Loukko by 
Maria Turtschaninoff’s Finlandia Junior Prize winner Maresi (Tammi 2014), part I in the Red Abbey Chronicles, will soon reach new international audiences: rights were recently sold in the World English territories to Pushkin Press, in Germany to Random House/Heyne and in Romania to Editura Univers.
Maresi was published in autumn of 2014 simultaneously in Finland by Schildts & Söderströms (Swedish) and Tammi (Finnish), and in Sweden by Berghs.
Since its publication, Maresi has drawn praise from the literary blogger community in Sweden. See below for some highlights!
Maria Turtschaninoff is currently writing Naondel, Book II in the Red Abbey Chronicles, which is slated for publication next year.
Praise in Sweden for Maresi:
“Maria Turtschaninoff proves to be a true storyteller. Her descriptions, sentence construtions and metaphors warmed my heart…this book is targeted for 12-to-15-year-olds, but it is just as well suited for the adult reader.”
– Kattugglan literature blog, Sweden (four stars)
“I was drawn into Maresi´s world from the first page, and was not let go until after I had read the last word. I am in love.”
– Bokmolnet literature blog, Sweden
“Maresi feels like a mix of Lysistrata and Egalia’s Daughters in YA fantasy clothing…it is a lovely, understated, sad and well-written story. I will pick up [Turtschaninoff’s previous books] ARRA and Anaché as soon as possible.”
– Eli läser och skriver literature blog, Sweden
About the Red Abbey Chronicles by Maria Turtschaninoff:
Maresi, Book I: The Red Abbey, located on the island of Menos, is a refuge and a community for women and girls. At the Red Abbey everyone is given the freedom to pursue and develop their own talents and areas of interest. Maresi, the main character and narrator, has realized that reading and learning are the two things closest to her heart.
One day Jai, a frightened girl, arrives on the island. It is gradually revealed that Jai is running from her father’s senseless fury; she has seen her sister get buried alive for speaking to a young man, and now her father and a crew of thugs are after her. The bravery of Maresi and her friends is put to the ultimate test when they have to fight to defend both Jai and their community.
A prequel to Maresi, Book II, Naondel (Schildts & Söderströms) will tell the story of the First Sisters, and how they came to flee a harem in the faraway Eastern Lands and eventually establish the Red Abbey.
A sequel to Maresi, Book III (Schildts & Söderströms) will follow Maresi after she leaves the Red Abbey and sets out to establish a school in the oppressed province of Rovas.
About the author:
Maria Turtschaninoff’s (b. 1977) sources of inspiration are Diana Wynne Jones, Lloyd Alexander, Philip Pullman, Michael Ende, J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin, C.S. Lewis and many others. She has become known for her ability to craft rich, historically inspired worlds that contain elements of mythology and fairy tales. Her accolades include the Finlandia Junior Prize, the Swedish YLE Literature Prize, and the Society of Swedish Literature Prize. She has also been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
RIGHTS SOLD: MARESI
Original publisher: FINLAND, Schildts & Söderströms
DENMARK, Turbine
FINLAND, Tammi
GERMANY, Random House/Heyne
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
SWEDEN, Berghs
WORLD ENGLISH, Pushkin Press
Reading materials: The Red Abbey Chronicles
Book I, Maresi:
Full English text
Swedish edition
Finnish edition
Book II, Naondel:
English synopsis
Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com
