First foreign sale for MY UGLY DIARY by Mari Kujanpää – to Estonia!

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We are thrilled to announce that the Estonian rights for MY UGLY DIARY (Rumuuspäiväkirja), the latest YA title by award-winning author Mari Kujanpää, have been acquired 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.

They praised the title for being a timely and captivating read:
“MY UGLY DIARY speaks to and about the young people of today, but is a very useful read for adults as well! [It is] a book written in a lively and seamless way, [a book] where the bad ones get their due and the main character receives help.”
– Reelika Rahu, editor, Varrak, Estonia

Download materials for MY UGLY DIARY here!

My Ugly Diary

Mari Kujanpää

A contemporary and touching YA novel about the courage to be yourself and finding your own people.

  • Mari Kujanpää won the Finlandia Prize in 2009
  • Deals with body image, bullying and the pressure on teenagers to always be Instagram-ready

“Everyone else has a purpose, and they always walk without looking at their surroundings. Someone’s waiting for them somewhere. I’m not going anywhere and I’m not expected anywhere. Yet my feet are moving me somewhere”.

Age 14, shoe size 42, height 175 centimetres, cup size AA and a hideously ugly face, that’s how Malva is defined. She knows she is ugly, and the other pupils remind her of it daily with words and looks. Malva escapes to art and nature. Then along comes Runo, who is passionate about the same things.

My Ugly Diary is a delicate story about how a bullied girl hating her own reflection slowly recovers from the anxiety of her looks. Everyone who has been insecure about their looks can relate to Malva’s experiences.

Finlandia award-winner Mari Kujanpää writes directly and sympathetically about subjects that touch young readers.

MY UGLY DIARY
RUMUUSPÄIVÄKIRJA
Otava, 2023, 160 pp.

READING MATERIALS
English sample and synopsis
Finnish edition

RIGHTS SOLD:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Varrak

About author


Mari Kujanpää

Mari Kujanpää has studied forestry and library and information science. During the days she works as a library manager in the Oripää library, and during the evenings she writes. She has authored multiple children’s novels, and her work Minä and Muro, dealing with school bullying, won the Finlandia Prize in children's and YA literature in 2009. A play based on the novel was performed in the Finnish National Theatre 2013-2014.

Kujanpää enjoys the challenge of writing about topics often perceived as challenging in the lives of children, such as loneliness, bullying, and a grandparent’s memory disorder. In her best dreams, she spreads her arms and flies over ancient forests. In her nightmares, she is a teenager again and walks the gloomy corridors of secondary school.

Read more

Bibliography


2023, Young Adult (13 or 14+)

My Ugly Diary

Mari Kujanpää

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