Finnland. Salla Simukka.

Since 2002 Salla Simukka (b. 1981 in Tampere) has written YA novels and experimented with different genres: her works contain influences from thrillers as well as dystopian fiction. Recurring themes are everyday life and relationships between ordinary young people. The judges’ panel for the Topelius Prize said in their citation that Simukka addresses current themes concerning the individual in contemporary society in her novels.

She scored a major hit for Finnish YA writing with her exciting Lumikki (‘Snow White’) trilogy: translation rights for this series have been sold to 43 countries. The books feature Lumikki Andersson, a 17-year-old loner who could be ‘Lisbeth Salander’s little sister’. In Punainen kuin veri (published in English as As Red as Blood), the first volume of the trilogy, she discovers some blood-smeared banknotes hanging on a clothesline and is then drawn into the dangerous world of the drug trade. In Valkoinen kuin lumi (As White as Snow), Lumikki travels to Prague, where she meets a mysterious girl who claims to be Lumikki’s sister. In Musta kuin eebenpuu (As Black as Ebony) Lumikki has to track down the anonymous writer of threatening messages before everything descends into a bloodbath.

Salla Simukka studied Scandinavian languages, Finnish and literature at the University of Turku. She also translates fiction and plays from Swedish into Finnish and writes book reviews for Finnish newspapers.

German translations:

So rot wie Blut, Arena Verlag (erscheint im Oktober 2014), Übersetzung: Elina Kritzokat
So weiß wie Schnee (Arbeitstitel) Arena Verlag (erscheint vermutlich 2015), Übersetzung: Elina Kritzokat
So schwarz wie Ebenholz (Arbeitstitel) Arena Verlag (erscheint vermutlich 2015), Übersetzung: Elina Kritzokat

Photo: © Harri Hinkka

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