Elina Backman

WHEN THE KING DIES goes to Russia; THE WITCH HUNTER still New York Times Best-Seller #11

Posted on
When the king dies

Russian rights sold for WHEN THE KING DIES … First international sale for book 3 of the Jessica Niemi series, by New York Times Bestselling Author, Max Seeck … Thrilling news for the hottest thriller authors on the market!

Russian rights to Finland’s best-selling WHEN THE KING DIES by Elina Backman were sold to Moscow publishing house, Mann Ivanov Ferber.

Click here to request 200-page long English sample, synopsis and media kit.

Meanwhile, Estonian rights to Max Seeck’s Jessica Niemi series book 3 were sold to Pegasus, making them the first international publisher to acquire those rights!

And more breaking news: THE WITCH HUNTER remains a New York Times Best Seller at #11 for two weeks running!

BRAVO Elina and Max! You are making Finland the new hub for Nordic Noir!

The Russian deal marks the 13th rights sale for the Nordic Crime title, WHEN THE KING DIES. Backman is a force to be reckoned with, as the first novel in her detective series has impressively sold over 10,000 copies despite having been just published in May. Hear what the editor from Mann Ivanov Ferber had to say:

Click here to request 200-page long English sample, synopsis and media kit.

Max Seeck is now and forever a New York Times best- selling author, the second in Finland’s history!!!

The Witch Hunter (a.k.a. Faithful Reader), the first book in Seeck’s Jessica Niemi detective series, has caught fire since its US publication in October, selling 10,633 copies by Nov. 14 and garnering excellent critical reviews and heavy attention from Hollywood.

Rights are still available in China, Taiwan, Japan, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand etc for some of his titles, including: the sequel to The Witch Hunter, book 2, EVIL’S NET; and book 3, as yet untitled; and also available are rights to his best-selling Daniel Kuisma trilogy.

PS! Is Nordic Crime not your cup of tea? 
No worries, see our complete Fall 2020 Fiction list here

Rights Sold:
WHEN THE KING DIES

FINLAND:
Otava (orig.)

ALBANIA:
Dritan
ESTONIA:
Varrak (2-book deal)
CZECH REPUBLIC:
Grada
RUSSIA:
Mann Ivanov Ferber
GERMANY:
Piper Verlag (2-book deal)
ITALY:
Newton Compton
LITHUANIA:
BALTO
NETHERLANDS:
De Bezige Bij/Cargo
(2-book deal)
NORWAY:
Cappelen Damm (2-book deal)
POLAND:
Czarna Owca
SLOVAKIA:
Arkus
SWEDEN:
Bokfabriken (2-book deal)
TV/FILM:
Aurora Studios

About author


Elina Backman

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

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

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

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Who Wanders in the Dark

Elina Backman


2024, Crime & Suspense

How to Face Death

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Before the Polar Night Falls

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo

Elina Backman


2021, Crime & Suspense

Still Waters Run Deep

Elina Backman


2020, Crime & Suspense

All the King's Men

Elina Backman

Related news

Italian rights sold for ’WHEN THE KING DIES’, now 12 rights sold + Film & TV

Posted on
When the king dies

We are very happy to announce that Italian rights to Elina Backman’s bestselling thriller WHEN THE KING DIES have been acquired by Newton Compton!

Elina Backman’s Nordic thriller WHEN THE KING DIES (first published May 2020) has already been sold to 12 territories and counting. TV series is in development by Aurora Studios.

Rights are currently free in  the US, UK, France, Spain, Denmark, Russia, Hungary, Latvia etc

PUBLISHER’S PRAISE:

WHEN THE KING DIES is an unputdownable great Nordic crime novel with an intriguing plot which captivates you till the end, said the happy editor Gabriele Anniballi from Newton Compton.

Click here to request 200-page long English sample, synopsis and media kit.

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

About the author:

Elina Backman, 37, is a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki, in an old wooden 1920 house with a family of 2 kids and a husband. Elina loves books (all sorts), travelling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club. She is a creative soul with a commercial mind, and her goal is to find readers globally – her dream is a Netflix series based on her novels.

See the video greeting by Elina Backman here.

