Sami Said (writer)
{{Short description|Swedish writer}}
{{For|the U.S. Air Force lieutenant general|Sami D. Said}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Sami Said
| image = Sami_Said_2013.jpg
| caption = Sami Said in 2013.
| birth_place = Keren, Eritrea
| birth_date = 1979
| occupation = Novelist
| notable_works = Människan är den vackraste staden (2018)
| language = Swedish
}}
Sami Said (born 1979) is an Eritrean-born Swedish writer. His novels, which frequently draw from his own immigrant experience, have received critical acclaim in his adopted country. Människan är den vackraste staden, his third novel, was one of Sweden's nominees for the 2019 Nordic Council Literature Prize.
Early life and education
Said was born in Keren, Eritrea, in 1979.{{Cite web|title=Sami Said|url=https://bokohav.se/forfattare/sami-said/?lang=en|access-date=2021-03-04|website=Bok och hav|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Sami Said|url=https://www.norden.org/en/nominee/sami-said|access-date=2021-03-04|website=Nordic Co-operation|language=en}} When he was a child, his family fled the war in their country, passing through Sudan and then Germany before settling in Gothenburg, Sweden, by the time he was 10 years old.{{Cite web|last=Klemetz|first=Elin|date=2019-06-11|title=Sami Said: »Jag är orolig att de gillar mina karaktärer mer än mig«|url=https://tidningenskriva.se/portratt/sami-said-jag-ar-orolig-att-de-gillar-mina-karaktarer-mer-an-mig/|access-date=2021-03-04|website=Tidningen Skriva|language=sv-SE}}
After high school, he studied at Linköping University, where he founded a literary magazine with fellow writer {{Interlanguage link|Oskar Hallbert|sv}}.{{Cite web|last=Bergstedt|first=Eva|date=2012-12-03|title=Författare med rötter på LiU|url=https://old.liu.se/liu-nytt/arkiv/reportage/sami-said?l=sv|access-date=2021-03-04|website=Linköpings universitet|language=sv}}
Career
Said became interested in writing at a young age. He began working on manuscripts in earnest during his time at university, but his early submissions were all rejected.
After the publisher Natur & Kultur took interest in his work, his first two books were released in quick succession.{{Cite web|last=Mendel-Enk|first=Stephan|date=2013-09-09|title=Sami Said {{!}} Best Untranslated Writers|url=https://granta.com/best-untranslated-writers-sami-said/|access-date=2021-03-04|website=Granta|language=en-US}} His critically acclaimed first novel Väldigt sällan fin, about a university student at Said's own alma mater, was published in 2012.{{Cite web|last=Fleming|first=Alex|date=January–February 2020|title=Människan är den vackraste staden {{!}} Swedish Book Review|url=https://swedishbookreview.org/manniskan-ar-den-vackraste-staden|access-date=2021-03-04|website=Swedish Book Review|language=en}} The following year, it won the {{Interlanguage link|Katapultpriset|sv}}, the prize issued by the {{Interlanguage link|Swedish Writers' Union|sv|Sveriges Författarförbund}} for debut authors. It was followed in 2013 by his autobiographical second novel Monomani, which details Said's experience writing Väldigt sällan fin.
His third novel, Människan är den vackraste staden, was published in 2018. Like his first two novels, it was the subject of substantial critical praise, and it was shortlisted for the 2018 August Prize and nominated for the 2019 Nordic Council Literature Prize.{{Cite news|date=2019-02-21|title=Sami Said nomineras till Nordiska rådets litteraturpris - Kulturnytt i P1|url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/7159901|access-date=2021-03-04|website=Sveriges Radio|language=sv}}
His most recent novel, Satansviskningar ("Whispers of Satan"), was published in 2023 and nominated for the August Prize.{{Cite web |last=Ruthven |first=Sophie |date=2024-03-21 |title=Satansviskningar (Whispers of Satan) |url=https://swedishbookreview.org/satansviskningar-review |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=Swedish Book Review |language=en}}
Said's work frequently draws from his own experiences as an Eritrean immigrant to Europe, although he also describes himself as an outsider within his own immigrant community.
He also published a children's book, Äta gräs, in 2019. It was illustrated by the Swedish artist Sven Nordqvist.
Personal life
Sami Said lives in Hägersten, Stockholm, with his wife, the literary critic {{Interlanguage link|Martina Lowden|sv}}.{{Cite web|last=Högström|first=Jenny|date=2019-05-19|title="Riktig litteratur ska hittas på"|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/b5QW9B|access-date=2021-03-04|website=Aftonbladet|language=sv}}
References
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Category:Swedish male novelists
Category:Eritrean male writers
Category:Eritrean emigrants to Sweden