWEDEN: Hegas

 

New sales for Monster Nanny, Little Mouse and The Monster Tournament

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Amazing news about our wonderful children’s titles!

Monster Nanny celebrates its 25th foreign sale as Turbine bought the Danish rights to this adorable middle-grade series with a Hollywood feature film being developed.

”Crazy fun to read with kids… very, very beautifully made… The illustrations are perfect because they create a second layer to the story, which is what illustrations are supposed to do. They tell their own story and visualize Grah, Hilla, Kaapo and Maikki perfectly.” – Ines Dettmann, Deutschlandfunk

 

Riikka Jäntti’s Little Mouse travels far far away as Kathalaya acquired the Nepalese rights to the first 3 books of the series! Kathalaya’s mission is to bring foreign stories to the Nepalese readers while increasing the literacy rate and the culture of reading.

 

Get ready for the Monster Tournament! Pasi Pitkänen is one of the Finland’s most sought-after illustrators, and in his second solo-project he has created a colorful action-packed picture book. The first foreign sales to The Monster Tournament was to Egypt, where Ink Publishing acquired the World Arabic rights.

 

Rights sold (Monster Nanny):
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
BOSNIA, Šahinpašić
BRAZIL, DarkSide Books
CHINA, Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CZECH REPUBLIC, Portál
DENMARK, Turbine
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Editions Robert Laffont
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon
ITALY, Salani/Mauri Spagnol
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
NETHERLANDS, Luitingh-Sijthoff
NORWAY, Gyldendal Norsk
POLAND, Vesper
PORTUGAL, Asa Editiones/Leya
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
RUSSIA, Rosman
SLOVENIA, Mladinska knjiga
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY, SEV Redhouse Kidz
VIETNAM, Nha Nam
WORLD ENGLISH, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
FILM RIGHTS, Scott Free Productions

Right sold (Little Mouse series):
FINLAND, Tammi (Original publisher)
AUSTRALIA, Scribble/Scribe
CHINA, Beijing Yuntu Tech
DENMARK, ABC Forlag
NEPAL, Kathalaya
NEW ZEALAND, Scribble/Scribe
UK, Scribble/Scribe

Rights sold (Monster Tournament):
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
WORLD ARABIC: Ink Publishing

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

Read more Author's page

About author


Riikka Jäntti

Riikka Jäntti, a 2003 graduate of University of Industrial Art of Helsinki, now part of Aalto University, is a Helsinki-based illustrator and author who has created art for both nonfiction and fairy tale books for children. Her first children’s book was published in 2005. Jäntti is best known for the adorable Little Mouse series that has publishers in over 20 territories, including Australia, Nepal, and China!

In her illustrations, she uses pen and ink as well as watercolor and gouache. In 2009 Jäntti won the first-ever Tieto-Lauri, an award for children’s and juvenile non-fiction, for her illustrations in Viidakkotanssi (Jungle Dance). The book was written by Markku Löytönen about the explorer Rafael Karsten in Ecuador.

Read more

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

Read more

New deals for Monster Nanny in Portugal and Czech Republic – rights sold in 24 territories

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We are thrilled to announce our pre-Bologna news about Monster Nanny – now sold to 24 territories! Editoras Asa/Leya was happy to acquire Portuguese rights to this bestselling middle-grade adventure by Tuutikki Tolonen and Pasi Pitkänen.

”A fantastic and exhilarating story, full of that kind of craziness that I’m sure will appeal to all kinds of readers!”
–Vítor Silva Mota, Editor, Literatura Infantojuvenil e BD, Edições ASA e Texto Editores

More good news come from Czech Republic, where Tuutikki’s publisher Portál acquired rights to the sequel; Monster Route.

If you haven’t bought the rights to this international bestseller (or books 2 or 3) – hurry up! The Hollywood feature film based on Monster Nanny is being developed by Scott Free Productions!

BOOK 1: MONSTER NANNY
What happens when three ordinary kids get a troll-like monster nanny for the summer?

