Loukko by 
We are thrilled to announce that Grove Atlantic has acquired World English rights to Johanna Sinisalo’s The Core of the Sun (Auringon ydin, Teos 2013) for publication in 2015 in the Black Cat imprint. One of the most esteemed literary publishers in the U.S, Grove Atlantic’s other authors include Samuel Beckett, Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac and Jeanette Winterson.
“Johanna Sinisalo has a singular, singularly twisted imagination, and The Core of the Sun presents a chilling alternative scenario that has uncomfortable resonances for our own reality – all the while working in brilliantly fun satirical touches. I am so pleased to be working with her again.”
-Amy Hundley, Grove Atlantic
The Core of the Sun depicts the Finnish Eusistocratic Republic, a kind of North Korea of Europe. Here sex has been turned into a commodity, and women have been bred into two subspecies based on their ability to provide pleasure and bear children.
The book has been a critical success, and has been nominated for the prestigious Tähtivaeltaja (“Star Traveller”) award recognizing the previous year’s best science fiction book published in Finland.
“Sinisalo is a social critic, but her writing is very tangible, appealing to the senses. It makes for a unique reading experience: highly immersive, almost breath-taking,” praised Books from Finland literary journal in its review.
“The Core of the Sun is Johanna Sinisalo’s best novel since the Finlandia Prize-winning Not Before Sundown (Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi, Tammi 2000)….it deals with themes similar to those in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale,” wrote Helsingin Sanomat newspaper.
Johanna Sinisalo (b. 1958), master of Finnish weird, is one of Finland’s most successful and internationally acclaimed authors. Praised by readers and critics alike, she has won several literary prizes, among them the Finlandia Prize in 2000 and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award in 2004. In 2008 she was nominated for the Nebula Awards. Rights to her works have been sold in 19 territories. Sinisalo is one of the screenwriters of the 2012 science fiction action comedy film Iron Sky.
RIGHTS SOLD
The Core of the Sun, 2013:
CZECH REPUBLIC, Euromedia
FRANCE, Actes Sud
GERMANY, Klett-Cotta
WORLD ENGLISH, Grove Atlantic
Original publisher: FINLAND, Teos
Reading materials:
German edition
English sample
Finnish edition
RIGHTS SOLD
Not Before Sundown (Troll – a Love Story), 2000:
ALBANIA, Dituria
BRAZIL, Devir
BULGARIA, Perseus
CZECH, One Woman Press
FRANCE, Actes Sud
GERMANY, Tropen
JAPAN, Sunmark
LATVIA, Atena
LITHUANIA, Vaga
POLAND, Terytoria
RUSSIA, Amphora
SLOVENIA, Modrijan
SPAIN, Poliedro
SWEDEN, Wahlstrom & Widstrand
UK, Peter Owen
US, Grove Atlantic
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
RIGHTS SOLD
The Blood of Angels, 2011:
WORLD ENGLISH, Peter Owen
FRANCE, Actes Sud
POLAND, Foksal
Original publisher: FINLAND, Teos
RIGHTS SOLD
Birdbrain, 2008:
FRANCE, Actes Sud
NORWAY, Vega
UK, Peter Owen
Original publisher: FINLAND, Teos
PRIZES
Finlandia Prize 2000 (Not Before Sundown/Troll – A Love Story)
James Tiptree, Jr. Award 2004 (Not Before Sundown/Troll – A Love Story)
Nominated for the Nebula Awards 2008 (Baby Doll)
P. E. Svinhufvud Award 2011 (The Blood of Angels)
The Young Aleksis Kivi Prize 2009, 2012 (Birdbrain, The Blood of Angels)
Nominated for the Prix Escapades 2012 (Birdbrain)
Nominated for the Tähtivaeltaja (“Star Traveller”) award 2014
Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com