PS! Is Nordic Crime not your cup of tea? 
No worries, see our complete Fall 2020 Fiction list here

Rights sold:

FINLAND:
Otava (orig.)

ALBANIA:
Dritan
ESTONIA:
Varrak (2-book deal)
CZECH REPUBLIC:
Grada
GERMANY:
Piper Verlag (2-book deal)
ITALY:
Newton Compton
LITHUANIA:
BALTO
NETHERLANDS:
De Bezige Bij/Cargo
(2-book deal)
NORWAY:
Cappelen Damm (2-book deal)
POLAND:
Czarna Owca
SLOVAKIA:
Arkus
SWEDEN:
Bokfabriken (2-book deal)
TV/FILM:
Aurora Studios

About author


Elina Backman

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

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

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

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Who Wanders in the Dark

Elina Backman


2024, Crime & Suspense

How to Face Death

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Before the Polar Night Falls

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo

Elina Backman


2021, Crime & Suspense

Still Waters Run Deep

Elina Backman


2020, Crime & Suspense

All the King's Men

Elina Backman

Related news

Now 11 rights sold for Elina Backman’s ’WHEN THE KING DIES’!

Posted on
When the king dies

We are very happy to announce that Albanian rights to Elina Backman’s bestselling thriller WHEN THE KING DIES have been acquired by Dritan!
Elina Backman’s Nordic thriller WHEN THE KING DIES has already been sold to 11 territories and counting. TV series is in development by Aurora Studios.

Rights are currently free in  the US, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Russia, Hungary, Latvia etc

Click here to request 155-page long English sample, synopsis and media kit.

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

About the author:

Elina Backman, 37, is a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki, in an old wooden 1920 house with a family of 2 kids and a husband. Elina loves books (all sorts), travelling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club. She is a creative soul with a commercial mind, and her goal is to find readers globally – her dream is a Netflix series based on her novels.

PS! FILI translation and printing grant application period is closing soon – please send your applications before 1st of November 23:59 to get up to 70% off your Finnish translation costs or 1000€ off your picture book printing cost. More info here.Also, if you are looking for translators from Finnish, we’ll be happy to help you and check also FILI’s translators’ database: Kääntöpiiri website

PPS! Is Nordic Crime not your cup of tea? 
No worries, see our complete Fall 2020 Fiction list here

RIGHTS SOLD:

FINLAND:
Otava (orig.)

ALBANIA:
Dritan
ESTONIA:
Varrak (2-book deal)
CZECH REPUBLIC:
Grada
GERMANY:
Piper Verlag (2-book deal)
LITHUANIA:
BALTO
NETHERLANDS:
De Bezige Bij/Cargo
(2-book deal)
NORWAY:
Cappelen Damm (2-book deal)
POLAND:
Czarna Owca
SLOVAKIA:
Arkus
SWEDEN:
Bokfabriken (2-book deal)
TV/FILM:
Aurora Studios

About author


Elina Backman

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

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

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

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Who Wanders in the Dark

Elina Backman


2024, Crime & Suspense

How to Face Death

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Before the Polar Night Falls

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo

Elina Backman


2021, Crime & Suspense

Still Waters Run Deep

Elina Backman


2020, Crime & Suspense

All the King's Men

Elina Backman

Related news

Elisa Audio Book Award Winners 2020

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We are proud to announce that our authors Elina Backman and Leena Lehtolainen are both Winners of the Elisa Audio Book Award 2020. Congratulations, Elina and Leena!

Elina Backman won the category of the Best Newcomer of the Year with her bestselling crime novel WHEN THE KING DIES (orig. Kun kuningas kuolee, Otava 2020) – already sold to 10 territories and TV rights optioned by Aurora Studios.

”Backman redeems her place among the top Finnish detective writers with this novel. The clever plot hooks you immediately, and the mystery untangles piece by piece until the surprising end. We can hardly wait for the sequel!” – Helena Niemelä, Business Director of Elisa Kirja

Leena Lehtolainen won the category of the Best Crime Novel of the Year with RIPPLE EFFECT (orig. Jälkikaiku, Tammi 2020) , which is the 15th book in the Maria Kallio series. Leena’s books have been translated to over 30 languages, and sold over 2,5 million copies worldwide! TV series based on Maria Kallio series will be released in 2021 by MTV/C More.

