Topelius Prize for Jukka Behm’s WONDERBOY!

We are so very excited to announce that Jukka Behm is the winner of the Topelius Prize with his best selling YA sensation WONDERBOY (Ihmepoika Leon, Tammi 2023)! Warmest congratulations!

In the spectacular and entertaining WONDERBOY, a YA book about a teenage boy on the precipice of stardom, the newspapers hail Leon Brown as ‘god‘s gift to football’ – and now this also applies to publishing: WONDERBOY’S Finnish publisher Tammi has reprinted the book seven times in as many months! The latest print run has reached the shops today with half of the copies already sold – today’s brilliant award news shall no doubt ensure the urgent need for the 8th print run!

The Jury’s statement:

Set in the junior academy of a London football club, this smooth and compelling novel tells the story of a talented youngster’s rapid rise to the top of British football. Behm’s WONDERBOY not only captures the action on the pitch but also the brutal world of professional football, troubled family relationships and the strings pulled behind-the-scenes in a game where money matters. A touching coming-of-age story that takes us into a new world and into the heart of Leon.