Tiia Strandén (born 25 September 1970) is a literary agent and cultural administrator. She has served as Director of FILI – Finnish Literature Exchange since 1 February 2017. FILI is a non-profit organisation affiliated with the Finnish Literature Society that promotes literature from Finland abroad.
Early life and education Strandén was born into a Finnish-speaking family in Aavasaksa, Ylitornio, Finland. At the age of four, she moved with her parents to Västerås, Sweden, where she grew up. She attended a Finnish-language primary school but received her later schooling in Swedish.
In 1990, Strandén returned to Finland to study philosophy and Nordic literature in a Swedish-language degree programme at the bilingual University of Helsinki. She completed her studies with a Master of Arts degree. Her master's thesis (pro gradu avhandling, 1998) examined the reception of the novel Katrina by Sally Salminen.
Career After completing her studies, Strandén worked for several years as a cultural secretary at The Nordic Institute in Finland (now Nordisk kulturkontakt), a cultural centre operated by the Nordic Council of Ministers. In addition to her work in the cultural sector, she was also active for a time as a Swedish-language teacher.
In 2011, during the preparations for Finland's role as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2014, Strandén joined FILI as a specialist in Finland-Swedish literature. She served as Deputy Director from August 2016 to January 2017 and was appointed Director on 1 February 2017.
Personal life Strandén holds Swedish citizenship. She has described herself as simultaneously Finland-Swedish, Finnish, and Swedish, stating: "I am not exclusively a Finland-Swede." Her children, who were born in Finland and with whom she speaks Swedish, have developed a Finland-Swedish linguistic identity.
Honours 2022: Order of the White Rose of Finland, Knight (Chevalier)
Selected publications 2002: Men det var hennes kläder: Nedslag i den samtida svenskspråkiga kvinnolitteraturen, Söderström, Helsinki (in Swedish; co-edited with Rita Paqvalén) 2007: Detta är inte fiktion: 18 nordiska samtidspoeter, Söderström, Helsinki (in Swedish; co-edited with Oscar Rossi) 2008: Tråkboken: Om att bejaka vardagens tristess, Söderström, Helsinki (in Swedish; co-edited with Susanna Sucksdorff) 2008: Replik: Om finlandssvensk teater i samtiden, Söderström, Helsinki (in Swedish; co-edited with Rita Paqvalén)
External links Author profile at Books from Finland Author profile at Teos (in Finnish)
References