Everything in the world has a synty, a birth-song that holds the roots of our true essence. Whoever knows the synty of a thing or creature has the power to control it.
I have never revealed mine to anyone. Not until now.
Follow the roots of my synty into the stone-hill of the North, follow them beyond nine locks and shackles, into the heart of the earth itself. Learn their precise shape, learn to sense their shifts and to hear their whispers. Get as comfortable as you can, close your eyes if it feels too hard to keep them open. That I will permit.
But you must listen to my birth-song before you go.
Sometimes a woman has no choice but to transform herself into an enormous bird of prey.
Lauha is living her childhood in Pohjoland, where strong women rule the society and each one of them has her own spell-shape, or animal form. When a strange tribe attacks Lauha’s village, her life is uprooted. The hardships of defending her home and keeping her family safe turn Lauha into Louhi, a powerful witch capable of controlling the weather and transforming into a giant eagle – and a woman that many fear.
Inspired by Finnish and Karelian folklore, Snowsinger is a dark feminist fantasy novel set in a mythical past, a world of magic, shapeshifting and spell-singing.
Out in Finnish in August 2025. Full English manuscript available from Ahlback Agency.
Winner
- Tampere City Literary Prize 2026
- Shadow Runeberg Literary Prize 2026, voted by readers
- Blogistania Finlandia Award 2025, Best Finnish Novel, voted by Finnish book influencers
Nominee
- Runeberg Literary Prize 2026
- Tähtifantasia Award 2026 for the best fantasy novel in Finnish
- Kuvastaja Award 2026 for the best fantasy novel in Finnish
- Ad Libris Award 2025, Novel of the Year
- Laurin Kirja Audiobook Award 2026 for the best audiobook
Other Books
The Moonday Letters
The Weaver / The City of Woven Streets
