Wizard’s Tower is delighted to announce that we will be publishing Tears for the Sea, a collection of short stories translated into English from Finnish by author J.S. Meresmaa. The recurring themes in the collection are: womanhood, both through the body and through social status; otherness and queer experiences; the significance and presence of animals in people’s lives and beliefs; and, of course, the use and reinterpretation of Finnish folklore and mythology.

Meresmaa (she/they) is an award-winning author who mainly writes fantasy and other speculative fiction. Their works have been nominated for several literature prizes, and they have received glowing reviews from critics and readers alike. They recently received the Tähtifantasia Award, given annually to the best Finnish-language fantasy novel of the previous year, for Noidanlanka (The Witch of Sardesia). The book blends a steampunk setting with Finnish folklore and magic, creating a richly imagined, whimsical world that feels both cozy and wondrous.

The stories are being translated by Christina Saarinen and Greta Katz. We expect to have the book available next spring.

J.S. Meresmaa said: “I’m thrilled to see these stories reach an English-speaking audience. Finnish speculative fiction has a long tradition of looking at the strange and the uncanny through a very particular cultural lens, and I hope these stories can offer readers a glimpse into that tradition while still feeling deeply human and familiar. These stories were written at different points in my career, but together they form a surprisingly coherent whole, returning to questions of who we are allowed to be and where we belong. For me, the most interesting thing about fantasy and speculative fiction has always been that it gives us a way to talk about very real things—identity, love, grief and belonging—through the impossible.”

Publisher, Cheryl Morgan said: “It has long been my ambition to publish a book by a Finnish author. I have visited the country many times and have come to love the Finnish people. It is particularly pleasing to make this announcement during Women in Translation Month, an event that is proudly feminist, and which welcomes the inclusion of trans and non-binary writers. The Finns, of course, do not have gendered pronouns, which makes the whole thing so much easier.”

Photo credit: Veli-Matti Rintala.

For further information please email: info@wizardstowerpress.com.