Finnish comics are taking over Paris! 🇫🇮🇫🇷

A major celebration of Finnish comics kicked off in Paris today, with no fewer than 12 Finnish comics artists and other industry professionals taking part in the Formula Bula comics festival over the weekend. Mikaela Wickström from FILI is also taking part in the festival.

The programme includes exhibitions featuring five invited artists, masterclasses, a zine workshop, a concert, and signing sessions celebrating new French translations of Finnish comics.

The Paris event is part of Sarjakuva 2026 – Année de la bande dessinée finlandaise en France, a year-long initiative dedicated to Finnish comics in France. Throughout the year, Finnish comics artists will be featured at seven festivals and at the Finnish Institute in Paris.

The programme includes six exhibitions, book launches, a Finnish comics pop-up shop, an artist residency, and around 30 artist visits.

This autumn, Éditions PLG will publish Plein les yeux(Silmän täydeltä) by Harri Römpötti, the first French-language non-fiction book dedicated to contemporary Finnish comics. The book is translated by Kirsi Kinnunen and Aleksi Moine.
Festival visitors can also pick up Palapeli, a special comics publication exploring clichés about Finland through works commissioned from 13 Finnish artists.

Since 2001, as many as 40 French publishers have published around 130 graphic novels and short-form comics by some 60 Finnish artists. French audiences and publishers have been drawn to the high quality and diversity of Finnish comics, as well as their ability to move effortlessly across the boundaries between different art forms.

Sarjakuva 2026 was initiated and is coordinated and curated by comics expert Kirsi Kinnunen of Siksi ry, an organisation promoting Finnish comics internationally. The project is funded by Kone Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, FILI, Frame Contemporary Art Finland, and the Embassy of Finland in France.

👉 Read Palapeli in French via the link in bio.

@sarjakuva2026 @formula_bula #finnishcomics #translations @kirsieevantytar ...

The Gothenburg Book Fair continues today! 📚

FILI is represented at the fair by Tiia Strandén (centre), Johanna Pitkänen and Ville Blåfield, together with Finnish literary agents. Pictured here are Martti Berner (Ahlbäck Agency), Viivi Arela (Helsinki Literary Agency) and Nora Al-Ani (Ahlbäck Agency). Also visiting the fair were Finland’s Ambassador to Sweden Olli Kantanen (left), Permanent Secretary Heidi Backman from the Ministry of Education and Culture, and KooPee Hiltunen, Director of Neogames Finland.

The fair has also welcomed a wonderful line-up of Finnish authors, including Kjell Westö, whose new novel Coda has just been published. Westö’s works have been translated into more than 20 languages. This year’s themes at the fair are popular education and games — which means that alongside literature, authors and inspiring encounters, a stormtrooper or two may also be spotted among the crowds. ✨

Göteborgin kirjamessut jatkuvat tänään! 📚

FILIstä mukana menossa Tiia Strandén (kesk.), Johanna Pitkänen ja Ville Blåfield sekä tietysti suomalaiset kirjallisuusagentit, joista kuvassa mukana Martti Berner (Ahlbäck Agency), Viivi Arela (Helsinki Literary Agency) ja Nora Al-Ani (Ahlbäck Agency). Messuilla vierailivat myös Suomen Ruotsin-suurlähettiläs Olli Kantanen (vas.), opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriön kansliapäällikkö Heidi Backman ja Neogames Finlandin johtaja KooPee Hiltunen.

Messuilla esiintyi lukuisia suomalaisia kirjailijoita, muun muassa juuri Coda-romaanin julkaissut Kjell Westö, jonka teoksia on käännetty yli 20 kielelle. Tänä vuonna messujen teemoina olivat kansansivistys ja pelit, joten stormtrooppailuakin oli havaittavissa. ✨

@bokmassan #finnishliterature #booksfromfinland #authors #translators #bookfairs ...

Pajtim Statovci’s wonderful novel Lehmä synnyttää yöllä, A Cow Gives Birth at Night (Otava 2024, Wylie Agency) has been nominated for the Kulturhuset Stadsteatern International Literature Prize. The novel was translated into Swedish by Ulrika Enckell.

The prize is awarded annually to an outstanding work of fiction that has been translated into Swedish to an exceptionally high standard. The prize money is shared equally between the author and the translator.

Warmest congratulations on the nomination, Pajtim and Ulrika! ❤️

Pajtim Statovcin upea romaani Lehmä synnyttää yöllä (Otava 2024, Wylie Agency) on ehdolla Kulturhuset Stadsteaterin kansainvälisen kirjallisuuspalkinnon saajaksi. Kirjan on kääntänyt ruotsiksi Ulrika Enckell nimellä Kon föder på natten (Förlaget 2026).

Palkinto myönnetään vuosittain ansiokkaalle kaunokirjalliselle teokselle, joka on käännetty ruotsiksi erityisen korkeatasoisesti. Palkintosumma jaetaan kirjailijan ja kääntäjän kesken.

Lämpimät onnittelut ehdokkuudesta Pajtim ja Ulrika! ❤️

@pajtimstatovci #ulrikaenckell @wylieagency @otavankirjat @forlagetm ...

Voiko perjantai paremmin alkaa kuin talon yhteiselle lukupiirillä! 📚 Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran eri osastojen asiantuntijoilla oli upeaa luettavaa FILIn järjestämässä hiljaisessa lukupiirissä.

Could there be a better way to start a Friday than with a shared reading circle! 📚 Colleagues from across the Finnish Literature Society enjoyed some wonderful reads at a silent reading circle organised by FILI.

#lukeminen #hiljainenlukupiiri #readingtogether #silentreading #books @suomalaisenkirjallisuudenseura @filifinnishliterature ...