”Ripple Effect is a cleverly constructed police novel that mediates perfectly balanced between the character’s relationships, everyday police work, and exciting action. Lehtolainen manages to move the story smoothly forward, and the details that are gradually revealed keeps the reader interested.” – Matti Järvinen, Vice president of The Finnish Whodunnit Society

About author


Elina Backman

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

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

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

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen

Read more Author's page

About author


Leena Lehtolainen

Leena Lehtolainen is the top female crime author in Finland: her new titles always head straight to #1 on the Finnish bestseller lists.

Lehtolainen created her successful protagonist, detective Maria Kallio, in 1993. Having already featured in 16 novels and a complete TV series, a new Maria Kallio TV reboot series was launched in Fall 2021 on C More. Lehtolainen’s novels have been translated into 30 languages and have sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.

And just like the events in Bodyguard, a that takes the heroine Hilja Ilveskero all around Europe, Lehtolainen’s own work takes her to book festivals, exhibitions and other events across the globe.

Leena Lehtolainen has also published outside the crime genre; her book The Charm of Figure Skating was voted sports book of the year 2010 in Finland, and A Life in Six Scenes showed her return to literary fiction.

The Crossing of the Green Dragon is her first title for YA audiences.

In her free time, Lehtolainen enjoys all kinds of music and follows lynx trails in the forests – just like Maria Kallio.

Photo credit: Ville Juurikkala

Read more

AURORA STUDIOS OPTIONS FILM & TV RIGHTS TO ’WHEN THE KING DIES’!

Posted on
When the king dies

We are very happy to announce that Film & TV Rights to Elina Backman’s bestselling thriller WHEN THE KING DIES have been optioned by Aurora Studios to be developed into an international TV series.

Published by Otava in Finland in May 2020 to excellent reviews and immediately hitting the bestseller lists, WHEN THE KING DIES has already been sold to 10 territories and counting. Rights are still free for example in France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Russia, Hungary, Latvia and in English-speaking territories.

Elina Backman is now writing a sequel, THE ISLE OF SHEEP, to be published in June 2021.

Aurora Studios owner Ari Tolppanen, CEO Antti Toiviainen and Creative Director Roosa Toivonen are thrilled to start this adventure with author Elina Backman: ”Utterly readable and full of plot twists and quirky characters, WHEN THE KING DIES is an ideal starting point for a TV series that keeps audiences at the edge of their seat and leaves them hungry for more. Luckily, a sequel is already in the works by the promising author!”

”I love Finland – its own unique voice and beautiful landscapes – and I love murder mysteries. I believe that together with Aurora Studios we will create something special. The last months have been amazing: As a debut author this is a dream come true for me to be able to share my crime story with global readers.” – Author Elina Backman

About Aurora Studios:
Aurora Studios was started in June 2020 to enable and assist the creation of commercially and artistically ambitious films and audiovisual content through development, financing and distribution. Its owners are Finnish media company The Otava Group and Ari Tolppanen and Ari Lahti, the investors behind the financing of Finnish audience phenomenon The Unknown Soldier.

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

Rights sold:

FINLAND:
Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA:
Varrak (2-book deal)
CZECH REPUBLIC:
Grada
GERMANY:
Piper Verlag (2-book deal)
LITHUANIA:
BALTO
NETHERLANDS:
De Bezige Bij/Cargo
(2-book deal)
NORWAY:
Cappelen Damm (2-book deal)
POLAND:
Czarna Owca
SLOVAKIA:
Arkus
SWEDEN:
Bokfabriken (2-book deal)
TV/FILM:
Aurora Studios

About author


Elina Backman

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

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

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

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Who Wanders in the Dark

Elina Backman


2024, Crime & Suspense

How to Face Death

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Before the Polar Night Falls

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo

Elina Backman


2021, Crime & Suspense

Still Waters Run Deep

Elina Backman


2020, Crime & Suspense

All the King's Men

Elina Backman

Related news

Now 10 rights sold for WHEN THE KING DIES!

