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We are happy to inform you that the FILI Spring 2023 grant application period opened on April 1st and will last until May 1st. Now is the right time to acquire your next Finnish title and author, and apply for the FILI translation grant!
FILI offers grants to support the translation of Finnish literature. These grants are intended for publishers outside Finland and are to be applied towards the translator’s fee. Grants are awarded for translating works of fiction and general non-fiction, children’s and young adult (YA) books, and comics and graphic novels from the Finnish, Finland-Swedish and Sámi languages. Grants are awarded to cover part of the translation cost, on average, 50 to 70 per cent. Grants are also available for printing costs for comics and graphic novels and for children’s picture books. Read more here: APPLY FOR THE FILI GRANTS
In the previous application period of Winter 2023, 80 projects received the FILI grant with over 125,000 EUR awarded in total! See the latest awarded projects here.
This is a perfect time to acquire exciting new Finnish titles – see some of our Spring highlights below, and download materials here: Ahlback Agency Spring 2023 Catalogue
Forever With You
Erika Vik
Nordic Noir meets Goth rock in this dark psychological thriller
A fast-paced and intensive psychological thriller that takes a deep dive into the brutal world of the music industry.
“A dark, skillfully written rock thriller in which the author knows the world, and the details of which will linger in the reader’s mind.”
– Otava Crime Novel Competition, Honorary Award
Download materials for FOREVER WITH YOU here!
All the King’s Men
Elina Backman
Saana has been fired from her job as a click-bait journalist, so she decides to spend a summer with her aunt in a small town named Hartola. It sounds like a perfect opportunity to take it easy and recover. But when Saana begins to dig into the case of a teenage girl who died 30 years earlier, peace in the small town is shaken.
Meanwhile, in Helsinki, a fire-marked body is found at Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, and crime investigator Jan Leino and his team have a new case on their hands. However, the investigation isn’t going anywhere, and Jan fears that the murder at King’s Gate is just the beginning…
“Author Elina Backman’s debut and first instalment of the Saana Havas series puts a clear exclamation mark behind cottage core thrillers with Finnish flair.”
– Nils Heuner on kulturnews.de – segment “crime novel of the week”
Download materials for ALL THE KING’S MEN here!
Follow the Butterfly
Martta Kaukonen
A Spiegel bestseller!
An addictive psychological thriller in the spirit of Gillian Flynn
Ida, 20, a serial killer who was abducted as a child, starts therapy with celebrity therapist Clarissa. Only one of them knows that they share a mutual secret from the past. Will the other one realize it before she gets murdered?
“It’s exciting how the author succeeded in her novel to present the events as present, but the characters spoke to you as if they were reflecting on the events with us in a Netflix series. That was definitely the icing on the cake for me! [–] FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY [was] a real page turner. Every twist hits you cold and every solution you come up with is destroyed by the author in one sentence. A thriller that will take your breath away. You can no longer trust your own thoughts and the individual characters. Recommended reading for psychological thriller fans!”
– Lisa Albrecht on academicworld.net, Germany
Download materials for FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLY here!
Ørja
Riikka Sandberg
A fateful novel about friendship, passion and secrets buried in the sea from the end of the occupation of Norway till the 1970s.
”The novel is filled with fantastic nature descriptions. The author has written it with such detail, that the reader can sense the rippling of waves on the pier and the stormy swelling of the sea against the harsh rocks. [–] The colourful nature descriptions accompany the bleak human destinies which the reader follows with excitement until the end.”
– Jari Olavi Hiltunen in Satakunnan Kansa newspaper
Download materials for ØRJA here!
Inherited Land
Maria Turtschaninoff
The roots of man and forest are intertwined in the depths of the earth.
Inherited Land tells multiple enchanting stories about short human lives on a small farmstead in the north of Finland with its golden cloudberries and the mythical woodland animals. The hub of the narrative is a marsh close to the farmstead, and nature is the constant while humans are like dragonflies: here one day, gone the next. Across four centuries, the people face wars, epidemics, and heartbreaks, but from the woods they find shelter and a place to be themselves.
