"Ghost writer" case from 2006 comes to court

Detective novels allegedly written by another hand and library grants acquired fraudulently

Tuula Sariola

Ritva Sarkola

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In June 2006 we reported a curious case (see article) in which a well-known Finnish writer of detective fiction acknowledged that more than a dozen crime novels published under her name had in fact been written by a ghost-writer friend.
      Tuula Sariola (the widow of the renowned Finnish crime novelist Mauri Sariola) and her literary accomplice Ritva Sarkola appeared in front of the Helsinki District Court yesterday on charges of aggravated fraud.
     
The pair took very different views of the share of each other's penmanship in the creative work behind the novels that were published by Gummerus in Sariola's name.
      Sariola said that the two had worked together on the books, while in Sarkola's view she had written them by herself with little or no input from the writer whose name was on the cover.
According to the prosecutor, the women had misled officials between 1994 and 2006 by applying for and securing library grants and withholding the information that the books were written by Sarkola.
      The prosecutor claims that they had also fraudulently claimed other literary grants-in-aid and an artist's pension in Sariola's name between 2000 and 2006.
      Just under EUR 65,000 was sought in library grants and rather more than EUR 46,000 was paid out. Applications for roughly EUR 170,000 in other grants went in, but were not approved.
     
Sariola denied all charges. She said that Sarkola did the actual writing, but that the novels were worked out in collaboration and that Sariola herself knocked the books into shape for publication with an editor at the publishing house.
      Sariola's legal counsel Ari Kyyrö stated that Sariola had had the right to claim library grants because the books had been written and were borrowed from the public libraries.
      Sariola also saw the artist's pension as a justified request because she had produced literary works in collaboration with Sarkola.
     
Sariola's views on the case were presented in court by Kyyrö, as Sariola herself was permitted to leave the courtroom on health grounds shortly after the charges were read.
      Ritva Sarkola, for her part, admitted having taken part in applying for library grants by drafting plans of future work. "Tuula could not know, of course, what the next book would be about", she noted.
      On the other hand, Sarkola denied any involvement in having fraudulently sought other grants or pension payments.
     
Sarkola admitted she had started writing books under Sariola's name more out of stupidity than anything else.
      She said that Sariola had reported in a magazine interview that she was writing a book, after which Sarkola went ahead and wrote the book.
      She added that she had received in the region of EUR 3,000 a year for her troubles.
      Judging by remarks made in court, the former friendship of the two does not appear to have weathered very well.
      A judgement is expected in the case today or tomorrow.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish novelist admits to using ghost writer for 16 crime novels (16.6.2006)

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