German pre-empt for Maria Pettersson’s EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN OF HISTORY!

We are really happy to announce that German rights for Maria Pettersson’s EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN OF HISTORY have now been pre-empted by Droemer Knaur! The deal was closed by Toomas Aasmäe at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Droemer Knaur is a Munich-based publishing house that was founded in 1846 and is one of the most prestigious publishing houses in Germany.

Melinda Gates, Helmut Kohl, Alexei Navalny, James Comey, Jim Carrey, Matt Haig, Peter Jackson are only a few of their recent non-fiction authors and they are really happy to add Maria Petterson to that list!

GERMAN PRAISE:

From the very first moment on, I was fascinated by the extraordinary women who broke the rules of their time. Girls and women will find numerous inspiring role models – female empowerment at its best. Droemer Knaur is thrilled to be the German publisher!
–              Alexandra Eckl, editor, Droemer Knaur, Germany

This book about hundred forgotten rebel women throughout History has now sold close to 40 000 copies in Finland and soon will be published in 4 countries!

Rights are still available in Spain, USA, Portugal, Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Lithuania, Czechia, Poland,etc.

Download English materials by clicking here


 

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN OF HISTORY by Maria Pettersson
Memories & Biographies, History & PoliticsExtraordinary Women of History introduces over a hundred exceptional women from different periods of history and from all corners of the world. It is a veritable treasury of captivating stories and unsung ballads about the exciting women in history. Outrageous, amazing, terrible, heroic, thrilling and above all extraordinary; their life stories make the reader gasp and ask: “Why haven’t I heard of them before?”
Rights sold: FINLAND: Atena (orig), ESTONIA: Äripäev, GERMANY: Droemer Knaur, HUNGARY: Corvina

About author


Maria Pettersson

As a child, Maria Pettersson’s dream job was to be an international adventurer. Instead, she became an award-winning journalist, the editor-in-chief of several magazines and a serious history geek. She has worked for the biggest newspapers, radio stations and TV channels in Finland. She has travelled in over 70 countries, got married in Vegas and spent her honeymoon in North Korea. Her hobbies include games and roleplaying, observing big machines, studying small Slavic languages and visiting dead dictators. She currently lives in Helsinki, Finland.

Bibliography


2020, Memories & Biographies, History & Politics

Extraordinary Women of History: Pirates, Psychics, Priestesses and Princess Spies

Maria Pettersson

Announcing three new non-fiction deals!

Today’s deals are all betselling titles with themes spaning from historical women to secrets of meaningful life to the revelations about Russian troll army.

Read more about the titles and their availability in your country below.

We are glad to announce that EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN OF HISTORY and A WONDERFUL LIFE have been acquired by Corvina in Hungary and PUTIN’S TROLLS by Ciela Norma in Bulgaria.

See our full Spring 2021 Non-Fiction digital rights guide here.


 

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN OF HISTORY by Maria Pettersson

Memories & Biographies, History & Politics

 

Extraordinary Women of History introduces over a hundred exceptional women from different periods of history and from all corners of the world. It is a veritable treasury of captivating stories and unsung ballads about the exciting women in history. Outrageous, amazing, terrible, heroic, thrilling and above all extraordinary; their life stories make the reader gasp and ask: “Why haven’t I heard of them before?”

Rights sold: FINLAND: Atena (orig), ESTONIA: Äripäev, HUNGARY: Corvina

Download materials here


 

PUTIN’S TROLLS by Jessikka Aro

General Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, History & Politics

 

True stories from the frontlines of the Russian information warfare

Russia is waging a war against civilians online. Every critical voice is an enemy. In the last few years there have been countless international, sometimes criminal online campaigns against private people throughout the Western countries – orchestrated and approved by the Kremlin.

Well-documented true stories show that Russia does not shy away from the darkest means of eliminating its opponents through cyber-espionage, social media trolls, fake news, cyber-attacks, death threats and hate campaigns by PR professionals.

