Anne Leinonen Wins Atorox Award

The Atorox Award for best Finnish sf short story published last year was announced at Finncon last weekend. The winner, for the third time, was Anne Leinonen for her short story Nahat (“Skins”), published in the Portti magazine.

This was a great year for Anne: she also took the second prize with Sanojen mahti (“The might of words”). The top three was:

1. Anne Leinonen: Nahat (Portti 3/10)
2. Anne Leinonen: Sanojen mahti (Portti 1/10)
3. Hanne Martelius: Stuttgart ennen talvea (Portti 2/10)

In addition to Anne taking the top places, the Portti magazine ruled supreme this year. Four of the top-5 stories were published by Portti.

Congratulations, Anne and all the other top-placing candidates!

The Atorox Award is voted by members of the Finnish fandom from a longlist of stories selected by a pre-selection jury. The award is given by the Turku Science Fiction Society.

Teos Science Fiction Competition Results

The Teos publishing house announced the winners of their novel-length fantasy and science fiction literary contest at Finncon. Over 350 manuscripts took part in the competition.

The jury selected as the winner a manuscript called Veden muisti (“Memory of Water”) written by Emmi Itäranta. The winner received a cash prize of 5 000 € plus a publishing contract from Teos—the novel will be published next year.

Veden muisti tells a story about choices and responsibility in an original totalitarian future society. “The winning manuscript is, in terms of language as well as the vision of the future it constructs, a polished and impressive work. Like all good science fiction, this piece is in dialogue with our current reality: it makes visible a world which we may already be unwittingly heading towards,” the chair of the jury, Johanna Sinisalo, comments.

Of the other manuscripts submitted to the contest, Sudenveri (“Wolfblood”) by Jenny Kangasvuo received an honorary mention. Sudenveri is a surprising and moving tale about a werewolf community. “The manuscript awarded with an honorary mention unravels and reconstructs the well-known myth thoroughly and skillfully. The writer, who knows her subject extremely well, approaches it with attention to detail and expertise. She uses her material to build a realistic and arresting world, which is at the same time deeply Finnish,” Sinisalo says.

The jury of the competition comprised, in addition to Sinisalo, publisher Silja Hiidenheimo, editors Maarit Halmesarka and Jussi Tiihonen, and author Mikko Rimminen.

Tähtivaeltaja Short Story Competition 2011

The Tähtivaeltaja magazine announced the winner of their short story competition at Finncon. The theme of the competition this year was “generation ship”. There were 49 stories sent for the competition. The winner received a cash prize of 400 €.

The top three of the competition is:

1. Lukantyttäret (Luka’s Daughters) by Heli Määttä
   A beautifully told tale where the protagonist leaves their loved one on Earth, boarding a generation ship. A romantic tale surpises with a stylistic 180 turn and a plot twist. A clear winner with quality storytelling, a tight whole, with beautiful language and a skilled structure.
2. Valkoisen kanin tapaus (Case of the White Rabbit) by Jussi Katajala
   A story that explains the lifestyle of Sherlock Holmes distinguished itself from the competition in both style and plot. A humorous tale with a mystery waiting in the end.
3. Lihan sukua (Flesh Relative) by Petri Laine
   The only competitor that had people clearly different from what we’re used to. The story presented a fascinatingly different society, and used the tight bond between the passengers and the ship with great skill.

The competition was organized by the Helsinki Science Fiction Society and the Tähtivaeltaja magazine. The jury consisted of Tähtivaeltaja editor Toni Jerrman, editor Jukka Halme, and author Tiina Raevaara, with researcher Irma Hirsjärvi and author Anne Leinonen in the pre-selection jury.

Tähtifantasia Award 2011

The Tähtifantasia Award for best fantasy book translated into Finnish and published last year was announced at Finncon 2011. The award goes to a short story collection Viimeinen toivomus (“Last Wish”, book 1 of The Witcher) by Andrzej Sapkowski, published by WSOY and translated by Tapani Kärkkäinen.

The jury commended the book as an unique and riveting read that skillfully utilizes the East-European folklore. The book tackles the themes of heroism and duty without going for the easy solutions. The book demonstrates how fantasy transcends the cultural borders and speaks about what it is to be human. The author servers the reader a collection of intelligent, imaginative drama infused with humor.

The Tähtifantasia Award is given by the Helsinki Science Fiction Society, this was the fifth time for the award. The jury comprised critic Jukka Halme, critic Aleksi Kuutio, author and editor Anne Leinonen, and the Risingshadow forum representative Osmo Määttä.

Ajan Polut Short Story Competition

Ajan polut (”Paths of Time”) was the first alternative history story competition held in Finland. It was organized by the Finnish Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and the Science Fiction Culture Cabinet at the University of Turku.

There were 86 short stories in the competition, from established writers as well as new names. The texts varied from the beginning of Finland’s written history to very close to the present day. World War II and the Finnish Civil War were the most popular time periods.

The competition was very tight, with the judges ultimately unable to choose a clear winner. Therefore, three stories were declared tied winners, and also the second place was a tie between two stories:

1. Jotta taidat suomen kielen (“So you’ll know the Finnish language”) by Jussi Katajala Presidentin elokuut (“The President’s autumns”) by Jussi Katajala Uusi maailma (“A new world”) by Anne-Mari Halonen
2. Sankariäidin häpeä (“The shame of the hero mother”) by Jaakko Poikonen Toven menestysreseptit (“Tove’s recipies for success”) by Sirpa Kalliokoski

The winners received a cash prize of 200 € each, and 100 € for the second place. The top stories will be published in an anthology. The jury comprised sf critic Pasi Karppanen, author Juha-Pekka Koskinen, and researcher Mari K. Niemi, with a pre-selection jury of Pasi Karppanen, student of history Virpi Luoma, and student of political history Juho Oksanen.

Jaana Lehtiö Wins Nova Competition

Several awards were given at Finncon in Turku last weekend. The Nova competition is a short story competition for beginners (no publications of their own yet). The competition was organized for the 12th time this year.

This year’s Nova top 3 is:

1. Jaana Lehtiö: Palmikko
2. Jenni Kauppinen: Taikarasia
3. Sanna Varis: Lievo

The winner gets a prize sum of 200 €; everyone in the top 10 receives a cash prize (ranging from 200 € to 40 €). The winning short story will be published in Spin.

81 writers participated in the competition with 108 short stories. The jury consisted of Marianna Leikomaa, Natalia Kisnanen, Heikki Nevala, and Saara Henriksson, with Kirsi Saaros, Henna Sinisalo, and Natalia Kisnanen acting as a pre-selection jury.

Finncon 2011 Photos

Once again, Finncon is over. There will be comments on it later (I’m sure that this year will generate a lot of comments from lots of people), but for now you can enjoy some photos from the convention.