First foreign sale for BLACK MOON INN by Reetta Niemelä and Katri Kirkkopelto: Pre-empt in Estonia!

We are thrilled to announce that the Estonian rights for BLACK MOON INN (Mustan Kuun majatalo), the award-winning middle-grade title written by Reetta Niemelä and illustrated by Katri Kirkkopelto have been pre-empted by Varrak! The deal was closed by Sten-Erik Tammemäe at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Established in 1991, Varrak is one of the leading publishing houses in Estonia. Their authors include J. K. Rowling, Fredrik Backman, Olga Tokarczuk, Sofi Oksanen, Sally Rooney, Haruki Murakami, Lucinda Riley, Kazuo Ishiguro, Elena Ferrante, etc.

Originally published by Lasten Keskus in 2021, BLACK MOON INN was one of the most critically acclaimed children’s titles last year – it won the Arvid Lydecken Prize, was nominated for the prestigious Finlandia Prize for children’s and YA literature, and was voted the audience favourite of the Finlandia Prizes!

Download the materials for BLACK MOON INN here!

Black Moon Inn

Reetta Niemelä, illustrated by Katri Kirkkopelto

Black Moon Inn starts a new magical middle-grade series irresistibly blending mythology and environmental protection!

• Winner of the Arvid Lydecken Prize 2022!
• Nominated for the Finlandia Prize 2022 – Audience favourite!

The animal-loving Saimi Salaper and her veterinarian father move to the city of Bluehill in order to set up a hospital for wild animals there. By coincidence, they buy an old inn, where one can hear weird noises behind closed doors, see rare butterflies fly past on the yard, and, at the rooftop, there seems to be… a perch for dragons.

Little by little, the house reveals its secrets to Saimi, and soon the Black Moon Inn is open for creatures of the secret folk who seek refuge there: the trolls, the fairies, and many more. But there’s a threat lurking just behind a corner, and the Inn takes both Saimi and the reader on an exciting adventure into the world of the secret folk.

Black Moon Lighthouse

Reetta Niemelä, illustrated by Katri Kirkkopelto

Black Moon Lighthouse continues the charming magical adventure of Saimi and her friends of the secret folk!

Something truly mysterious is happening in Bluehill! A group called “Bedtime’s Ugliest Fears Forgotten: Orcs Out at Night” aka B.U.F.F.O.O.N, which persecutes the secret folk, is circling the streets. Indeed, it seems that some folk have gone missing already! Saimi and her friends try to find out what it’s all about, but that is hard to do when adults are disturbing them. And if that wasn’t enough, a bunch of ghosts decide to celebrate the Kekri festival. Eventually the worst fears of Saimi and her friends come true: one of them disappears!

A dangerous operation begins, illuminated by the silver-coloured heartfires of dragons shining deep from within the ground. Is it possible that the ancient lighthouse would once more shine the beacons of the secret folk?