Rights sold: FINLAND: Johnny Kniga (orig.), BULGARIA: Ciela Norma, CZECH REPUBLIC: N Media, ESTONIA: Menu Meedia, HUNGARY: Corvina Books Ltd, LITHUANIA: Briedis, POLAND: Wydawnictwo SQN, ROMANIA: Lebada Neagra, SWEDEN: Sensor Förlag

Download materials here


 

A WONDERFUL LIFE by Frank Martela

Personal Growth & Lifestyle

 

Is happiness a worthy goal? What is the foundation for meaning in a secular society? Is life an existential void? Frank Martela answers these questions and more in a relaxed, conversational tone and with a wry sense of humor, placing some of life’s greatest philosophical concerns and quandaries into a modern-day context.

Rights sold: WORLD ENGLISH: Harper Design / HarperCollins, BULGARIA: Prozoretz, CROATIA: Planetopija, ESTONIA: Rahva Raamat AS, FINLAND: Gummerus, FRANCE: Editions Leduc, GERMANY: Blessing Verlag, GREECE: Klidarithmos, HUNGARY: Corvina, INDONESIA: Gramedia, ITALY: Edizioni Lindau, JAPAN: HarperCollins Japan, LATVIA: Zvaigzne ABC Publishers, LITHUANIA: Obuolys, NETHERLANDS: Ambo Anthos, NORWAY: Gursli Berg Forlag, POLAND: Czarna Owca, PORTUGAL: Editora 2020, ROMANIA: HUMANITAS S.A, RUSSIA: Eksmo, SERBIA: Odiseja Publishing, SOUTH KOREA: Across Publishing, TAIWAN: Crown, TURKEY: Orman, UNITED STATES: Harper Collins USA, WORLD ARABIC: Sefsafa

Download materials here

About author


Frank Martela

Professor Frank Martela, PhD, is a philosopher and researcher of psychology specializing in the question of meaning in life. His articles have appeared in Scientific American Mind, Harvard Business Review, Salon, CNBC and his work has been featured on Quartz and on the BBC. His research has been published extensively in numerous academic journals such as Nature Human Behaviour, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Journal of Personality, Metaphilosophy, Southern Journal of Philosophy, and Academy of Management Review. He has spoken to more than one hundred audiences worldwide, including invited lectures in universities on five continents, including Stanford University and Harvard University. He’s been interviewed by the New York Times, Discover Magazine, New Scientist, Vice News, Fox News, and Monocle Observer among others. He is Assistant Professor at Aalto University in Finland.

Outside of work, Frank is a father to three lovely children, an amateur-level soccer player, with an occasional skiing trip in the winters. He is made in Green Bay, so Packers holds a special place in his heart.

About author


Jessikka Aro

Jessikka Aro is an award-winning reporter with Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, specializing in Russia, extremism and information warfare. In 2014 and 2015, she published a series of articles on pro-Kremlin social media trolls and their influence outside of Russia’s borders. Due to her investigations, Jessikka became the target of a severe and still ongoing international propaganda and hate speech campaign, which she recounts in Putin’s Trolls.

In 2019, the US State Department awarded Jessikka the International Women of Courage Award, but the award was mysteriously rescinded by the Trump administration, allegedly due to her social media criticism of then President Trump. On December 1, 2020, Jessikka Aro received the International Women’s Media Foundation Courage in Journalism Award, presented in partnership with the Washington Post and hosted by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. Jessikka was recognized for her award-winning investigative reporting of Russian information warfare. Jessikka lives in Helsinki, Finland.

About author


Maria Pettersson

As a child, Maria Pettersson’s dream job was to be an international adventurer. Instead, she became an award-winning journalist, the editor-in-chief of several magazines and a serious history geek. She has worked for the biggest newspapers, radio stations and TV channels in Finland. She has travelled in over 70 countries, got married in Vegas and spent her honeymoon in North Korea. Her hobbies include games and roleplaying, observing big machines, studying small Slavic languages and visiting dead dictators. She currently lives in Helsinki, Finland.

