Was awarded Väinö Linna Prize 1979, Eino Leino Prize 1985, Aleksis Kivi
Prize 1990.
Winner of 1975 Nordic Council Literature Prize.
Was convicted to 3 month suspended sentence for blasphemy due to the
passages in his novel "Juhannustanssit", although president Urho Kekkonen
pardoned him. In 1990 the book was re-printed in the original form with
the controversial lines included.