| Susanna Alakoski | |
| Birth Name: | Jaana Susanna Emilia Alakoski |
| Birth Date: | 16 May 1962 |
| Birth Place: | Vaasa, Finland |
| Occupation: | novelist |
| Period: | 2006–present |
| Notableworks: | Svinalängorna |
| Spouse: | Mats Söderlund (1990–present) |
| Children: | Jaana-Kristina Nilas Runa |
Jaana Susanna Emilia Alakoski Söderlund (née Alakoski; born 16May 1962) is a Swedish author, novelist and lecturer. She won the August Prize in 2006 for the novel Svinalängorna.[1] Svinalängorna was filmed in 2010 as Beyond. She researches gender issues and works as a social worker.
Born in 1962 in Vaasa, Finland, Alakoski is a Sweden Finn: her parents are Finnish and her mother tongue is Finnish, but she moved to Sweden with her family when she was four years old.[2] She spent her early life in the Fridhem area in Ystad, Sweden.[3] She studied to become a socionom and finished her degree at the age of 23.[4] In 1988, she studied writing at Skurups folkhögskola.[4] Between 1995 and 2003, she worked as a press secretary for the Vänsterpartiet politician Gudrun Schyman.[4]
In 2006, she released her debut novel Svinalängorna. It took the August Prize in 2006. The novel sold over 400,000 copies in Sweden and it has been made into a feature film with the English title of Beyond.[5]
In 2010, she released her second novel, Håpas du trifs bra i fengelset.[6] In 2011, she released her first children's novel, Dagens Harri, which were followed by Guldfisken in 2012 and Dagens skräckis in 2013.[7] She published a diary, Oktober i Fattigsverige in 2012.[8]
She has also been editor for the anthologies Tala om klass, Lyckliga slut, and Fejkad orgasm[9]
She is married to Mats Söderlund since 1990. They have three children, Jaana-Kristina, Nilas, Runa.[4]
, she lives in Stockholm.