Sami Said

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. 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.

After high school, he studied at Linköping University, where he founded a literary magazine with fellow writer .

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. His critically acclaimed first novel Väldigt sällan fin, about a university student at Said's own alma mater, was published in 2012. The following year, it won the , the prize issued by the for debut authors.

His most recent novel, Satansviskningar ("Whispers of Satan"), was published in 2023 and nominated for the August Prize.

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.