Tähtifantasia Nominees 2016

The nominees for the Tähtifantasia Award 2016 (for the best fantasy book translated into Finnish in 2015) have been announced. The nominees are:

• Maailmanloppu ja ihmemaa (Sekai no owari to hadoboirudo wandarando) by Haruki Murakami (Tammi)
• Odininlapsi (Odinsbarn) by Siri Pettersen (Jalava)
• Viisaan miehen pelko (The Wise Man's Fear) by Patrick Rothfuss (Kirjava)
• Wendigo ja muita yliluonnollisia kauhukertomuksia edited by Markku Sadelehto (Jalava)
• Etäisten esikaupunkien asioita (Tales from Outer Suburbia) by Shaun Tan (Lasten Keskus)

The winner will be announced at Finncon in the beginning of July. The award jury comprises critic Jukka Halme, critic Aleksi Kuutio, writer and editor Anne Leinonen, and Risingshadow.net representative Osmo Määttä. The award is given by the Helsinki Science Fiction Society.

Boris Hurtta Awarded

Congratulations to Boris Hurtta for receiving the Union of Finnish Writers’ Suunta award for advancing Finnish literature! Boris was recognized for his decades of work benefitting marginal literature, especially horror, science fiction, and fantasy.

Zine Grants

The Ministry of Education and Culture has announced their annual cultural magazine grants. Unfortunately, from an sfnal perspective, the pickings look noticeably slimmer than in previous years. Neither Kosmoskynä nor Spin got a grant this year. The bigger zines, Portti and Tähtivaeltaja, received a 10 000 € grant each (same sum as last year) and the Finnish Comics Society zine Sarjainfo also got the same 18 000 € as last year.

Congrats to the lucky ones and commiserations to those left without!

Full list of grants (PDF)