Inherited Land is a novel about the climate crisis without ever mentioning it by name. Instead, the novel explores what people have thought about their environment, how they have used it and why. The novel is a reminder of where we have come from, and what a relationship between humans and nature could look like in the future.
The book is beautiful like a piece of jewelry and rich like a forest.
– Freja Rudels, Åbo Underrättelser newspaper
Download materials for INHERITED LAND here!
The Enchantment
Riikka Pulkkinen
This shiningly beautiful novel is an autopsy of girlhood and power
Philippa Laakso, aged seventeen, is found dead in her yard at home. Nothing suggests a crime, and everyone who knew her is certain she wasn’t suicidal. On the other hand, all who knew her seem to hold a differing view of her. The investigation sees them being interviewed, but behind every view and story is Philippa’s influence. She still has the people around her in a sharp grip: her friend, ex-boyfriend, teacher, neighbors.
“Pulkkinen is an incredibly skillful, clever, deep author with a clear voice of her own, and she’s again managed to capture a great image on the pages with almost magical skills.”
– Heidi Heinonen in Kaleva newspaper
Download materials for THE ENCHANTMENT here!
Leadership as Mastery: The Finnish Way
Asko Känsälä
Lead like a Finn! The Finnish way of leadership combines art and craftsmanship, like the great Finnish master architect Alvar Aalto.
“Leadership is often thought of as a quality of the individual, but in this LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY we learn it is more of an art form to be mastered. We develop to be an exceptional leader through cycles of practice and reflection, just like the mastery of any other complex skill.”
– Jeffrey K. Liker, PhD, author of international bestseller The Toyota Way
Download materials for LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY here!
The 50 Most Dangerous Families in the World
Hannu Sokala
They like to stay in the shadows. Who are the families that wield the most power in the world?
Very few of us know the Lees, the al-Nahyans, the Quandts, or the Wertheimers. We all know, however, their companies Samsung, Manchester City, BMW, and Chanel. Many of the world’s most influential companies are still family businesses, and many of them go back many generations. Many of them operate around the world, and some are worth tens of billions of dollars. Still, we know astonishingly little about these families.
Download materials for THE 50 MOST DANGEROUS FAMILIES IN THE WORLD here!
Sang
Elina Pitkäkangas
An epic novel about love and power in a fictional East Asia of the future!
The state of Fusang is recovering from a war that ravaged the world. 16-year-old Kong Dawei is living in a poor mountain village and tries to pay his adopted siblings’ citizen dues by transporting contraband goods at night. After a series of unfortunate events, Dawei ends up in the southern capital which is ruled by the cruel matriarch of the White Tiger Clan. When there is nothing else to lose, Dawei has only one goal: to get back to his loved ones, his brother Ren and his friend and love interest Dray– whatever it takes.
“SANG is an incredible fantasy epic, where the twists and turns are so harrowing one has to hold on to their armchair tightly. [–] One simply has to live fully within the world of SANG with all their heart, and the book stayed with me for a long time.”
– Kotiliesi magazine
Download materials for SANG here!
Stella
Ted Forsström, illustrated by Åsa Lucander
An interactive and playful bedtime story for toddlers featuring a very loud dog with a big imagination!
“OFF! VOFF! GRR-VOFF!”
A father tries to put his child to bed, but keeps getting interrupted by Stella the dog, who starts barking hysterically. Something unexpected always happens, and the reader is treated to Stella’s lively imaginations: it may be a door opening or a car driving by, but Stella is strongly convinced it’s Grandma coming to give her food, or that squirrels have built a nest in the toaster.
Anyone who has ever tried to bring a child to bed knows how cozy yet fragile the situation is. It requires the right amount of patience and determination. The right bedtime story can be the key to a successful, quiet night.
Download materials for STELLA 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!
“The novel, which refreshes the tradition of fairytales, speaks for environmental protection, animal rights and imagination. Just as important as it is to take care of nature and animals, it is to care for the world of magic, miracles, and imaginary creatures. The characters, customs and living areas of the trolls and fairies have been illustrated beautifully and with attention to detail. One wants to stop to appreciate each image, but also feels a strong need to carry on reading the story.”
– Finlandia Jury 2022
