Author: Tuomo Heikkinen

Literature event promoting foreign rights sales talks about exporting children’s literature

13.10.2022

Black Hole Autumn event program has been released

Black Hole Autumn event is focusing on how to export children’s literature. The event is a virtual event in Brella virtual environment and takes place on Tuesday 8.11.2022, starting at 1pm.

Katharina Braun, the Editorial Director in Children’s Fiction from arsEdition, Germany, is sharing her experiences about Finnish children’s books on the German market. Literary Agent Terhi Isomäki-Blaxall, from Bonnier Rights Finland, talks about how to represent Finnish children’s literature abroad. Illustrator and children’s book author Sanna Pelliccioni gives an overview of how her books have got translated into other languages.

One of the special features of the event are one-on-one meetings, for which there is time allotted after the program. The attendees are encouraged to book meetings with each other even before the event begins. The match-making features of the Brella platform make it easy to find the best-fitting contacts.

The event is open to all book industry professionals and free of charge. The whole program and registration can be found at here. The event is organized by the Oulu Writers Association in association with BusinessOulu.

Black Hole Autumn event is a part of the Oulu Writers Association’s ongoing project to build a network for publishing professionals aiming to further Northern literary exports. The project is made possible by the financial support of the Council of Oulu region and the City of Oulu.

Literature event promoting foreign rights sales talks about how to start a literary agency

11.05.2022

Black Hole Summer event program has been released

Black Hole Summer event is focusing on how to start a literary agency and finding people who are interested in it. The event will be a virtual event in Brella virtual environment and it will take place on Tuesday 7.6.2022, starting at 1pm.

Lena Stjernström, the CEO of the Grand Agency, from Sweden, is sharing her experiences of starting a literary agency. Kati Uusi-Rauva, a soon-to-be project manager in The Uniarts Helsinki, talks about how to build a sustainable business model. Anna Ryynänen from BusinessOulu tells audience all the services BusinessOulu offers for those planning and starting a business in creative industries.

Black Hole Summer event is a part of the Oulu Writers Association’s ongoing project to build a network for publishing professionals aiming to further Northern literary exports. The project is made possible by the financial support of the Council of Oulu region and the City of Oulu.

Book industry professionals gather to discuss how books become movies

28.03.2022

The program for Black Hole Spring event is now released

Black Hole Spring event focuses on how books become movies. The hybrid event takes place at BusinessAsema (Hallituskatu 36 B, Oulu, Finland), on 26.4.2022, but the event can be followed through Brella virtual environment as well.

Among the speakers are Andris Feldmanis and Livia Ulman, the Estonian screenwriters behind the Compartment no. 6 – an award winning movie based on a book by Rosa Liksom. Another highlight of the program is Todd Brown, Head of International Acquisitions of XYZ Films, speaking about how to adapt local material to the global audiences.

The event is open to all book industry professionals and free of charge. The whole program and registration can be found here. The event is organized by the Oulu Writers Association in association with BusinessOulu and North Finland Film Commission.

Black Hole Spring event is a part of the Oulu Writers Association’s ongoing project to build a network for publishing professionals aiming to further Northern literary exports. The project is made possible by the financial support of the Council of Oulu region and the City of Oulu.

Current book industry topics sparked debate in Finnish Black Hole

17.02.2022

The literary export event gathered participants from 17 different countries

The Black Hole – Books meet Rightsevent, organized by the Oulu Writers’ Association, took place virtually from 11 to 12 February. The second edition of the annual event was attended by book professionals from 17 different countries, and it was noted in the international press.

”The international significance and appeal of the event has been a big surprise and a great source of joy for us,” says Antti Leikas, Chair of the Oulu Writers Association. “We noticed last year that there is a huge demand and need for such an event. We are looking forward to next year, when we will finally be able to invite international guests to Oulu. Black Hole has the premises to grow into a truly notable publishing network event that will put Oulu on the world map of literature in an unprecedented way.”

On the virtual platform Brella there were presentations and lively discussion about current topics in the industry. In addition, reading material and translation samples from more than 20 Northern Finnish authors were presented in the event’s virtual booths.

As a follow-up to the successful events, the Black Hole Network plans to arrange themed, shorter network events in the spring, summer and autumn. A discussion board and database have also been opened on the project’s website www.blackhole.fi, where publishing professionals can network and share their experiences.

Black Hole – Books meet Rights is a part of the Oulu Writers Association’s ongoing project to build a network for publishing professionals aiming to further Northern literary exports. The project is made possible by the financial support of the Council of Oulu region and the City of Oulu. Partners include Finnish Literature Exchange FILI, Helsinki Literary Agency, and Arts Promotion Center Finland.