Author Johanna Laitila joins Rights and Brands along with novel Hatching

26 Nov 2020

We are delighted to welcome a new author to the agency, Johanna Laitila along with her literary gem Hatching (Synty).

Johanna Laitila shot to literary fame with her debut Lilium regale in 2019. The novel was a beautifully written invite to the author’s mesmerizing and refreshing literary chest. It was praised for its unique language and poetic realism by the press including Finnish daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat as “a great overture to a literary career” and Lapin Kansa newspaper as “an interesting and linguistically breath-taking masterpiece.”

In autumn 2020 she released her second novel Hatching (Synty), published by the prestigious Finnish publisher Otava Publishing Company.

Hatching is a chilling and stirring literary novel about the thirst for power, irresistible addiction, and hatred constantly crossing to lust. The intense events of the story wrap around historic turning points with a twist. Set in the early 20th century Helsinki where lonesome Aleksanteri immerses himself in playing Chopin on the piano and translation work. Occasional visits by housekeeper Hilda and lover Elna are his few connections to the outside world. His attention is caught by a mysterious new neighbour, a Russian journalist. Separated by a thin wall the two form a peculiar and conflicting relationship. Hatching is an exploration into our corporal existence with metaphors and imagery that reach to the grotesque as well as to beauty and musicality. The novel depicts lust and revulsion, and an obsession that makes life almost unbearable.

A full English translation is available, please contact us if you want to have a read.

Hatching was shortlisted for the 2020 Toisinkoinen Literary Prize, awarded for second novels. The jury complimented it for being “bold enough in drawing a fairly delicate picture of the thirst for power as well as of the forces eating vitality and pushing under.”

The novel is also longlisted for the 2021 Runeberg Prize, one of Finland most prominent literary awards in Finland, established in honour of Finland’s national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg. The shortlist will be revealed on 10 December 2020.

Welcome to Rights and Brands Johanna Laitila!