Year 2020 at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency: New York Times Bestselling Author Max Seeck, Award-winners and Bestsellers

The year 2020 marks a historic moment for Finnish Literature Exports: Elina Ahlback Literary Agency’s author Max Seeck and his US debut The Witch Hunter became an instant New York Times Bestseller in November 2020. Congratulations to Max Seeck, New York Times Bestselling Author, for writing his way into Finnish literary history! Furthermore, a Hollywood TV series based on The Witch Hunter is in development by Greg Silverman’s Stampede Ventures.

The year 2020 brought more bestsellers, award-winners and nominees from Finland to the World’s Literary Map.

We are grateful to our wonderful authors, to our great publishers and collaborators around the world, and wish everyone a Happy Holiday season!

 The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck
Uskollinen lukija, Tammi 2019AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Rights sold to 40 territories

“The Witch Hunter, translated with icy precision by Kristian London, is written in short, sharp, present-tense chapters, a technique which adds to its relentless tension. Flashbacks to earlier episodes in Jessica’s life suggest that the strangeness currently unfolding is tied to her personal history. Discovering the how and why of it brings a resolution as bleak as anything Poe might have conjured.” –Wall Street Journal

AWARD WINNERS:
Arctic Mirage by Terhi Kokkonen
Rajamaa, Otava 2020Winner of the 2020 Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize – Prestigious award for the best debut novel of the year.

 

“In a rich and sensitive novel in which people can be strange, lewd, and at the same time infinitely ordinary. Contradictions and a mystery-like atmosphere remain after finishing the book – as happens in the best and most fascinating novels.” – Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

When the King Dies by Elina Backman
Kun kuningas kuolee, Otava 2020Winner of the Elisa Audio Book Award 2020: Best newcomer

“A Star is Born”. – Iltalehti newspaper

Ripple Effect by Leena Lehtolainen
Jälkikaiku, Tammi 2020Winner of the Elisa Audio Book Awards 2020: The Best Crime Novel

Pro Finlandia Medal awarded by the Order of the Lion of Finland as a lifetime achievement.

 

“In Ripple Effect everything really works. The curtains of secrets sway appropriately, sometimes covering, sometimes revealing. The daily life of the police and the civilian life is mixed in an appropriate proportion.” – Amman lukuhekiä blog

Homestead by Ann-Luise Bertell
Heiman, Förlaget 2020Nominated for Finlandia Prize 2020
Nominated for Runeberg Prize 2021

“Homestead is a captivating and rooted story that takes us through Ostrobothnia for four generations in a spacious landscape. The language of the book is accurate but gestureless, the characters carry pain under the cross-pressure of who they are and who they desire to be. Bertell looks at her characters gently, even when they least deserve it.”  – Finlandia Prize Jury

Stormseye by Meri Luttinen
Myrskynsilmä, WSOY 2020Nominated for Finlandia Prize for Children’s & YA Literature 2020
Nominated for Topelius Prize 2021

“In the age-old rite, young girls find their life mission. Kainu’s fate turns out to be to become a sage, which brings with it a great deal of responsibility. She has to solve the riddle of the Stormseye pendant to find herself and her place in the community. Set in the ancient Finnish fantasy world, the debut novel is a great growth story that deals with difference, loneliness and overcoming one’s own fears.” – Topelius Prize Jury

Agnes and the Garden of Dreams by Tuutikki Tolonen
Agnes ja unien avain, WSOY 2020Nominated for Arvid Lydecken Prize 2021

”This book has the reader hooked up from the beginning! One has to read a chapter after chapter – even though it would be time to sleep.” – Maaseudun tulevaisuus newspaper

A Beautiful Day to Die by Veera Salmi
Kaunis ilma kuolla, Otava 2020Nominated for Topelius prize 2021

“The road trip-inspired book realistically and credibly describes the lives of young people in situations from which there seems to be no way out. The novel challenges us to think about the significance of starting points for life and its direction. At the same time, it tells a resounding story about the difficulty of making choices, getting to know yourself, and taking responsibility.” – Topelius Prize Jury

