BREAKING NEWS: WSOY Publishers drop Sofi Oksanen

Sofi Oksanen

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WSOY Publishers announced on Tuesday that it will not publish any more books by author Sofi Oksanen.
      “The decision, which was made after lengthy consideration, has been very difficult, but in the current situation, we feel that it is the only possibility. The relationship between a publisher and an author requires mutual trust and respect”, says the company’s CEO Anna Baijars in a statement issued on Tuesday.
     
Oksanen herself was informed about the decision only shortly before WSOY issued a public statement on the matter. Baijars notified Oksanen of the termination of the relationship as part of their e-mail correspondence.
      “I feel that this decision is quite extraordinary”, Oksanen said.
     
Oksanen is on record as being very critical of Anna Baijars.
      In the autumn, Oksanen and 11 other WSOY authors sent a letter to the board of the Sanoma Group, which owns WSOY and Helsingin Sanomat, sharply criticising the activities of the WSOY executive.
      The signatories criticised what they saw as indifference in marketing and downplaying the opinions of the writers.
      “The situation at WSOY has long been inflamed”, Oksanen said in September last year.
     
Sofi Oksanen’s latest novel Purge ("Puhdistus") has sold like hot cakes, with more than 140,000 copies being picked up.
      The book has also been awarded a number of prizes, including the Finlandia Prize, and the Nordic Council Literature Prize.
      WSOY has published other works by Oksanen as well, including Stalin’s Cows, Baby Jane, and the stage version of Purge.
      Cooperation between WSOY and Oksanen concerning the works that are in print is to continue under the terms of the existing contracts.
     
     
We will return to this subject in greater detail in tomorrow’s edition.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Sofi Oksanen named Person of the Year in Estonia (18.12.2009)

Links:
  Sofi Oksanen (WSOY Publishers website)
  Sofi Oksanen (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat