Ulla-Maija Paavilainen

THE MARIMEKKO STORY sold to Japan: The Greatest of All is Love.

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Wonderful news! Japanese rights of THE GREATEST OF ALL IS LOVE. THE MARIMEKKO STORY have been acquired by Shodensha. This no.1 bestselling non-fiction title was published in Finland in April, with over 30,000 copies sold, and feature film in development by Aurora Studios. Rights were previously sold in Estonia.

The editor at Shodensha is excited: ”We saw that this title could shed light to the problems which Japan is facing today. Not only is it a business book, but also it will become a book to give inspiration to and encourage the readers here to give the gender gap serious thought. Finland ranks very high on the Gender Gap Index, and is a country where the social norm is for women to be active. Japan needs to know about the Finnish social environment, and the energy, lifestyle and story of Ms. Kirsti Paakkanen. As a general publisher, we are confident that we are flexible and promote this title which carries the author’s thoughts to fit perfectly in the Japanese society.”
Shodensha, established in 1970, is general trade publisher of magazines (women’s fashion, lifestyle, etc.), novels, nonfiction (business, how-to), paperbacks, and manga of all genres.

The Greatest of All is Love. The Marimekko Story.

The breath-taking rags-to-riches story of Marimekko’s former owner and CEO Kirsti Paakkanen, who took over the Finnish design house and turned Marimekko into a successful worldwide brand name.

Author bio:
Ulla-Maija Paavilainen, award-winning journalist, is the author of several well-received novels and non-fiction books. She has worked as the editor-in-chief at several top Finnish magazines over the past 25 years.

Suurin niistä on rakkaus
Otava, April 2020, 346 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Helios
JAPAN: Shodensha

Reading materials:
English sample, Finnish edition

About author


Ulla-Maija Paavilainen

Ulla-Maija Paavilainen, award-winning journalist, is the author of several well-received novels and non-fiction books. She has worked as the editor-in-chief at several top Finnish magazines over the past 25 years. One of her specific areas of interest is the role of women in working life and analysing the power structure and what is required for women to have successful careers.

Paavilainen’s most recent work is the moving biography of the legendary entrepreneur Kirsti Paakkanen, who took over Marimekko, one of Finland’s most famous design brands. Kirsti Paakkanen: Greatest of All is Love is the story of Marimekko, an authentic rags-to riches tale of how a poor girl from the countryside first founded the world’s first all-women’s advertising agency, Womena. Selling Womena when she was 62, Paakkanen bought Marimekko, a global design company that was on the verge of bankruptcy and turned it around into an international iconic fashion house.

Read more

Bibliography


2020, Memories & Biographies

The Greatest of All Is Love. The Marimekko Story

Ulla-Maija Paavilainen

Related news

First foreign sale for THE MARIMEKKO STORY!

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We are very happy to announce the first international rights sold for THE GREATEST OF ALL IS LOVE. THE MARIMEKKO STORY.

Just yesterday, in an auction, the Estonian rights were secured by Helios!
We are also excited to announce that a feature film based on The Marimekko Story is in development by Aurora Studios!We are very glad to have just started representing the breathtaking rags-to-riches story of Marimekko’s former owner and CEO Kirsti Paakkanen, who turned the fortunes of the iconic brand around.

This is the true story of how a retired businesswoman took over the practically bankrupt Finnish design house and turned Marimekko into a successful worldwide brand name.

  • #1 Bestselling non-fiction title on Finland’s official bestseller list 16 weeks in a row since publication! 
  • Feature film in development by Aurora Studios

Reading materials: English sample coming in September
Ask for the Full Finnish manuscript for your reader by clicking here.

If you do not yet have a Finnish reader, please take a look at Kääntöpiiri portal, where you can currently find 99 possible readers.

Author bio:
Ulla-Maija Paavilainen, award-winning journalist, is the author of several well-received novels and non-fiction books. She has worked as the editor-in-chief at several top Finnish magazines over the past 25 years.

Listen to the author Ulla-Maija Paavilainen talking about the book by clicking here.

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Helios

About author


Ulla-Maija Paavilainen

Ulla-Maija Paavilainen, award-winning journalist, is the author of several well-received novels and non-fiction books. She has worked as the editor-in-chief at several top Finnish magazines over the past 25 years. One of her specific areas of interest is the role of women in working life and analysing the power structure and what is required for women to have successful careers.

Paavilainen’s most recent work is the moving biography of the legendary entrepreneur Kirsti Paakkanen, who took over Marimekko, one of Finland’s most famous design brands. Kirsti Paakkanen: Greatest of All is Love is the story of Marimekko, an authentic rags-to riches tale of how a poor girl from the countryside first founded the world’s first all-women’s advertising agency, Womena. Selling Womena when she was 62, Paakkanen bought Marimekko, a global design company that was on the verge of bankruptcy and turned it around into an international iconic fashion house.

Read more

Bibliography


2020, Memories & Biographies

The Greatest of All Is Love. The Marimekko Story

Ulla-Maija Paavilainen

Related news

2020 Non-Fiction Fall Rights Guide is published

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

What’s new: Author videos! 360 views of titles!
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 non-fiction list here.

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

Gentle Power: Accessing the Ancient Wisdom Within to Face a New Era

by Emilia Lahti

Gentle Power is based on the pioneering study by Emilia Lahti from Aalto University in Finland on the cultural construct known as sisu that, for centuries, has been the guiding life-philosophy of the Finns. It’s not about whether you won. It’s about how you won. Fight fairly by using Finnish Gentle Power to overcome adversities and become more human. Have you ever been inspired by graceful yet powerful leadership in moments of extreme pressure?

Listen to Emilia Lahti by clicking here

Reading materials: English proposal

Author bio:
Emilia Lahti is an international keynote speaker, contributor to human rights, and Ironman ultra-runner and world’s first researcher of Finnish Sisu, and leading expert of global phenomenon Sisu. 

The Greatest of All is Love. The Marimekko story
by Ulla-Maija Paakkanen

The breathtaking rags-to-riches story of Marimekko’s former owner and CEO Kirsti Paakkanen, who turned the fortunes of the iconic brand around. This is the true story of how a retired businesswoman took over the practically bankrupt Finnish design house and turned Marimekko into a successful worldwide brand name.

  • #1 Bestselling non-fiction title on Finland’s official bestseller list since publication!
  • Feature film in development by Aurora Studios

Listen to Ulla-Maija Paavilainen by clicking here

Reading materials: English sample coming in September

Author bio:
Ulla-Maija Paavilainen, award-winning journalist, is the author of several well-received novels and non-fiction books. She has worked as the editor-in-chief at several top Finnish magazines over the past 25 years.