Posted on
When the king dies

Polish and Slovak rights sold for WHEN THE KING DIES! Now 10 rights sold!
Elina Backman’s debut crime novel WHEN THE KING DIES has all Europe excited!
The bestselling novel was just published in May and has now sold to 10 territories!
Just yesterday we closed two wonderful new deals for this exciting title!The happy additions to Elina Backman publishers’ family are Czarna Owca in Poland and Arkus in Slovakia.The rights are still available in the US, UK, France, Russia, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Romania etc 

Click here to request the English sample, synopsis, and media package!

Praise:

”We are thrilled that we will have opportunity to present Elina Backman to Polish readers. WHEN THE KING DIES is truly amazing – fast-paced, gripping, with relatable characters (who could be a better protagonist than Saana – TV and pizza addict who decides to change her life?). We can’t wait to see what happens next!”

Dominika Dudarew-Osiecka, editor, Czarna Owca, Poland

”We are so excited to broaden our crime list with this exciting work of extremely talented Elina Backman. No doubt Lithuanian readers will welcome this new star from Finland with open arms.”
– Ieva Savukynaitė-Dubicka, Project Manager, BALTO, Lithuania

”A new star on the Nordic crime scene. With a real page-turner that keeps the readers on their toes until the end.”
– Henrik Lindvall, Publisher, Bokfabriken, Sweden

”We are simply delighted to have Elina Backman on our crime list!! Her debut Kun kuningas kuolee is smart, confident, exciting, elegant, entertaining and more!”
– Ida Cleve, Editor, Cappelen Damm, Norway
“Elina Backman is a very exciting addition to our crime list and we are very proud to be able to publish her. With the fantastic WHEN THE KING DIES and the plans for her second book already in development we have every confidence she is more than capable of becoming as popular as authors such as Jo Nesbø, Lars Kepler and Hjorth Rosenfeldt. Dutch and Flemish readers love high quality crime fiction from Scandinavia, and Elina Backman is one of the most exciting new voices we have recently come across.”
– Chris Kooi, Acquiring Editor, Cargo/De Bezige Bij, the Netherlands
WHEN THE KING DIES:
Kun kuningas kuolee,
Otava, May 2020, 495 pp.Jan, a Helsinki-based police officer investigates a ritualistic murder taking place at Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. Meanwhile in idyllic countryside an ex-journalist Saana starts to dig up information of a girl who died in the 80’s in Hartola – in the only kingdom in Finland. Jan and Saana’s paths will cross – for more than one reason.

Rights sold:

FINLAND:
Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA:
Varrak (Two-book deal)
CZECH REPUBLIC:
Grada
GERMANY:
Piper Verlag (Two-book deal)
LITHUANIA:
BALTO
NETHERLANDS:
De Bezige Bij/Cargo
(Two-book deal)
NORWAY:
Cappelen Damm (Two-book deal)
POLAND:
Czarna Owca
SLOVAKIA:
Arkus
SWEDEN:
Bokfabriken (Two-book deal)
TV/FILM:
Offers on the table

About author


Elina Backman

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

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

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

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen

Read more Author's page

Bibliography


2025, Crime & Suspense

Who Wanders in the Dark

Elina Backman


2024, Crime & Suspense

How to Face Death

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Before the Polar Night Falls

Elina Backman


2022, Crime & Suspense

Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo

Elina Backman


2021, Crime & Suspense

Still Waters Run Deep

Elina Backman


2020, Crime & Suspense

All the King's Men

Elina Backman

Related news

2020 Fiction Fall Rights Guide is published!

Posted on

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

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

Browse the fiction list here

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

WHEN THE KING DIES by Elina Backman

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

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

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

 

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

Book 2 coming in Summer 2021.

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

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

IRRATIONAL THINGS by Saara Turunen

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

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

Click here to watch the author video

Reading materials: English sample available in September

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

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD by Emmi Pesonen

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

  • Feature film in development by Aurora Studios

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

Click here to watch the author video

Reading materials: English sample and synopsis available in September

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

THE OTHERS OF US by Mooses Mentula

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

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

Click here to watch the author video

Rights sold: GERMANY: Weidle Verlag

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

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

About author


Elina Backman

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

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

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

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen

Read more Author's page

About author


Emmi Pesonen

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

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