Pirjo Hiidenmaa
Pirjo Hiidenmaa (born 1959) is a professor of non-fiction literature at the University of Helsinki. At the moment she is Dean of the Faculty of Arts. Her research interests are factual texts and their genres. She has published articles and books on Finnish language, textbooks and reading.
Finland has a reputation for being a nation of reading people. Commercial book publishing grew explosively in the 19th century. First, national education was organised, and it needed textbooks, which created a backbone for publishing. Second, Finnish language was promoted first by the national epic Kalevala (published in the 1830s) and then by education and media. This strengthened the role of Finnish and gave it a strong status at a time when public life was mainly conducted in Swedish. Today Finland is officially bilingual in Finnish and Swedish, and both languages are taught in school. There are several active publishing houses that publish in Finnish and some in Swedish, Finnish being the language of the majority of the population (95 %).
Third, the national romantic movement of 1830 – 1920 produced dozens of artists, painters, composers and authors. Many of them are well-known classical figures in Finnish culture. The first Finnish novelist, Aleksis Kivi, is read in schools and his plays are performed in theatres today; likewise the most prominent female author, Minna Canth, who wrote novels and plays.
Finland has been active in translating literature. It is estimated that almost 40 % of new titles are translations, mainly from English but also from Swedish, Spanish and French. The translations include popular science, political history, modern fiction and page-turners.
Fiction trends: history, detective stories and fact-based stories
Finnish readers favour realistic styles, especially in historical fiction. Early trend-setters were Väinö Linna, Mika Waltari and Kaari Utrio, each in their own way: Linna with national history of the 20th century, Waltari with European topics from earlier centuries, and Utrio with female perspectives covering almost the span of the 13th – 19th centuries. Contemporary examples are Paula Havaste, Tommi Kinnunen, Anni Kytömäki and Sirpa Kähkönen. This style can be described as literary or fictional micro-history, and the novels are based on diligent work in archives.
Detective novels or murder mysteries are another popular genre. The big names of this genre include Leena Lehtolainen and her fictional hero Maria Kallio, well-known from books and TV series. Multi-talented Virpi Hämeen-Anttila has recently published ten murder mysteries set in the 1920s. Ilkka Remes (pseudonym) has published political thrillers for thirty years and sold millions of copies.
A third trendy genre is fiction with a touch of reality. A newcomer in this genre is true-crime literature. This is based on crimes or famous criminals, but embellished with fictional narrative features. The genre is promoted simultaneously on TV, podcasts and books. Biofiction is a genre that mixes historical figures and fictive story-telling. True crime and biofiction have raised ethical questions and challenged critical literacy skills.
Non-fiction prose: popular science, life writing, creative non-fiction
Non-fiction prose covers more titles than fiction, but it is divided into a large variety of topics from space and nature to cultures and society. Pure factual literature, guides and encyclopedias are waning, and creative non-fiction and essay-type writing are growing in popularity, as is life writing in all its forms (memoirs, biographies, experiences and opinions). Researchers and scholars write book-long essays on their fields based on research but expressing their own personal perspectives and interpretations.
Current topics like food, climate, society, ethics and history are covered. Historians Laura Kolbe, Mirkka Lappalainen and Henrik Meinander are good examples of university scholars who write for the popular market.
Tiina Raevaara and Risto Isomäki are examples of argumentative essayists who take strong stances on climate and societal questions. They also write novels with embedded scientific knowledge.
Literature for children and youth
Children’s literature has grown tremendously in this millennium, both stories and illustrated books, as well as fiction and non-fiction categories. The diversity and quantity have multiplied.
From the long tradition of children’s literature comes Tove Jansson, with her beloved Moomin characters. Mauri Kunnas has illustrated Finnish history and culture in his books with animal figures.
There are several new authors in the field with fresh styles and perspectives. Jukka Laajarinne writes books on mathematics and nature with humour and a hidden educational agenda. Sinikka Nopola, Paula Noronen and Timo Parvela are good examples of popular authors who have created series of books with their own heroes. There are several established and rising authors in youth literature. Some examples of this richness are Aleksis Delikouras, Tomi Kontio and Salla Simukka.
Concluding remarks
Numerous authors are professional writers and many of them have theoretical education as well. Many of them write both fiction and non-fiction, for adults and children. There are not so many full-time authors who make their living by writing, but there are grants by the government and foundations to support the production of literature. The government provides authors with compensations for library loans.
The publishing of print books had its best years in 2000 – 2010. Today figures are going down slightly, but this is not the whole picture. Annually, there are about 9000 new titles in print. 30 % are fiction and 70 % non-fiction. The changes are greater on the non-fiction side: textbooks and encyclopedic material are mainly in digital form. Narrative and creative non-fiction works are increasing, as are coffee-table books and other illustrated works.
Sales of audiobooks are increasing, although audiobooks divide the reading audience: some are almost addicted to their favourite genres and readers, others regard print books as the only real literature. In this millennium, reading has turned into a social activity. Reading clubs, organised either among friends or by libraries, are popular, as is sharing literary experiences on social media: Facebook, Instagram and literary blogs.
Public libraries have been a crucial part of Finnish readership, promoting literature and creating the literary infrastructure.
Over the last ten years there has been increasing interest in Finnish literature from abroad. The sales of translations have slowly grown. 400 titles were translated in 2022, and there are translations in almost 40 languages (TOP5: Estonian, German, Russian, Polish, Swedish).
