Books from Finland

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Magazines : Books from Finland
Interview : Kristina Carlson / Editor in chief

How did you become Editor in Chief?
The former Editor- in -Chief left his post, and Soila Lehtonen who has edited the magazine for many years persuaded me to take the job.
Soila runs all the everyday tasks from contacting the writers and translators (she even bikes to the post office when there is an urgent letter...), she also edits the texts etc. together with our editor in London, Hildi Hawkins.

To your point of view, what are the positive and negative aspects of this profession?
Being the Editor-in-Chief is not a full-time job. I'm a free writer (author of 14 books) and literary critic. This job gives me a possibility to have a good look on everything (or almost everything) that's published in Finland. Sometimes it's difficult to know what really interests our readers. What do they want to find in Books? We get very little feed-back.

What is the most difficult part of your profession?
Editing a small magazine like Books requires some idealism and devotion, because it's not a commercial publication.

It seems that nowadays, people can find quite easily free newspapers or magazines almost everywhere. Is it, somehow, a threat to "traditional" magazines or newspapers?
It's a fact that reading provokes reading. Maybe at least some of those who read free magazines and newspapers get interested in certain topics and will buy or subscribe "traditional" ones. There is a trend for all kinds of special magazines to win more readers.

Do you consider it as a job or is it more than that?
No, as told before, my job is not a full-time job. My role is mainly to give ideas, make propositions about the themes, choose texts to be translated, suggest writers etc. The editors take care of the rest, and they are very competent!.

When was your magazine first published? Who's idea or concept was it?
Books from Finland, published by the Finnish Literature Society, was founded by the Society of Finnish Publishers in 1967. The 2003 volume is volume XXXVII; the print run is 2,800. Between 1976 and 2002 the publisher was the Helsinki University Library. Books from Finland receives a grant from the Finnish Ministry of Education. The Editorial Board discusses the contents four times a year. The nine members of the board are all professionals representing different literary occupations.

Would you say that your magazine now is different from the first edition?
Well, I hope it's... Not a pleasing idea that the magazine would have remained same for more than 25 years!

How would you present your magazine to our readers who don't know it?
Books from Finland is a literary magazine, and the range of texts includes contemporary poetry and prose, essays and reviews on literature, history, politics, folklore, visual arts etc.

Could you present your "editorial line"?
My point is that nothing is interesting only and because it has been written in Finland in Finnish (or Swedish). I would like to publish texts, essays and articles that have interest to a wider public than the five million in our country. And I'm sure this goal can be achieved, with some effort. In proportion to our population we have internationally well known musicians; we might have writers too... Even though the language, is an obstacle, of course.

Who are your readers? Do you aim to touch or focus on a certain part of the population?
Our readers are, as far as I know, people in Great Britain and USA, who are (for different reasons) interested in Finland and Finnish culture. In libraries, in universities etc. I suppose our readers are more or less "academic", including students!

How is the situation with the Finnish press (newspapers, magazines) nowadays?
I'm not a specialist on Finnish press, but I suppose that considering the big changes in media (new TV-channels, Internet publicationsetc.) the "traditional" press, on paper, is doing amazingly well. The Finns are known to be devoted subscribers of magazines and newspapers.

Would you say that the "traditional magazines" suffer or benefit from the internet?
Maybe right now the Internet and the traditional media are feeding each other. (You find web site addresses in magazines, and those sites give you tips how to find articles etc.)

Do you have a web site? What kind of content do you propose?
Our web site is www.finlit.fi/booksfromfinland I propose that you look for lyrics. Look also at our last year's articles on Finnish cartoons.

What are your projects for the future?
For Books it's difficult to make any five-year plan, because mostly we are dependent on what comes out from the Finnish publishers! Of course we go back to classics as well, but personally I would like to follow what's going on now, and you never really know... That's the exciting point.

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2003