BOOK 2: MONSTER ROUTE
Monsters’ underground world is full of wonders… and dangers not suitable for human kids.

BOOK 3: MONSTER MESSAGE
Hellman kids face new troubles. Mom and Dad want to move into a bigger home on the other side of the city. Mimi’s talking bathrobe feels strangely shrunk, and drops hints of leaving. Monstrologist Runar Kalli is starting to act his age without his rejuvenating root potion – and he’s 122. Something must be done. When Mimi finds crumpled leaves with strange markings in her room, they look like messages from underground, but who’s delivering them and why? And why does the Gatekeeper of the underground world appear in their bathroom?

Rights Sold:

FINLAND, Tammi (Original publisher)
BOSNIA, Šahinpašic
BRAZIL, DarkSide Books
CHINA, Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CZECH REPUBLIC, Portál
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Robert Laffont
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon
ITALY, Salani/Mauri Spagnol
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
THE NETHERLANDS, Luitingh-Sijthoff
NORWAY, Gyldendal Norsk
POLAND, Vesper
PORTUGAL, Edições ASA/Leya
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
RUSSIA, Rosman
SLOVENIA, Mladinska knjiga
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY, SEV Redhouse Kidz
VIETNAM, Nha Nam
UNITED STATES, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Book 1)

FILM RIGHTS, Scott Free Productions

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

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About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

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Hanser Verlag acquires German rights to Monster Nanny Book 3: The Monster Message

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Pitched as ”The Monstrous Mary Poppins” the Monster Nanny series has sold to 23 territories! The German publisher Carl Hanser Verlag acquired the rights to the 3rd book of the series, Monster Message, which will be published in 2020.

Reihe Hanser is also launching the pocket book editions of Monster Nanny and Monster Route, which will be out in the fall 2019.

If you haven’t bought the rights to books 2 or 3 – hurry up! The Hollywood feature film based on Monster Nanny is being developed by Scott Free Productions!

BOOK 3: MONSTER MESSAGE
Hellman kids face new troubles. Mom and Dad want to move into a bigger home on the other side of the city. Mimi’s talking bathrobe feels strangely shrunk, and drops hints of leaving. Monstrologist Runar Kalli is starting to act his age without his rejuvenating root potion – and he’s 122. Something must be done. When Mimi finds crumpled leaves with strange markings in her room, they look like messages from underground, but who’s delivering them and why? And why does the Gatekeeper of the underground world appear in their bathroom?

* * *

”Crazy fun to read with kids… very, very beautifully made… The illustrations are perfect because they create a second layer to the story, which is what illustrations are supposed to do. They tell their own story and visualize Grah, Hilla, Kaapo and Maikki perfectly.” – Ines Dettmann, Deutschlandfunk

”The upbeat tone, oddball details, and Pitkänen’s humorous b&w cartoons combine to create a strange but entertaining romp that will surprise readers at every turn.” – Publishers Weekly, USA

“This riddle-filled story is original, touching, incredible.” – Livresse des Livres blog, France

Rights Sold:

FINLAND, Tammi (Original publisher)
BOSNIA, Šahinpašic
BRAZIL, DarkSide Books
CHINA, Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CZECH REPUBLIC, Portál
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Robert Laffont
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon
ITALY, Salani/Mauri Spagnol
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
THE NETHERLANDS, Luitingh-Sijthoff
NORWAY, Gyldendal Norsk
POLAND, Vesper
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
RUSSIA, Rosman
SLOVENIA, Mladinska knjiga
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY, SEV Redhouse Kidz
VIETNAM, Nha Nam
UNITED STATES, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Book 1)

FILM RIGHTS, Scott Free Productions

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

Read more

Bibliography


2026, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

The Children of Spooky Theater and the Talking Cabinet

Tuutikki Tolonen


2025, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Marsu and the Art of Floating Like a Water Lily

Tuutikki Tolonen


2024, Picture Books (0-3 Years)

The Secret Ones

Tuutikki Tolonen


2022, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Agnes and the Shadow in the Window

Tuutikki Tolonen


2021, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Agnes and the Mysterious Manor

Tuutikki Tolonen


2020, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Monster Message

Tuutikki Tolonen


2020, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Agnes and the Garden of Dreams

Tuutikki Tolonen


2016, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Monster Route

Tuutikki Tolonen


2015, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Monster Nanny

Tuutikki Tolonen

Related news

New sales for Salla Simukka, Magdalena Hai and The Fox Who Painted the Sky

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We have great news to share with you! We have recently closed three deals for children’s and YA books.

