June deals round-up: Finlandia Prize winning dystopian satire to China, feel-good family novel to Hungary

Here’s a batch of our most recent deals and reviews of adults’ fiction, please get in touch with us for reading materials for the titles that raise your interest!

Jussi Valtonen’s They Know Not What They Do sold to China
We recently closed the 10th deal for this modern epic which won the Finlandia Prize in 2015 and sold 110,000 copies in Finland alone. China International Radio Press intends to introduce a list of Nordic fiction to Chinese readers, and was enthusiastic about securing the simplified Chinese rights of Valtonen’s novel: “The book, which is unique in genre and style, has remarkable insight into the modern life of Finland. It is a fascinating classic of Nordic literature,” said Zhang Juan Ping, editor of China International Radio Press.

Miika Nousiainen’s Roots sold to Hungary
Hungarian publisher Kossuth has acquired the rights to Miika Nousiainen’s feel-good hit Roots. The novel weaves human life and the dental glossary together laugh-out-loud well and tells the story of two brothers, who embark on a journey to find out the truth about their long-lost father. Roots has been sold to 7 languages to date.

Pauliina Susi’s Rear Window gathers blogger praise in Germany
“A very clever thriller with an incredibly exciting and explosive story that captivates until the end and shows how vulnerable the digitalized world makes us, and how fast the innovative, virtual crime develops.” – Der Kultur-Blog
“Power, money and sex… that works in a thriller, always.” – KrimiKiosk blog
“A large number of interesting characters are introduced as the story unfolds, and the changing perspective (the fact that the reader is made aware of various, crossing plot lines early on) make this thriller very exciting.” – Buchwurm blog

Elina Ahlback Literary Agency celebrates its 8th anniversary in June: We wish to thank everyone who has collaborated with us along the way, and raise a toast to many good years to come!

About author


Jussi Valtonen

Jussi Valtonen (1974) is an author and psychologist from Helsinki. He has studied neuropsychology in the United States and screenwriting in the UK, and has also worked as a science reporter. He has written three novels and a short story collection.

Carried by Wings (Siipien kantamat, Tammi 2007) was given second place in Bonnier’s novel competition, and received a warm reception from both critics and bloggers. In 2014 Valtonen was awarded the Finlandia Prize, the country’s highest-profile literary award, for They Know Not What They Do (He eivät tiedä mitä tekevät, Tammi 2014).

About author


Miika Nousiainen

Miika Nousiainen (b. 1973 in Säynätsalo) has worked as a news and current affairs journalist for MTV3's news department. In addition, he has written for several popular TV-shows.

Nousiainen’s debut novel, Raspberry Boat Refugee (2007), tells the story of Mikko Virtanen, a man who desperately wants to become Swedish at any cost. In this tragicomic work, Nousiainen makes sharp observations about our western neighbor and illustrates that we’re all self-proclaimed experts on Sweden.

Roots (2016) follows the search for a missing father, taking readers across continents from Lieksa, Finland, to Australia. The book was also well-received internationally.

In Facelift (2020), Nousiainen gently explores themes of family and the longing for connection.

In addition he has written The Danger of the Long Distance Runner (2009) and Forrest Giant (2011). 

Nousiainen's novels have been adapted countless times and translated into languages such as Swedish, German, Dutch, Italian, and Estonian.

Miika Nousiainen have been awarded with: Laila Hirvisaari Foundation Grant (2008), Kalevi Jäntti Prize (2009) and Honorable Mention in the Sports Museum Foundation’s Sports Book of the Year Competition (2010)

About author


Pauliina Susi

Pauliina Susi is a versatile writer who has authored a number of crime novels and a non-fiction book about private investigators. She has a master's degree in political science and she has worked as a journalist and editor at several well-known Finnish magazines.

Susi is known for her ability to incorporate current themes into her prose. Her debut novel was nominated for the prestigious Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize and In the Rear Window is the Winner of the Clue of the Year 2016, a recognition of the best crime fiction or detective novel of the year. The readers and critics have been charmed by her Tuulia Raja cozy crime series which combines witty language with complex relationships and intriguing murder mysteries, evoking similarities with the 1980s TV series Moonlighting.

While doing research for her novel, Susi has also become a trained private investigator herself!