Three new fiction deals! Katja Kettu sold in Germany, GHOST ISLAND in the Netherlands & MEMORY OF WATER in Albania!

We are thrilled to share three new fiction deals with you!

The German rights for Katja Kettu’s bestselling novel THE INVESTIGATIONS OF A CERTAIN CAT have been sold to Weissbooks Verlag in a deal closed by Anna Kappauf at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency. This is the 9th language this title will be published in.

Weissbooks Verlag are an independent publisher with a well-curated literary list that includes Booker-Prize shortlisted author Cheon Myeong-kwan, Heinrich-Böll-Prize winning author José F. A. Oliver, and critically acclaimed author Mary Miller.

This is what Weissbooks Publisher Bärbel Brands said about acquiring Katja Kettu’s novel:

“The Investigations of a Certain Cat” is for me a text that is as historical as it is topical, as feminine as it is universal, one that entertains in the most intelligent way and at the same time inspires and shakes us up. I am particularly interested in two (three) things that I find highly topical and existential for every society: the deep understanding of  human nature (motherhood and loss) and nature itself in contrast to over-civilised humanity, and the power of language, words and communication, which seems at least as important to me. Even across generations. When we look at the current crises, indeed wars, we know that there is a lack of willingness to enter into negotiations, to find the right words. And formally, not to forget the dramaturgical twist of giving the cat a perspective and an instance of its own, which has both a commentary character and elegantly connects the different narratives. (…) In terms of positioning, I see it close to Cheon’s “The Whale“ (short-listed for the International Booker Prize 23), this exuberant novel full of dream images, dominated by two strong female protagonists, which described a Korea on the threshold of modernity in disguise of a Korean Thousand and One Nights. There is no doubt about it, “Investigations of a Certain Cat” will be our most important title, to which we devote all our persuasive power and passion.”

Download the materials for THE INVESTIGATIONS OF A CERTAIN CAT here!

 

We are also happy to report that A.W. Bruna acquired the Dutch rights to Max Seeck’s GHOST ISLAND in a deal closed by Anna Kappauf at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

This is the 4th instalment in the New-York-Times-bestselling Jessica Niemi crime series, which has been sold to 40 countries and Hollywood. In 2023, Max Seeck was won the prestigious Glass Key Award for the third book in the series, THE LAST GRUDGE. Finnish publisher Tammi will publish Max Seeck’s new and independent title MILO in September 2024 and the rights have already been pre-empted for 3 territories and Film & TV.

Download the materials for GHOST ISLAND here!

 

And last but not least, Emmi Itäranta’s THE MEMORY OF WATER was sold to Dituria in Albania in a deal closed by Sten-Erik Tammemäe at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency. The rights for this speculative fiction title, originally published in Finland in 2012, have already been sold in over 25 territories and its environmental message is today more topical than ever.

Dituria, founded in 1991, publishes literature for both adults and children, and about 60% of their publications are by foreign authors. Their mission is to spread the pleasure of reading and become a companion for social change. Their authors include Hilary Mantel, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Per Olov Enquist, Lucinda Riley, J.K. Rowling, Maria Parr, Milan Kundera, Philip Roth,  Rosa Liksom, Roald Dahl, and Umberto Eco.

Download the materials for THE MEMORY OF WATER here!

Erään kissan tutkimuksia
Otava, September 2023, 380 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
CZECHIA: ARGO
DENMARK: Lindhardt og Ringhof
ESTONIA: Koolibri
GERMANY: Weissbooks Verlag
ITALY: Mondadori
NORWAY: Pax Forlag
ROMANIA: Humanitas Fiction
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag

Reading materials:
English sample and synopsis
Finnish edition

 

Loukko
Tammi, September 2022, 358 pp.

Rights sold in series:
FINLAND: Tammi (orig.)
ALBANIA: Muza
ARMENIA: Guitank
AZERBAIJAN: Alatoran
BULGARIA: EMAS
CROATIA: Fokus
CZECH REPUBLIC: Grada
DENMARK: Gutkind
ESTONIA: Pegasus
FRANCE: Michel Lafon
GERMANY: Bastei Lübbe
GREECE: Livanis
HUNGARY: Animus
ICELAND: Forlagid
ISRAEL: Tchelet Books/Steimatzky
ITALY: Piemme
LATVIA: Latvijas Mediji
LITHUANIA: Baltos lankos
NETHERLANDS & BELGIUM: A.W. Bruna
NORTH MACEDONIA: Matica Makedonska
NORWAY: Aschehoug
POLAND: Sonia Draga
PORTUGAL: Bertrand Editora Lda
ROMANIA: Litera
RUSSIA: AST Publishers
SERBIA: Vulkan
SLOVAKIA: Motyl
SLOVENIA: Didakta
SOUTH KOREA: Cheongmirae
SPAIN & LATIN AMERICA: Maeva Ediciones
SWEDEN: Albert Bonniers Förlag
TURKEY: Doğan Kitap
UK: Welbeck
UKRAINE: Family Leisure Club
USA & CANADA: Berkley / Penguin Random House
WORLD ARABIC: Arab Scientific
TV RIGHTS: Stampede Ventures

Reading materials:
English edition

 

