Sara Brita Stridsberg (born 29 August 1972) is a Swedish

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and playwright. Her first novel, ''Happy Sally'' was about Sally Bauer, who in 1939 had become the first Scandinavian woman to swim the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. Her big international breakthrough came with the publication of The Faculty of Dreams/Valerie in 2006. The novel received the Nordic Council Award in 2007, and was nominated to the Man Booker award when published 2019 in the UK and US. Her novels are today translated into 25 languages. In 2007, she was awarded

the Nordic Council's Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

for her novel '' Drömfakulteten'' (''Valerie, or The Faculty of Dreams''), which is her second novel and a fictitious story about

Valerie Solanas Valerie Jean Solanas (April 9, 1936 – April 25, 1988) was an American radical feminist known for the ''SCUM Manifesto'', which she self-published in 1967, and for her attempt to murder artist Andy Warhol in 1968. Solanas had a turbulent child ...

, who wrote the ''

SCUM manifesto ''SCUM Manifesto'' is a radical feminist manifesto by Valerie Solanas, published in 1967. It argues that men have ruined the world, and that it is up to women to fix it. To achieve this goal, it suggests the formation of SCUM, an organization ded ...

'', which Stridsberg has translated into Swedish. The English translation by Deborah Bragan-Turner was longlisted for the 2019

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announc ...

Svenska Dagbladet ''Svenska Dagbladet'' (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of ''Svenska Dagbladet'' appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the ...

called Stridsberg "one of our foremost nature poets" and considered her among the best in contemporary Swedish literature while noting that Stridsberg's novels are always discomforting to read. In 2016, Stridsberg was elected to the 13th chair on the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

previously occupied by

Gunnel Vallquist Gunnel Vallquist (19 June 1918 – 11 January 2016) was a Swedish writer and translator. Born in Stockholm, Vallquist was elected a member of the Swedish Academy in 1982. Vallquist was a member of the Catholic Church and wrote several essays on C ...

. She was inducted into the Academy on 20 December 2016. On 27 April 2018 she left the Academy, in solidarity with

Sara Danius Sara Maria Danius (5 April 1962 – 12 October 2019) was a Swedish literary critic and philosopher, and a scholar of literature and aesthetics. Danius was professor of aesthetics at Södertörn University, docent of literature at Uppsala Univers ...

Bibliography

* ''Juristutbildningen ur ett genusperspektiv'' (non-fiction, 1999) * ''Det är bara vi som är ute och åker'' (non-fiction, 2002) * ''Happy Sally'' (novel, 2004) * '' Drömfakulteten'' (novel, 2006; trans. ''Valerie, or The Faculty of Dreams: A Novel'', 2019) * ''Darling River'' (novel, 2010) * ''Mamman och havet'' (children's book, 2012) * ''Beckomberga: Ode till min familj'' (novel, 2014) * ''Kärlekens Antarktis'' (novel, 2018; trans. ''The Antarctica of Love'', 2021) * ''Dyksommar'' (children's book, 2019)

Plays

*2006 – ''Valerie Jean Solanas ska bli president i Amerika'' *2009 – ''Medealand'' *2012 – ''Dissekering av ett snöfall'' *2015 – ''Beckomberga'' *2015 – ''Konsten att falla'' *2016 – ''American Hotel''

Awards

* 2004 The Sveriges Essäfond Prize * 2006 Aftonbladet's Literature Prize * 2007

The Nordic Council's Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

* 2013

Dobloug Prize The Dobloug Prize ( sv, Doblougska priset, no, Doblougprisen) is a literature prize awarded for Swedish and Norwegian fiction. The prize is named after Norwegian businessman and philanthropist Birger Dobloug (1881–1944) pursuant to his bequest. T ...

* 2010 Visiting professor Freie Universität Berlin, Germany * 2015

European Union Prize for Literature The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...

(Sweden) for ''Beckomberga – ode till min familj'' (''The Gravity of Love'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stridsberg, Sara 1972 births Living people People from Solna Municipality Swedish-language writers Swedish women novelists English–Swedish translators Nordic Council Literature Prize winners 20th-century Swedish novelists 20th-century Swedish women writers 20th-century translators 21st-century Swedish novelists 21st-century Swedish writers 21st-century Swedish women writers 21st-century translators Swedish translators Dobloug Prize winners Members of the Swedish Academy