Salla Simukka’s new collection of YA short stories Turn Off the Lights! Turn on the Lights! was sold to Zvaigzne in Latvia. The stories’ genre ranges from horror to romance to sci-fi and realism, showing the lives of all kinds of teens and young adults. The flip-book lets the reader see the both sides of life: the good and happy, and the dark and scary.

”Salla Simukka’s created characters are fascinating, they don’t leave our mind after the last page are closed. But are there the last page at all? You can turn the book and start reading once more, from a different point of view. Unique concept and diverse stylistics.”
– Marite Gulbe, Zvaigzne

Magdalena Hai’s adorable ghost story The Little Shop of Nightmares for early readers was sold to KompasGuide/The Teenbook Publishing in Russia. This is a first part of series that will follow the adventures of a 9-year-old Ninni who works in a shop of nightmares.

”It’s difficult to find a good middle grade book. It should be exciting, encouraging and at the same time well-balanced between clarity of the books one has read before and complicity of the ones he or she is yet to read. The Little Shop of Nightmares by Magdalena Hai is definitely one of that kind: we were captured by its amusing combination of bizarre magic and clever humor with hidden messages for those who look deeper. Let alone the resemblance to Gravity Falls series! ”
– Igor Grizhuk, Foreign Rights Manager, KompasGuide Publishing House

The lovely and colorful picture book The Fox Who Painted the Sky by Mila Teräs and Karoliina Partamo was sold to Knesebeck Verlag in Germany.

”The wonderful illustrations of ’The Fox who painted the sky’ instantly charmed us – and as soon we had read the surprising ending, our hearts were won over. We’re very happy to welcome this artistic fox into our Knesebeck-family!”
– Tatjana Kröll, Head of children’s books, Knesebeck Verlag

This picture book combines collage and painting with enchanting story and funny poems!

 

Request reading materials for Turn Off the Lights! Turn On the Lights!
Request reading materials for the Little Shop of Nightmares!
Request reading materials for The Fox Who Painted the Sky!

Rights sold:
Turn Off the Lights! Turn On the Lights!
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
LATVIA: Zvaigzne

Rights sold:
The Little Shop of Nightmares
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
RUSSIA: KompasGuide/The Teenbooks Publishing

Rights sold:
The Fox Who Painted the Sky
FINLAND: Karisto (orig.)
GERMANY:
Knesebeck Verlag

About author


Karoliina Pertamo

Karoliina Pertamo is an artist who has illustrated more than 30 books. She works with a bright color palette and also uses collage in her charmingly naïvist work. She has been nominated for the Rudolf Koivu Prize and Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize, and received The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland Award.

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About author


Magdalena Hai

Magdalena Hai is an award-winning author, lover of cross-genre fiction and all things strange. Her fiction often combines elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

Her Little Shop of Nightmares series has been sold to 30 territories around the world. Among Hai's many accolades are winning the Finlandia Prize for children's and YA literature and the Finnish Literary Export Prize, and being nominated  the Nordic Council Children & Young People's Literature Prize.

Besides being an author, Hai teaches writing and is an active member and editor in the publishing co-operative Osuuskumma.

Read more Author's page

About author


Mila Teräs

Mila Teräs has been awarded the prestigious Kaarina Helakisa Prize for her works for children's and YA literature, and her works have been nominated for e.g. the Finlandia and Topelius Prizes. She writes for children, young adults and adults, and often incorporates fantasy and historical elements into her realistic work.

