THE CLUES IN THE FJORD by Satu Rämö translated from the Finnish by Kristian London and published by Zaffre.
Satu Rämö will receive a trophy, and both the author and translator will receive a cash prize.
The judges’ statement on THE CLUES IN THE FJORD:
THE CLUES IN THE FJORD is a sophisticated and atmospheric police procedural with a pleasingly unpredictable dark and twisty plot, set against the backdrop of the raw and untamed beauty of rural Iceland.
Providing the local detective with a Finnish side-kick allows the author to contrast Icelandic and Finnish traits, adding authenticity to an original story. The intriguing back-stories of both characters leave the reader anticipating the next instalments.
In the ever increasing Icelandic crime fiction scene, Satu Rämö has carved out a unique position between traditional mysteries and the darker end of crime fiction.
Statements from the winning author and translator:
Satu Rämö:
I am deeply honoured to receive this award, and I want to thank the jury and the organizers of the Petrona Award. I also want to acknowledge the incredible writers nominated alongside me. To be included among such talented writers is a reward in itself. Your words have inspired me a lot!
This award reminds me of a conversation I had with a reader, a ninety-five-year-old woman, who shared how the book, the first part in the Hildur crime book series, THE CLUES IN THE FJORD, made her feel. She told me that she knows she is getting very old but after reading this book, she hoped she would live long enough to read the sequel, to know what happened to the two little girls who got lost on their way from school. When the sequel came out, I sent it to her and called her after a few weeks. She was still as happy and joyful as last time, waiting for the next book in the series to come out...
It is the readers who keep stories alive. Thank you for reading. I want to thank you also, my British publisher Zaffre and my translator Kristian London. Great teamwork! Thank you jury from the bottom of my heart, this award means so much to me.
Kristian London:
When I first took on translating Satu Rämö’s THE CLUES IN THE FJORD, the book’s incredible success in Finland suggested it had a high chance of connecting with audiences abroad as well. I’m gratified to see this is the case. It has been a privilege to act as an intermediary between Rämö’s imagination and those of her English-speaking readers as they enter Hildur’s world of human quirks and foibles, familial traumas and inheritances. For me, the work’s slow power springs from its true protagonist: that isolated land in the North Atlantic that serves as the setting, and the terrain and culture and people we’re introduced to through an outsider’s keen eyes. Many thanks to the Petrona Award jury for this honor.
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Pascal Engman - THE WIDOWS translated by Neil Smith (Sweden, Legend Press)
Malin Persson Giolito - DELIVER ME translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles (Sweden, Simon & Schuster)
Óskar Guðmundsson - THE DANCER translated by Quentin Bates (Iceland, Corylus Books)
Aslak Nore - THE SEA CEMETERY translated by Deborah Dawkin (Norway, MacLehose Press)
Satu Rämö - THE CLUES IN THE FJORD translated by Kristian London (Finland, Zaffre)
Gunnar Staalesen - PURSUED BY DEATH translated by Don Bartlett (Norway, Orenda Books)
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Further information can be found on the Petrona Award website: http://www.petronaaward.co.uk.
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