NATIONAL BETSELLERS:
Greatest of All is Love. The Marimekko Story by Ulla-Maija Paavilainen
Suurin niistä on rakkaus, Otava 2020 

“The Marimekko story is entertaining read. Sometimes you laughs and sometimes you cry as this glamorous lady makes things happen at her own way. However, the biography written by Ulla-Maija Paavilainen is not just a song of praise for a business guru, but it also depicts Kirsti Paakkanen’s weaknesses and painful moments, such as infertility and loneliness.” – Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

Extraordinary Women of History by Maria Pettersson
Historian jännät naiset, Atena 2020 

“Inspiring book! It is well written and made me want to learn more. I have found myself googling many of these women afterwards. This book can really be recommended to anyone. Personally I read it in two days. Please, read it! ” – Anikó Lehtinen, journalist

Facelift by Miika Nousiainen

Pintaremontti, Otava 2020

 

“Facelift is a perfect feel-good novel. It meets the high expectations that we have learned to expect from Nousiainen: it’s funny, dark, entertaining and very timely.” – Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

About author


Ann-Luise Bertell

Ann-Luise Bertell is an author and a theater director, born 1971 in Oravais, Finland. She has graduated from the Finnish Theater Academy, and debuted as a writer in 1997 with the collection of poems, 'Rus av gul', and has since written poems, short stories, a children's book, plays and two novels. Longing (Vänd om min längtan, 2016), was awarded the Yle Prize and the Choreus Prize. Her second novel Homestead (Heiman) was published in 2020 and was nominated for the Finlandia Prize, and her third novel Yearning (Glöm Bort Din Saknad) was published 2022.

Ann-Luise has been Wasa Theatre's director since 2020, but is also a mother of three, dog owner, hiker, seeker, spy and bookworm.

About author


Elina Backman

Elina Backman is an author and a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki. Elina loves books (all sorts), traveling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club. She is a creative soul with a commercial mind, and her goal is to find readers globally.

Her debut novel All the King's Men was published in 2020 and immediately gained an enormous amount of attention from the Finnish media, including a praising review by the biggest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. The Havas series is now a best-selling series in Finland and an international TV series is in development. Elina's books have sold over 100 000 copies in Finland.

Together with Heidi Holmavuo, Elina has also narrated the true crime podcast Ratkaisematon (Unsolved), which turned into a full-length audio book as the two crime writers started investigating the murder of a young girl in 1955. They were able to uncover new evidence and their research led the police to reopen the investigation. This story is narrated in the book Unsolved - The Case of Elli Immo.

About author


Maria Pettersson

As a child, Maria Pettersson’s dream job was to be an international adventurer. Instead, she became an award-winning journalist, the editor-in-chief of several magazines and a serious history geek. She has worked for the biggest newspapers, radio stations and TV channels in Finland. She has travelled in over 70 countries, got married in Vegas and spent her honeymoon in North Korea. Her hobbies include games and roleplaying, observing big machines, studying small Slavic languages and visiting dead dictators. She currently lives in Helsinki, Finland.

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.

“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.

About author


Meri Luttinen

Meri Luttinen is an award-winning Finnish debut writer from Tampere. Her debut Stormseye won the Topelius prize and was nominated for both Kuvastaja Award and Finlandia Prize for Children's & YA literature in 2020.

She has a Master's degree in Finnish language and literature and has worked teaching Finnish and creating study materials. Luttinen is fascinated by everyday life in different eras and wants to transport readers to other worlds with her texts.

About author


Miika Nousiainen

Miika Nousiainen writes sharp, gentle and often tragicomical novels about surprising themes like long-distance running, the desire to be Swedish, and dentistry. He works as a journalist and writes also for television.

About author


Terhi Kokkonen

Terhi Kokkonen (1974) is a Helsinki-based musician and pop lyricist. She is known for the band Scandinavian Music Group, as well as being one of the singers of the band Ultra Bra. Kokkonen has studied dramaturgy at the Theater Academy and screenwriting and film editing at the Department of Cinematography and Stage Design at Aalto University. Arctic Mirage is her debut novel, and it was awarded as the best debut novel of 2020.

