Representing the best
Finnish authors abroad
Finnish authors abroad
What happened to Anne? On Zanzibar beach, Sakari searches for his brand-new bride. Eventually, a police interrogation uncovers the chasm that divided the couple long before the honeymoon of their dreams.
Meanwhile, Miia is prepared to swallow just about anything for an hour’s sleep. Emma is perplexed by her mother’s blindness: doesn’t she understand that dad has another woman in Copenhagen?
Pauli and Lise float between two different cultures on a cruise between Finland and Sweden. Lech mops the floors of the nouveau riche, idolises Wisława Szymborska, and plans to buy Veronika a diamond ring. And a couch. And a dishwasher… And no one can accuse Rashid of not trying to forget what has already passed and what lies ahead. To learn to live from the pale passersby of this northern land.
Lost Shore is a debut collection of stories about people who are strangers to their own lives. Each of them is looking for something to focus on. But sometimes finding a solution requires making an unexpected choice.
Tiina Laitila Kälvemark (b. 1970) is a Stockholm-based journalist and writer, originally from northern Finland. Laitila Kälvemark’s debut work Lost Shore—a short story collection—was shortlisted for the Runeberg Prize in 2013. Her debut novel, Of Stones and Silence, was met with acclaim and shortlisted for the 2015 Tiiliskivi Prize. Laitila Kälvemark’s short-form fiction has been published in both English and German.
Finnish PDF
English extract
German extract
Swedish extract
2013, Kaisa Vilhuinen Literature Prize
2013, Shortlisted for the Runeberg Prize
2011, Second Prize in the Umeå short story competition (Sweden) for the short story The Hare
“The first literary work The Lost Shore by Sweden-based Tiina Laitila Kälvemark is a refreshing short story collection that’s perfect in form and rich in content. The collection is themed by topic, describing modern life in a globalized world and especially within a Nordic context. The reader confronts issues of multiculturality and border crossings between the Nordic countries through relationships. The poignant currents of existential motives elaborately deepen the trans-nationalistic placelessness, which is dominant in the collection.” – Statement of the Runberg Prize Jury, 2013
“Tiina Laitila Kälvemark does not merely write about physical estrangement, but skillfully takes things deeper, to the internal shifts of the human soul. In terms of both thought and language, The Lost Shore is an uncommonly polished collection.” – Nadja Nowak and Seppo Puttonen, Yle
“…classic in its style, the heir of modernist prose... Laitila Kälvemark’s skill and accuracy are enjoyable.” – Suvi Ahola, Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
“Laitila Kälvemark’s stories represent the art of the short story in its purest form. In the bottom of the unadorned, seemingly simple narrative there is much more than what is said. People’s thoughts, feelings, fears and secrets move over the surface like currents in the ocean. The thunder reverberates in the reader’s head.” – Ilkka Pernu, Image magazine
“When a debut is this fine, what could be in store next?” – Tarja Salo, Gloria magazine
“The effortless language has something timeless in it… The Lost Shore is an interesting collection which makes you wait for more.” – Anuirmeli Sallamo-Lavi, Keskisuomalainen newspaper
“The work does not preach, nor give answers, but it asks the right questions.” – Simo Hiltunen, Kaleva newspaper