Teemestarin kirja
Teos, November 2012, 266 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Teos (orig.)
ALBANIA: Dituria
ARABIC: Dar Al Muna
BRAZIL: Record
BULGARIA: Perseus
CHINA: Sichuan People’s Publishing House
CROATIA: VBZ
CZECH REPUBLIC: Albatros Media/Plus
DENMARK: Turbine
ESTONIA: Koolibri
FRANCE: Place des Editeurs
GEORGIA: Palitra L Publishing
HUNGARY: Metropolis Media
ITALY: Sperling&Kupfer
JAPAN: Nishimura Shoten
KOREA: The Book in My Life
LATVIA: Janis Roze
LITHUANIA: Nieko Rimto
NETHERLANDS: Atlas Contact
NORWAY: Gresvik Forlag
RUSSIA: Text Publishers
SERBIA: Heliks
SPAIN: Ediciones B.
SWEDEN: Modernista
TURKEY: Dogan Egmont
WORLD ENGLISH: HarperCollins
FILM & TV RIGHTS: Bufo

Reading materials:
English edition

About author


Emmi Itäranta

Emmi Itäranta (b.1976) holds two MA degrees, one in Drama and another in Creative Writing. Her award-winning debut novel Memory of Water (Teemestarin kirja) was published in Finland in 2012 to great accolades, followed by The Weaver (Kudottujen kujien kaupunki) in 2015. Her latest novel The Moonday Letters (Kuunpäivän kirjeet) was published in September 2020.

Itäranta’s writing has been compared to that of Ursula K. Le Guin. Her honours include the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize 2013, the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize 2012 and first place in the Teos Fantasy and Sci-Fi Literary Contest 2011.

Memory of Water has sold to over 25 languages to date, and it has also been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award recognizing the best science fiction novel published in the UK in 2014, and the Golden Tentacle award. In addition, Itäranta has been included on the Honor List of the Otherwise Award (formerly James Tiptree, Jr. Award).

Itäranta’s CV is an eclectic mix of writing-related activities, including stints as a columnist, theatre critic, press officer and dramaturge. Her poems, short stories, articles and essays have appeared in anthologies, film magazines and science fiction magazines in the UK and Finland. She now lives in Finland after 14 years in the United Kingdom.

About author


Katja Kettu

Katja Kettu is an acclaimed and award-winning writer with a strong, unique voice from Northern Finland. Originally from Rovaniemi, Lapland, she graduated from the Turku Academy of Arts in 2001 as an animation director and has also studied in the University of Tampere and in the National Film and Television School in the UK. She has worked as a columnist for numerous Finnish newspapers and magazines.

Her debut novel Surujenkerääjä (2005) was nominated for the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize and won the Tiiliskivi Prize, but her breakthrough came with The Midwife (orig. Kätilö, 2011), which won the Kalevi Jäntti Prize, the Runeberg Prize and the Thank You for the Book Medal. The rights for the novel have been sold to 19 countries, it has sold more than 160,000 copies in Finland, and in 2015 it was adapted into a film.

To date, she has published five novels, written or edited two collections of short stories, authored a graphic novel, edited a fiction/non-fiction book on women’s experiences with sexual harassment and violence, and a biography of Ismo Alanko, a Finnish musician. In addition, she has collaborated with photographer Meeri Koutaniemi and documentarist Maria Seppälä on a book and a TV series about Finnish emigrants in North America and their relationships with the Ojibwe people. Outside of literature, Kettu has directed, written or helped produce 10 animations and been a singer in the punk band Confusa.

Kettu’s works have been characterized as “Laplandic magical realism”. Kettu is meticulous in the research for her works and she is interested in microhistory, especially the fates of women caught up in conflicts where individuals have a limited influence on their lives.

Her novel Rose on poissa was a Finlandia Prize 2018 nominee. Kettu's works have been translated into 23 languages.

Katja Kettu's literary works:

Surujenkerääjä, 2005 WSOY

Hitsaaja, 2008 WSOY

Kätilö, 2011 WSOY

Piippuhylly, novelleja, 2013 WSOY

Novelli palaa! Matkanovelleja, co-edited with Aki Salmela, 2013 WSOY

Yöperhonen, 2015 WSOY

Peräkammarin poika, illustrated by Jan Andersson, 2015 Otava

Rose on poissa, 2018 WSOY

Erään kissan tutkimuksia, 2023 Otava

About author


Max Seeck, New York Times Best Selling Author

Max Seeck - New York Times Bestselling Author of THE WITCH HUNTER.

Winner of the prestigious Glass Key Award 2023 for his novel THE LAST GRUDGE.

Big Hollywood film & TV news coming soon!

“An exceptional combination of hardboiled Scandi-noir and eerie ghost story. [--] Seeck marries breathtaking suspense with an expertly drawn heroine. This is guaranteed to send shivers up even the most unshakable readers’ spines." – Publisher's Weekly, starred review (Ghost island)

"Each new step has been an artistic success. Max Seeck, last year's winner of the Glass Key Award for best Nordic detective story, has a golden touch for Finnish suspense fiction." - Kai Hirvasnoro, Kansan Uutiset newspaper

“Another star has been added to the firmament of thriller writers,” announced Iltalehti newspaper, when Max’s debut novel was published in 2016. Four books later, Max Seeck’s novels have been sold to more than 40 countries, including US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries and as far as Korea!

His Jessica Niemi series landed him on the New York Times Bestseller list! 2024 will see the release of his independent novel MILO, which is already creating buzz internationally with several rights pre-empts ahead of the Finnish publication!

Max Seeck has a background in sales and marketing, and has lately been able to dedicate his time to his lifelong love of writing. His interests include well-conducted research, reading Nordic Noir and listening to movie soundtracks as he writes.