Finlandia Non-Fiction Prize goes to Marjo T. Nurminen

Winner learnt of award while holidaying in Mauritius

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This year's Finlandia Prize for Non-Fiction was announced on Thursday amidst rather less media excitement than usual, largely because the recipient of the award Marjo T. Nurminen was not present: she was on holiday in Mauritius at the time.
      Photographers had to make do with taking pictures of the cover of Nurminen's Tiedon tyttäret: Oppineita eurooppalaisia naisia antiikista valistukseen ("Daughters of Science: Learned European Women from Antiquity to the Enlightenment") and the other shortlisted books.
     
Her absence was not a snub - she had arranged the trip six months ago, on completing the lengthy project of researching and writing the book, and at that time had had no idea she might have an important appointment in Helsinki on November 20th.
      Marjo T. Nurminen is an archeologist who has also worked as a science reporter for the Finnish Broadcasting Company.
      Her work explores 3,500 years of educated women, many of whom have never received their due or taken a place of honour in the scientific annals, often being relegated to the role of an unpaid assistant to some worthy male who is a household name.
     
The 25 extensive biographies also explore the scientific life of the respective periods and the scope - usually rather restricted - that women had for taking part in science.
      The book ends with the close of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, when a new era was ushered in that would have required the author to expand her canvas severalfold.
     
The winner of this year's award, which carries a prize of EUR 30,000, was chosen by Veikko Sonninen from a shortlist of six works.
      Sonninen, a former Managing Director of the Finnish Book Publishers' Association, warmly welcomed Nurminen's volume as opening a new page on the history of Western science, and on those who have been left outside the auditoriums to hear the applause for others who might not have deserved all the laurels heaped upon them.
      At the same time he sharply criticised the three panellists who produced the shortlist for this year's prize for their having left off a work by Panu Rajala on Finnish author Mika Waltari that could in his view have given Tuominen a serious run for her money and made his own task that little bit harder.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Non-fiction Tieto-Finlandia prize goes to historian Peter von Bagh (12.12.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat