More than 30 Finnish books will be published in German this year. With the It’s Finland Again! project, you can invite the authors of the wonderful Finnish books being published in German to literary events, festivals and bookstores. It’s Finland Again! Finnish literature in German-speaking Europe, a joint project of FILI – Finnish Literature Exchange, the Finnland-Institut, the Embassy of Finland in Germany and Visit Finland, aims to gain the widest possible visibility for Finnish literature, especially for translations appearing in German-speaking Europe in 2024–2025.
Publishing houses, festivals, literary events and bookstores in German-speaking Europe now have the opportunity to invite authors of Finnish fiction, non-fiction and children’s and youth literature being published in German to appear at their events.
You can read about the more than 30 translated books being published this year in FILI’s new publications 30 or So Books from Finland in German 2024 and 2025 here.
FILI is offering promotional grants to support author visits for translations published this year and next year. The grant funds are intended to help cover the author’s travel and accommodation expenses. This is the perfect opportunity to plan single author visits or larger author tours to reach new readers! You can apply for promotional grants at: www.fili.fi/grants
The Finnish Noir boom and new takes on humans’ relationship with nature
Several hot new Finnish detective novels will be published in German this year, including books from Satu Rämö’s Hildur series and works by Elina Backman, Eva Frantz and Arttu Tuominen. The three novels of Rämö’s Hildur series were the best-selling books of the year in Finland last year. A total of 329,100 copies of the trilogy were sold. The first book in the series, Hildur, was translated into German last year and made Spiegel’s bestseller list in Germany. We are truly seeing a FinnNoir boom!
One of the literary events of 2023 was Iida Turpeinen’s debut novel Beasts of the Sea, whose translation rights quickly sold to 21 language areas. Maria Turtschaninoff’s novel Inherited Land has achieved the same level of international success, also being sold to 21 language areas, and with interest in the book only growing. The most recent translation, into French, was published in January and has already had an enthusiastic reception. Both authors have an incredible ability to deal with the relationship between humans and nature in a new and creative way – they may even decisively change the reader’s understanding of our relationship with nature.
Contemporary Finnish literature in general offers plenty of new, interesting perspectives on the current state and future prospects of humanity’s relationship with nature, such as Matias Riikonen’s acclaimed, award-winning novel Matara, and geneticist Tiina Raevaara’s intimate non-fiction book Me, My Dog and Humanity.
Also being published in German this year are works by internationally beloved authors Rosa Liksom and Pajtim Statovci. Both have completely unique ways of dealing with universal themes of humanity and identity in fiction.
Strong Finnish debut novels are also being published in German. Debut novels by Terhi Kokkonen, who won the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize, and by Hanna Brotherus and Hanna Meretoja have received an impressive reception in Finland.
And in children’s and youth literature, the final instalment of Timo Parvela and Pasi Pitkänen’s Shadows trilogy offers a perfect thrill for young readers. Salla Savolainen’s incredibly detailed Asphalt!, a picture book about how roads are made, is an enlightening and informative book for people of all ages. Lately, Finnish children’s and youth literature has been capturing the interest of the world: it made up half of the total value of Finland’s literary exports last year.
Strong and visionary non-fiction about the current state of Russia from top Finnish authors Jessikka Aro and Sofi Oksanen will also be translated into German this year.
Come meet popular Finnish authors in Berlin!
The first part of the Helsinki trilogy, by legendary author Pirkko Saisio, has already been published in German, with the next part set to be released early this year. Meri Valkama’s award-winning debut novel Yours, Margot will also be published in German. These two successful writers are united by their ability to weave together personal history and a historical, international perspective into a strong, socially relevant narrative. Their novels show that fiction can be used to redefine not only one’s personal history but also the individual in global historical contexts and in the midst of major upheavals.
We invite you to come meet Saisio and Valkama at the launch of the It’s Finland Again! project at the Nordic Embassies’ Felleshus in Berlin on Tuesday, 19 March 2024. A more detailed program will follow in our next release.
Pirkko Saisio, Meri Valkama, Pajtim Statovci and comics artist Hanneriina Moisseinen will also appear at the Leipzig Book Fair on 21–23 March.
Contact information:
For inquiries regarding the project and promotional grants:
Project Manager Johanna Pitkänen, FILI – Finnish Literature Exchange, , tel. +358 40 5385 232
Regarding author visits in German-speaking Europe:
Literature Programme Coordinator Suvi Wartiovaara, Finnland-Institut, , tel. +49 30 40 363 1893
For more information about the It’s Finland Again! project: www.fili.fi/news
The 30 or So Books from Finland in German publications: www.fili.fi/publications
