Join us September 26 for a discussion with award-winning author and artist Marika Mijala, translator Mia Spangbenberg, and Etana Editions children’s book publisher Jenni Erkintalo, in celebration of the release of Rosie Runs! They’ll discuss their work across artmaking, translation, and children’s book-making, while sharing visuals from Rosie Runs, which is out August 15 in translation from Elsewhere Editions.

An illustrator of children’s books for all of the major publishers of Finland as well as worldwide, Marika Maijala has received awards including the 2020 State Award for Illustration Art, and was chosen in 2021 as one of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Awards candidates of Finland. Rosie Runs (Ruusun Matka), which was made using her distinctive oil-pastel artmaking technique, follows a very special trip made one day by Rosie the race dog, and was released in the Finnish language in October 2018 by Etana Editions. Illustrations from Rosie’s Journey were selected in The Bologna Illustrators Exhibition 2019, and the book was also nominated for The Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize 2019.

In today’s event, the three speakers will discuss topics including how Nordic children’s picture books are made; how authors and illustrators work together, as well as the role of the editor and publisher; the importance of images as well as pre-production work; the meaning and the work of translators; and trends and challenges in the Nordic children’s picture book world.

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