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About author


Salla Simukka

Salla Simukka is the author of the international success story The Snow White Trilogy: rights are sold in 53 territories and in Hollywood. She has written several novels for young readers and her accolades include the Topelius Prize 2013 and the Finland Prize 2013. Simukka has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award  every year 2021–2024. Where It All Begins, published in 2022, is her first novel for adults and in 2024 she started a collaboration with JP Ahonen on a middle grade novel.

Previously Simukka has written book reviews for the newspapers, translated all kinds of texts into Finnish, worked as an editor at a literary magazine and as a screenwriter for a popular TV show for young audiences.  She has also been working on the programme of Turku Book Fair in 2017–2020.

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Monster Nanny sold to 22 languages, new reviews for our children’s highlights

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Frankfurt is around the corner and we’re gearing up for the biggest and the most beautiful book fair of the year. We’ve got a lot of fantastic children’s books to introduce to you.

The highlights include the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize nominee 2018 The Grumblebelly Cat by Magdalena Hai, the Monster Nanny series by Tuutikki Tolonen and the new title in Maria Turtschaninoff’s Red Abbey Chronicles: Letters from Maresi.

We’re thrilled to announce the 22nd foreign rights deal for our hit series Monster Nanny written by Tuutikki Tolonen and illustrated by Pasi Pitkänen. The novel was sold to Vesper in Poland, and they are glad about the acquisition of this novel, which is being developed into a Hollywood feature film by Scott Free Productions:

”Well written, imaginative, warm and addictive. One of the best children novels we have ever read!” said Jakub Kozłowski, rights manager of Vesper, Poland.

The new titles by our children’s & YA authors have been receiving great reviews in the press:

Turn On the Lights! Turn Off the Lights! by Salla Simukka
”The dark side of the book can be a frightening experience for readers of all ages. The light side is pure joy!” – Etelä-Suomen Sanomat newspaper

Letters from Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff
”Turtschaninoff’s literary universe can be compared to that of the biggest names in the genre. The Letters from Maresi is a rich, skilfully written epistolary novel that shows that Maria Turtschaninoff gets better and better with each novel. She is an incomparable narrator.” – Yle broadcaster

The Third Sister by Magdalena Hai
“The world of the first installment of the Royaume Chronicles is abundant and filled with meanings. […] This fantasy world can be enjoyed by youngsters and adults alike” – Aamulehti newspaper ****

Rights sold: Monster Nanny
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
BOSNIA, Šahinpašić
BRAZIL, DarkSide Books
CHINA, Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CZECH REPUBLIC, Portál
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Editions Robert Laffont
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon
ITALY, Salani/Mauri Spagnol
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
NETHERLANDS, Luitingh-Sijthoff
NORWAY, Gyldendal Norsk
POLAND, Vesper
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
RUSSIA, Rosman
SLOVENIA, Mladinska knjiga
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY, SEV Redhouse Kidz
VIETNAM, Nha Nam
WORLD ENGLISH, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
FILM RIGHTS, Scott Free Productions

About author


Magdalena Hai

Magdalena Hai is an award-winning author, lover of cross-genre fiction and all things strange. Her fiction often combines elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

Her Little Shop of Nightmares series has been sold to 30 territories around the world. Among Hai's many accolades are winning the Finlandia Prize for children's and YA literature and the Finnish Literary Export Prize, and being nominated  the Nordic Council Children & Young People's Literature Prize.

Besides being an author, Hai teaches writing and is an active member and editor in the publishing co-operative Osuuskumma.

Read more Author's page

About author


Maria Turtschaninoff

Maria Turtschaninoff is known for crafting lyrical, historically inspired fantasy stories starring strong female protagonists. In addition to J.R.R. Tolkien, she counts Philip Pullman, Ursula K. Le Guin and C.S. Lewis among her favorite authors. She is a two-time winner of the Society of Swedish Literature Prize, winner of the Swedish YLE Literature Prize, winner of the Thank You for the Book Award, a nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2020-2024), and winner of the 2014 Finlandia Junior Prize. In 2024, Maria Turtschaninoff won the Eeva Joenpelto Literary Prize (10,000 euro award) for her literary masterpiece Tangled Roots.

