Rights & Brands Podcast episode 5: Olli Jalonen tells how a voyage to a mystical island inspired him to write a fascinating adventure story

25 Sep 2020

What better way to dive into the autumn season than to listen to episode 5 of the Rights and Brands podcast? This time celebrated author Olli Jalonen talks about his novels The Celestial Sphere (in Finnish Taivaanpallo) and The Art of Living Underwater (in Finnish Merenpeitto).

Olli Jalonen is a respected and celebrated Finnish author who has penned stories for the past 40 years. Showered with literature awards, Olli received his second Finlandia Prize, the most prestigious literature prize in Finland, for his novel The Celestial Sphere in 2018. 

The Celestial Sphere begins the story of Angus, a young boy from a humble background, who lives on the faraway mystical island of Saint Helena in the 1680s. After a twist of events, Angus, the young refugee of his time travels the seas to the great world and ends up as an apprentice for the famous astronomer and scientist Edmond Halley. His story continues in the sequel The Art of Living Underwater, published in 2019. The two books form the unified story as the world of science opens an entirely new universe to the young sharp-eyed observer who embarks on a fascinating and eventful journey to becoming a scientist’s trusted apprentice and ends up playing a role in the history of science.  

The long voyage on the legendary RMS St Helena to the island Saint Helena, somewhat 30 years ago in 1989 was a dream come true for Olli Jalonen. This journey inspired him to write the story of a young eager observer of the world. According to the author, he drafted the first notes of the story during his visit. He also reveals why it took him so long to complete the novels, how he crafted the story and its characters and how he delicately intertwined fact and fiction. 

“Writing is like collecting unifying moments”, describes Olli Jalonen.

The story of the young apprentice is traveling over borders. The Celestial Sphere has already been translated into Estonian by Hea Lugu. In 2021 the book will be published in Dutch by VBK Media, and in both Spanish and Galicia by Kalandraka Editora. Other sold translations rights include Chinese, Croatian, Danish, and German.

Tune in here!

Rights and Brands podcast features insightful talks with Nordic authors represented by Rights and Brands. Together with their agent Leenastiina Kakko guest authors chat about their books, reveals the stories and inspiration behind them and everything in between. If you are intrigued to hear more and discover the interesting voices in Nordic literature, this is the podcast for you. The podcast is available at AcastSpotifyGoogle Podcasts, and iTunes.