Nova 2011 Competition

The Nova short story competition for new writers for the next year has been announced. The deadline for the stories is February 28. More info from the Nova page at TSFS.

Heli Määttä Wins Portti Competition

Anne has the low-down on the 2010 Portti short story competition. This year’s winner is Heli Määttä from Oulu. The second place went to Maarit Lejon, and the third was a tie between Anna Malinen, and Petri Laine & Anne Leinonen (who collaborated on a story).

The Portti competition is the biggest sf short story competition in Finland. The first prize is a cash award of 2 000 €; the total sum of the prizes is 4 200 €. The competition is organized by the Tampere sf society, and the winning stories are published in their zine Portti. This year’s award jury comprised professor Frans Mäyrä, editor Kanerva Eskola and Portti editor Raimo Nikkonen.

Birdbrain Reviewed

Johanna Sinisalo’s 2008 novel Linnunaivot ( Birdbrain) has been translated into English. It is reviewed in Salon Futura, and Sam Jordison quite likes it:

Since it’s December, I don’t feel too nervous about declaring Finnish writer Johanna Sinisalo’s Birdbrain (translated by David Hackston) one of the most interesting books I’ve read this year. It is… well… the fact that it’s so hard to describe is part of its appeal."

Go read the full review—and purchase through the link in the review to get some excellent Finnish fiction to read and support the zine that told you all about it while you’re at it!