Her Red Abbey Chronicles YA trilogy has been sold into 30 languages, while her first adult novel Tangled Roots has been sold to 23 territories. Maria has a Master of Arts in human ecology and works full-time as a writer.

Photo credit: Veikko Somerpuro/Tammi

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About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

Read more Author's page

About author


Teemu Juhani

Teemu Juhani is a Finnish illustrator, comic artist and picture book author whose illustrations have been published in picture books and children's fiction in over 20 countries. In addition to children's books Teemu has illustrated magazines and educational material. Originally from the fields and woods of North Karelia, Teemu now lives, works and eats way too many cakes in Helsinki.

Read more Author's page

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

Tuutikki is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026.

Photo credit: Otto Virtanen

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Dressler/Oetinger acquires the German rights to the prize-winning fairytale The Grumblebelly Cat at auction

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The first foreign rights deal for The Grumblebelly Cat by Magdalena Hai has been struck! The book is one of our children’s books’ highlights, a multiple prize-winner and a fantasy tale like the Brothers Grimm would have written in the 21st century.

Dressler Verlag, a publisher within the renowned German publishing group Oetinger acquired the German language rights for the book at auction. Their authors include names like A. A. Milne and Cornelia Funke, and the publisher focuses on literary fiction and political or socially critical topics. Dressler’s editor Anna Herberhold was very excited about the acquisition:

“From the first moment I met Magdalena Hai’s wonderful girl hero, I knew that this manuscript was something incredibly rare and wonderful. Ms Hai has written a very timely, but timeless, relevant and empowering story about universally important themes without ever talking down to her readers. She’s at eye level with the children, even the very smallest of them, who will all be delighted by the story of the brave, compassionate and fierce girl defeating greed and saving the ever-hungry cat with the grumbling belly. The power of this book’s message will reach every child just as much as us adults reading it with or to them,” she said.

The Grumblebelly Cat won the Finnish Export Prize in 2018 and is nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize – the winner will be announced October 30th this year. Additionally the book was nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Prize 2017 and Runeberg Junior Prize 2018.

The book has been well received also by readers and critics:

“Wise and fearless.” – Aamulehti newspaper

“A great fairytale about a big issue.” – Kujerruksia blog

“Fascinating and intense.” – Arvid Lydecken Prize jury 2018

“The Grumblebelly Cat is above all an unadulterated fairytale which features typical elements of the genre, such as victory of the underdog and terrible opponents. However, Hai’s book revisits the tradition of the fairytale in a highly original fashion and adds new ingredients.” – Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize 2018 jury on nomination

The beautifully detailed black-and-white illustrations are drawn by Teemu Juhani, an up-and-coming illustrator residing in London.

Magdalena Hai’s current works include the manga-inspired YA adventure The Royaume Chronicles, the first instalment of which, The Third Sister (Kolmas sisar, Otava), was just published in Finland to praising reviews. In addition she is working on the Little Shop of Nightmares (Painajaispuoti, WSOY) early readers’ series with Teemu Juhani.

Rights sold:
FINLAND, Karisto (Orig. publisher)
GERMANY, Dressler/Oetinger

About author


Magdalena Hai

Magdalena Hai is an award-winning author, lover of cross-genre fiction and all things strange. Her fiction often combines elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

Her Little Shop of Nightmares series has been sold to 30 territories around the world. Among Hai's many accolades are winning the Finlandia Prize for children's and YA literature and the Finnish Literary Export Prize, and being nominated  the Nordic Council Children & Young People's Literature Prize.

Besides being an author, Hai teaches writing and is an active member and editor in the publishing co-operative Osuuskumma.

