The three-member panel charged with the task of selecting this year’s nominees for the Finlandia Prize acknowledged its challenge immediately, noting that this year’s crop of literature was especially diverse.
The judges are Dr. Iris Schwanck, director of the Finnish Literature Exchange, book dealer Katri Tuominen and journalist Ilkka Pernu. The panel selected six works to contend for the award.
Selja Ahava is a professional playwright who has written for cinema, television and radio. She was nominated for her second novel, Taivaalta tippuvat asiat (Things fall from the sky), which tells the story of how random events can affect an individual’s life.
Kari Hotakainen previously won the Finlandia for Juoksuhaudantie (The Trench). This time around his novel Henkireikä (Lifeline) captured the judges’ imagination with what they called his "insightful and amusing" treatment of contemporary taboos.
Pertti Lassila’s Armain aika (The sweetest time) describes a post-war summer during which different generations ponder the losses of the war and contemplate the future. It’s the second novel written by the literary critic and Helsinki University literature docent.
This year’s nomination is the second for literary researcher **Laura Lindstedt **– her first work, Sakset (Scissors) was short-listed for the prize eight years ago. Now, her second novel is also a favourite for the award. Oneiron - Fantasia kuoleman jälkeisistä sekunneistä (Oneiron, A fantasy about the seconds after death) relates the story of seven women who find themselves in a mystical place after death.
The action in Markku Pääskynen’s novel Sielut (Souls) takes place in one day and offers an account of a missing child. Despite the bleak theme the novel isn’t entirely steeped in despair. "Souls describes a world in which evils exists partly because adults want to believe in it," the panel said of the work. Pääskynen is a prolific writer who has been nominated for the Finlandia Prize once before.
In Intoilija (Fanatic) Panu Rajala approaches his account of the life of Finnish photographer I.K. Inha from the perspective of a novel rather than a work of non-fiction. Rajala has many publications under his belt, including works of fiction and non-fiction and is an authority on Finnish writers. He is a professor of theatre and drama research at Tampere University.
The Finlandia Prize for literature was established in 1984 by the Finnish Book Foundation and is worth 30,000 euros. This year’s winners will be announced on November 26.