Teresa Flavin's Blog, page 5

THE CRIMSON SHARD Book Trailer

Things have been go, go, go since I last wrote a post on this blog – which I am ashamed to say is many months! What’s been going on since I got back from Finland in April? Let’s see. I finished a first draft of a new book, revised it, did quite a few events around Scotland, including the Edinburgh International Book Festival, went to the USA, did a lot of paperwork, constant social networking on my Facebook page and on Twitter…You get the drift.

I was also working on a secret side project over...

Special Places: Pasila Library, Helsinki

Pasila Library's water feature

I was given a lovely tour of Pasila Library last week (which has this stunning water feature). It’s Helsinki’s main library with almost 200,000 items, including materials in over 100 languages which can be sent all over Finland to other communities. Pasila Library does a particularly good job of supporting immigrants who are learning Finnish and about local culture.

I was very impressed with the whole library, but especially the children’s section, which had an ex...

Special Places: The Estonian Children’s Literature Centre

Mural at Estonian Children's Literature Centre by Jüri Mildeberg

I recently traveled across the Baltic Sea to Tallinn in Estonia and found not only a beautiful, atmospheric medieval city to explore, but a fantastic children’s book centre and library in the Old Town. The Estonian Children’s Literature Centre was established in 1933 and its archive library collects children’s books and periodicals in Estonian and published in Estonia, world classics in children’s literature and awarded books in...

Helsinki: Another Exciting Week in the World of Finnish Books

My inspirational week started when I visited Villa Kivi overlooking lovely, frozen Töölönlahti Bay. This beautiful house is known as the Writer’s House and ever since it was built in 1890, it has been associated with literature. Famous Finnish writers and linguists lived and visited there until it fell into disrepair and the city of Helsinki bought the building and gave it to the Kivi-house Foundation in 1985.

Villa Kivi

Villa Kivi was renovated by the Kivi-house Foundation, which was founded t...

Sunday on Suomenlinna

The view from Suomenlinna

The fog lifted and the sun came out this morning. For the first time, I saw Helsinki under crystal blue skies and realised how close it is to Suomenlinna. Helsinki is a low-rise city. The Russian Orthodox church pictured next to the two Viking Line ships is one of the tallest buildings on the skyline.I watched the trucks loading onto the ferries bound for Stockholm and could actually hear the clanks and bumps from across the water.

The quay at Suomenlinna

Suomenlinna is...

Helsinki: Exhibitions and Events

Sometimes you arrive in a new place, knowing absolutely nothing about it, and you are guided, as if by magic, to where you want to be. One of the first things I hoped to see was a bookstore. But a chance visit to the tourist info office meant that I found a brochure about a children’s book cafe that’s been set up in cooperation with World Design Capital Helsinki 2012. What caught my eye was the jubilee exhibition of Little Golden Books published in Finland by Tammi Publishing. Little Golden B...