25 September 2025
Jenna Kostet Nominated for Young Aleksis Prize with The Red Witch
Five fiction books have been shortlisted for the Young Aleksis Prize 2025, including Jenna Kostet’s historical novel The Red Witch.
Jenna Kostet’s historical novel The Red Witch tells about Valpuri Kinni, a strong-willed woman, a healer accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. In 1635, Valpuri Kinni, a woman from Courland in western Latvia, is thrown into the river in Turku. The trial by water is used to determine her guilt or innocence: if she sinks, she is innocent, but if she floats, she is a witch. Valpuri has travelled a long way to Finland, but there doesn’t seem to be a corner in the world where she can live in peace without accusations of witchcraft.
While working at the Turku Castle, Kostet came across Valpuri Kinni’s remarkable life story. Her research led her from the alleys of Stockholm’s Old Town to the village of Liitsola in Punkalaidun in Western Finland. Based on historical details found in various archival sources, The Red Witch is the story of a stubborn, outspoken and eccentric woman who does not adapt to her role in society. Valpuri Kinni’s story is as timely today as it was nearly four hundred years ago.
The Young Aleksis Prize, worth €1,500, is a literature prize granted by the Association of Finnish Language Teachers. There are two reading panels: one consisting of secondary school students and the other of upper secondary school students. The secondary school panel selects its favourite from Finnish fiction books published during the previous year. The prize aims to highlight young people’s favourite books and, above all, encourage them to read and participate in literary discussions. The Finnish Cultural Foundation is funding this year’s project.
The winner will be revealed at the Helsinki Book Fair on 25 October.
