The heart of a publishing house is its current publication catalogue. In its nonfiction, Siltala Publishing has specialised in history, biographies, and memoirs – books where writing and language are crucial. Touko Siltala is emphatic about concentrating on one’s own strengths and leaving the rest to others.

– Although books for children and young people are perennially important and even growing as a publishing sector, we pass them gladly by. We lack the necessary specialisation. Nor do we have the knowledge to publish gardening or cookbooks.

Siltala receives new fiction manuscripts every day, in all several hundred a year. For nonfiction the publication decision is often made on the strength of a synopsis or an exciting idea. In that process trust in the author is paramount, but so is the calibre of Siltala writers.

– History is our particular forte. I am pleased that our patient work in this field has brought us success. Take the Finlandia Literary Prize for Non-Fiction that Mirkka Lappalainen won in 2014, that was a tremendous achievement.

Touko Siltala appreciates storytelling skill in both fiction and nonfiction.

– Literary expression, style and language are the crux of literature – either it’s interesting and captivating or it isn’t. With nonfiction, also a topical subject and social significance matter, sometimes even the moral courage of the author.

"There's no such thing as a good story, all there is are good storytellers. That’s the whole of theatre, literature and cinema," says Siltala, quoting the author Pirkko Saisio.