After a four-way auction in the UK, Simon & Schuster UK bought British Commonwealth rights to “The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen” by Kari Hotakainen for an undisclosed sum that’s large enough to generate buzz across the London Book Fair this year.
Sakari Siltala, who handles foreign rights for the family publishing house, says that interest for the book started coming in as soon as he sent out the 30-page English sample translation.
The book, which comes out in Finnish in August 2018, has been sold into six territories so far:
- Estonia: Koolibri
- Hungary: Helikon / Libri
- Italy: Iperborea
- Netherlands: Uitgeverij Q
- Poland: Zysk
- UK: Simon & Schuster UK
More offers are coming in, Sakari says, from Brazil, Japan, and Sweden. And with news of the Simon & Schuster deal circulating at the London Book Fair, he wouldn’t be surprised to get a few more offers.
Described by Touko as a literary sports biography, the book is about Finnish Formula 1 driver Kimi Räikkönen, who won the World Championship in 2007. Kimi, known as a man of few words who would prefer to drive a race car than give an interview to the press, has been a much sought-after subject. In the publisher’s promotional brochure, the book is described as “the first and last authorized book on F1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen.”
Plenty of Finnish publishers have wanted to do a book about Kimi, says Touko, but until now, the driver hasn’t been interested. But the author of the book, Kari Hotakainen, was persistent enough to make it happen.
According to Kari Hotakainen, the initiative for the book did not come from Kimi or his close circle, but the idea was his own: “My idea, which I never thought would come true, but which then became a reality. It’s a long story, and I’ll open the process in more detail later on.” What exactly is so interesting about Kimi Räikkönen that Hotakainen wanted to write a book? – “I have written a fictional biography about Buster Keaton.” – he says.
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