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We are very happy to announce representation of our wonderful new authors for the Fall 2024 season and couldn’t be more excited to share their new titles & works below! Welcome to the Ahlback Agency!
NON-FICTION: Salla Vuorikoski
CRIME & THRILLER: Anne Hietanen & Michaela von Kügelgen and Johanna Holmström
ROMANTASY & FANTASY & ROMANCE: S. K. Rostedt and Ann-Catrin Mattsson
CHILDREN’S: Hannu Laakso
Join us in welcoming our new authors aboard, read more about them and their excellent new titles below
Finally, click here to check out Ahlback Agency’s Fall 2024 catalogue online!
NON-FICTION:
Salla Vuorikoski: Sanna Marin: Finland’s Young Prime Minister
Salla Vuorikoski is an accomplished journalist who currently works as the team lead of the investigative journalism unit at Finland’s largest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. Vuorikoski is an experienced reporter known for handling tough subjects and has previously worked at MTV, the public broadcaster YLE and Suomen kuvalehti magazine. She has been awarded the Great Journalism Prize and the Lumilapio Award for investigative journalism.
Sanna Marin: Finland’s Young Prime Minister
(Sanna Marin. Poikkeuksellinen pääministeri, WSOY, November 2024)
In December 2019, a dramatic government crisis catapulted Sanna Marin to become the youngest Prime Minister in the world. Soon she was to lead a country whose inner and outer security would be threatened by a serious pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine. This biography details how Marin became a liberal symbol, an opponent of right-wing populism, and a role model for the world’s young women.
Photo: Otto Virtanen
Sanna Marin: Finland’s Young Prime Minister
Non-Fiction
FICTION:
Anne Hietanen & Michaela von Kügelgen: The Last Word
Anne Hietanen (1974) is a well-known journalist with a prominent role at Svenska Yle, a public broadcasting service. Anne has built a diverse career, working as both a host and producer in radio, as well as in television, including on the talk show An Evening with Anne and Hannah. Currently, she hosts the popular podcast Sällskapet.
Michaela “Kugge” von Kügelgen (1986) has three published titles under her belt. Her debut novel, Vad heter ångest på spanska?, was published in 2017. Her most recent work, Kickstarta ditt skrivande, is a non-fiction guide to writing.
The Last Word
(Sista Ordet)
During the Helsinki Book Fair, author David Berglund is found dead in the harbour – the same day he was set to receive a literary prize. Philip Koski, a national hockey hero whose career was cut short by an injury, just joined the Helsinki Police Department and is assigned to the case.
At the same time, cultural journalist Tilde Björkqvist digs into David’s story. She was the last person to interview him and encountered a man whose words of joy and gratitude did not match his desperate revelation. At work, Tilde struggles against antiquated hierarchies – why are they trying to stop her investigation of the young writer?
Anne Hietanen Michaela von Kügelgen
Photos: Markus Perttula
The Last Word
Crime & Thriller
Johanna Holmström: Wolf Cub
Johanna Holmström is one of the most successful Finnish-Swedish writers of her generation. Her works have been published in over 10 countries.
With Själarnas ö (2017), her acclaimed novel centered around women in a mental hospital in the Finnish archipelago from the late 1800s-1962, Holmström achieved her first public success, and the novel was nominated for the prestigious Runeberg Prize in 2018. Her latest book, the short story collection Handbok i klardrömmar (2022) was the first Finnish-Swedish title to receive the Karin Boye prize in Sweden.
Wolf Cub
(Vargens Unge, Albert Bonniers, August 2024)
One day, a dirty and unfamiliar little boy stands in Seija’s tulip bed. Upon seeing his wide-open eyes, her motherly heart overflows, but the boy refuses to say a word–only a memory card is found in his mouth. Police Inspector Minna and her sidekick Timo are called, but no one has reported a missing child. Who is the boy and where does he come from?
Photo: Thron Ullberg
Wolf Cub
Crime & Thriller
S. K. Rostedt: Daughter of Two Bloods
S.K. Rostedt aka Saara Rostedt (1993) is an author and marketing professional who grew up in Finland’s book capital Sastamala. Now based in Helsinki, she is an avid romantasy reader who loves to spend time in nature and at her summer cabin. She has popular BookTok and Bookstagram social channels, where she talks about her writing and reading experiences. S.K. Rostedt, who gave up reading as a teenager, rediscovered the world of books in her twenties with the help of romantasy, Saara is known in social media as @skrostedt.
Daughter of Two Bloods
(Kahden veren tytär, Otava, August 2024)
A debut enemies-to-lovers romantasy novel oozing with fae, demons, and hot romance.
Moorna is a 21-year-old half-elf whose life as an escort to the capital’s aristocracy is harrowing. She wants to pay off her escort debt as quickly as possible and return home with her friend Malkra to live a life free from discrimination. When Moorna accidentally stumbles upon the annoyingly handsome fae, Caidas, she is torn from all that is familiar and safe, and quickly learns that nothing is as it seems.
Photo: Jonne Räsänen
Romantasy
Ann-Catrin Mattsson: Daughter of Earth
Ann-Catrin Mattsson (born 1984) is a Swedish writer, coach, and lecturer. She blends dramatic tension, epic saga, and historical romance, drawing comparisons to works like Outlander, A Discovery of Witches, and the Brothers Grimm. In 2024, the EARTHBORN series claimed the top spot in the Swedish Fantastic Council’s ranking of fantasy series in the Adult category. Previously, the series earned accolades such as Debut of the Year 2022 and Series of the Year 2023 in its genre.
Daughter of Earth
(Dotter av jord, WAPI, 2021)
The year is 1649, and war ravages Europe. In occupied Ireland, we meet Ailea, a young woman whose clairvoyance evokes both envy and fear. Compelled to seek refuge in Scotland with her family, Ailea’s path crosses with Magy Cullane, a sage woman with connections to the enigmatic Order. Thus does Ailea plunge into a realm of intrigue and millennia-old secrets.
Meanwhile, on the continent, in the Italian city of Bologna, the young hot-tempered soldier Roderic begins his military training at the war school. After stumbling upon a mysterious necklace in the mountains, a fair-haired girl begins to haunt his dreams – Ailea. A timeless bond, stretching across centuries, unbreakable even by death.
Photo: Asserlind Photography
Daughter of Earth
Historical Romantasy
CHILDREN’S:
Hannu Laakso: Meet the Fox Family
Hannu Laakso is a Finnish photographer and writer, who is fascinated by the purity of Nordic nature. He has won a Finnish state award for this children’s Fun & Facts book series, which introduces us to urban and rural wildlife. He bought his first SLR camera in 1982. In 2014 he finally decided to start participating in international photography competitions. He has received 130 international photography awards, and well over 500 unique photos have been accepted to international photo exhibitions in more than 80 countries.
Meet the Fox Family
(Me kettuset, Into, 2020)
What does the fox family’s summer entail? Some quirky fun and playful lessons, for a start! Meet the Fox Family combines animal education with a fictional story to match. Readers will join these adorable foxes in their daily adventures, watching as the small pup grows up and becomes independent. At the same time, readers learn facts about foxes and their way of life. What do fox pups eat? What’s it like seeing the surrounding world through their eyes–literally? And why does a fox’s den smell?
Photo: Mikko Palonkorpi
Meet the Fox Family
Picture Books – Non-Fiction