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

About author


Ulla-Maija Paavilainen

Ulla-Maija Paavilainen, award-winning journalist, is the author of several well-received novels and non-fiction books. She has worked as the editor-in-chief at several top Finnish magazines over the past 25 years. One of her specific areas of interest is the role of women in working life and analysing the power structure and what is required for women to have successful careers.

Paavilainen’s most recent work is the moving biography of the legendary entrepreneur Kirsti Paakkanen, who took over Marimekko, one of Finland’s most famous design brands. Kirsti Paakkanen: Greatest of All is Love is the story of Marimekko, an authentic rags-to riches tale of how a poor girl from the countryside first founded the world’s first all-women’s advertising agency, Womena. Selling Womena when she was 62, Paakkanen bought Marimekko, a global design company that was on the verge of bankruptcy and turned it around into an international iconic fashion house.

About author


Veera Salmi

Veera Salmi is a Helsinki-based writer, who has worked over 15 years as a kindergarten teacher. The real starting point for her career as a writer was given by the children in the kindergarten, who said they wanted to hear stories of children who live in the city. So she started writing such stories. Now Veera Salmi is a bestselling author of over 20 books.

Introducing EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN OF HISTORY – first sale to Estonia!

We have a brand new bestselling non-fiction title to introduce to you! It’s called EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN OF HISTORY, written by journalist Maria Pettersson, and today we are extremely happy to announce the first foreign sale to Estonia.

Äripäev in Estonia pre-empted this exciting title that has sold out already three prints in two weeks in Finland!

 

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN OF HISTORY:
Pirates, Psychics, Priestesses and Princess Spies

by Maria Pettersson

Women whose stories your history teacher never told you. 

  • The captain who ruled the biggest pirate fleet in history.
  • The scientist who changed our understanding of physics, while taking the most famous geniuses of her time as her lovers, and getting in trouble for gambling.
  • The con-artist who could fool any jeweler in Europe.
  • The baseball star who played wearing a fake beard.
  • Teenagers recruited by the Resistance because of their innocent looks, who learned to blow up railways and shoot Nazis from their bicycles.
  • The master of Jujutsu who taught the Suffragettes to fight back.
  • The cult leader who made her followers undergo cosmetic surgery to look more like her.
  • The kidnapped girl who ended up ruling the biggest empire that had ever existed, with her female lover as her queen.

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN OF HISTORY  introduces over a hundred exceptional women from different periods of history and from all corners of the world. It is a veritable treasury of captivating stories and unsung ballads about the exciting women in history.
Outrageous, amazing, terrible, heroic, thrilling and above all extraordinary; their life stories make the reader gasp and ask: “Why haven’t I heard of them before?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

As a child, Maria Pettersson’s dream job was to be an international adventurer. Instead, she became an award-winning journalist, the editor-in-chief of several magazines and a serious history geek.

She has worked for the biggest newspapers, radio stations and TV channels in Finland. She has travelled in over 70 countries, got married in Vegas and spent her honeymoon in North Korea.

Her hobbies include games and roleplaying, observing big machines, studying small Slavic languages and visiting dead dictators. She currently lives in Helsinki, Finland.

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Atena (orig.)
ESTONIA: Äripäev

About author


Maria Pettersson

As a child, Maria Pettersson’s dream job was to be an international adventurer. Instead, she became an award-winning journalist, the editor-in-chief of several magazines and a serious history geek. She has worked for the biggest newspapers, radio stations and TV channels in Finland. She has travelled in over 70 countries, got married in Vegas and spent her honeymoon in North Korea. Her hobbies include games and roleplaying, observing big machines, studying small Slavic languages and visiting dead dictators. She currently lives in Helsinki, Finland.

Bibliography


2020, Memories & Biographies, History & Politics

Extraordinary Women of History: Pirates, Psychics, Priestesses and Princess Spies

Maria Pettersson
https://www.ahlbackagency.com/tag/maria-pettersson/
www.ahlbackagency.com
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