Publishing Perspectives is discussing Finnish Non-fiction!

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Publishing Perspectives is discussing Finnish Non-fiction!

We are very proud to share that Publishing Perspectives dedicated the intro of their rights roundup last week to Finnish Non-fiction from our agency! The article discussed how ” all things related to Finland and Finnish-ness” are especially in demand internationally and quoted our CEO Elina Ahlbäck saying ““It feels to me, that Finns do have something unique in their concepts for nonfiction, leadership, and personal growth.”

The segment discussed three of our non-fiction highlights, all of which had recent rights sales:

  • Leadership as Mastery: The Finnish Way by Asko Känsälä, which is now sold to Estonia 
  • Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu by Emilia Elisabet Lahti, which was published by Sound True in the US early this year and has been sold to Thailand, China, and most recently to Latvia 
  • How Finland Survived Stalin From Winter War to Cold War, 1939-1950 by Professor Kimmo Rentola, which will be published by Yale University Press  in the UK and US later this year and was sold to Greece and Poland recently.

If you are looking to enrich your list with a Finnish perspective, we have full English translations for all three titles for you to read!

Download the English PDF for LEADERSHIP AS MASTERY here!
Download the English PDF for GENTLE POWER here!

Download the English PDF for HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN here!

Johtajasta mestariksi / Leadership as Mastery: The Finnish Way
Tammi, January 2023, 174 pp.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ESTONIA: Ühinenud Ajakirjad
Reading materials:
Full English manuscript

GENTLE POWER: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu
Sounds True, January 2023, 194 pp.
Rights sold:
WORLD ENGLISH: Sounds True (orig.)
CHINA: Cheers Publishing Company
LATVIA: Zvaigzne ABC
THAILAND: Amarin Printing and Publishing
Reading materials:
English edition

HOW FINLAND SURVIVED STALIN: FROM WINTER WAR TO COLD WAR, 1939-1950
STALIN JA SUOMEN KOHTALO
Otava, 2016, 240 pp.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Äripäev
GREECE: Papadopoulos Publishers
POLAND: REBIS
WORLD ENGLISH: Yale University Press
Reading materials:
English manuscript

About author


Asko Känsälä

Asko Känsälä (b. 1957) is a Finnish business builder and leader with a successful career as deputy CEO in the Finnish market leading telecommunication and digital services company Elisa; coach, investor, and grandfather to 10 grandchildren. He is passionate about inspirational leadership and has worked in manufacturing industry, public administration, banking, and ICT, as well as for four years in Japan.

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About author


Emilia Elisabet Lahti

Emilia Elisabet Lahti (PhD, MSc, MAPP), who goes by Elisabet, is an awarded educator, applied psychology researcher, and founder of Sisu Lab that helps create communities and work cultures based on everyday leadership as an expression of courage and compassion. Elisabet holds a master’s degree in social psychology from the University of Tampere in Finland and a master’s in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied under Professors Martian Seligman and Angela Duckworth. 

Since initiating the research on the Finnish construct of sisu in 2012, Elisabet’s doctoral work has involved exploring the limits of her own sisu through ultra-endurance running and Eastern martial arts. Her work on sisu has been featured by The New Yorker, Business Insider, BBC, Forbes, and more. Born and raised in Finland, she has lived and taught internationally and given talks at Fortune 500 companies, TEDx, Stanford University, and UC Berkeley.

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About author


Kimmo Rentola

Kimmo Rentola (b. 1953), PhD, is a historian and professor emeritus of political history, at the University of Turku from 2006 to 2014 and at the University of Helsinki since 2014. In his research, Rentola has specialized in the history of the Cold War, the relationships between Finland and the Soviet Union, and both Finnish and Nordic communism. His other research areas are the youth movements of the 1960s and the history of intelligence agencies.

His latest title, How Finland Survived Stalin, won the Lauri Jäntti Award for non-fiction literature in 2017, while his previous book Vallankumouksen aave (‘The Ghost of the Revolution’) won the Scholarly Book of the Year Award in Finland in 2007.

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