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2025, Chapter Books (6-9 Years)

Little Shop of Nightmares 4: The Crystal Skull

Magdalena Hai


2023, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

The Horned God

Magdalena Hai


2021, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

The Spell of Iset

Magdalena Hai


2021, Chapter Books (6-9 Years)

Little Shop of Nightmares 3: Sticky the Horrible Snowman

Magdalena Hai


2020, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Miss Swift’s Weird and Wonderful House

Magdalena Hai


2019, Chapter Books (6-9 Years)

Little Shop of Nightmares 2: The Mystery of the Missing Teeth

Magdalena Hai


2018, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

The Third Sister

Magdalena Hai


2018, Chapter Books (6-9 Years)

Little Shop of Nightmares 1: The Terrible Tickling Powder

Magdalena Hai


2017, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

Grumblebelly Cat

Magdalena Hai


2012, Middle Grade (8-12 Years)

The Beggar Princess

Magdalena Hai

Related news

Recent children’s book deals & reviews: monsters, virtual realities and nonfiction

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Following Bologna Book Fair, year’s main event of children’s books’ rights, we’re very glad to announce new deals for our fantastic children’s books.

In Russia, the Monster Nanny series by Tuutikki Tolonen and Pasi Pitkänen has been sold to Rosman at auction. Rosman is one of the biggest Russian publishers, whose list includes for example J.K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, and many more. Monster Nanny, “the monstrous Mary Poppins”, is a universally charming award-winning story, which is to be developed into a Hollywood feature film by Scott Free Productions and published in 22 languages.

Request reading materials for Monster Nanny here!

Another Russian deal was struck for What Is the Night and What Is Water, the bedtime books of fictional and factual stories for information-hungry kids and adults. KompasGuide, the Moscow-based publishing house founded in 2008, whose authors include names such as Michael Ende and Christine Nöstlinger, acquired the rights to both of the children’s nonfiction books.

“We do hope our Russian audience will enjoy and adore the aesthetics of these books and like the illustrations of the magnificent Finnish artists. We are really proud to start our collaboration with these titles,” said Igor Grizhuk, Foreign Rights Manager of KompasGuide Publishing House.

Request reading materials for What Is the Night & What Is Water here!

Another hot title in Bologna from our YA list was Beta, the first book in the Sensored Reality trilogy by Aki Parhamaa and Anders Vacklin. See here for a trailer video for the book (with over 22,000 views!):

The novel has also received praising reviews from literature bloggers:

“Quite an excellent start for a trilogy! A compelling story, a good plot, an imaginative and credible milieu, well-described places and events and well-written characters carry the story smoothly and naturally.” – Teatterinna blog

“The book stands out in the Finnish dystopia book scene, I’m eagerly looking forward to the next part in the series.” –Literature Is Pink blog

Request reading materials for Beta here!

At the Bologna Book Fair, Elina Ahlbäck was also interviewed for the magazine Publishers Weekly Bologna Show Daily, and the piece was published under the title “Can Finnish Children’s Literature Become a Worldwide Phenomenon?”: click the link to read the article on pages 24-26. (The answer, by the way, is yes!)

Rights sold: Monster Nanny
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
BOSNIA, Šahinpašić
BRAZIL, DarkSide Books
CHINA, Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CZECH REPUBLIC, Portál
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Editions Robert Laffont
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon
ITALY, Salani/Mauri Spagnol
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
NETHERLANDS, Luitingh-Sijthoff
NORWAY, Gyldendal Norsk
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
RUSSIA, Rosman
SLOVENIA, Mladinska knjiga
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren
TURKEY, SEV Redhouse Kidz
VIETNAM, Nha Nam
WORLD ENGLISH, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
FILM RIGHTS, Scott Free Productions

Right sold: Night 
Orig. publisher: FINLAND, Myllylahti
CHINA, CITIC Press
RUSSIA, KompasGuide

Rights sold: Water
Orig. publisher: FINLAND, Myllylahti
RUSSIA, KompasGuide

Rights sold: Beta
Orig. publisher: FINLAND, Tammi