
Photo: Hugo Thambert
Elaf Ali (b. 1987) was born in Baghdad, Iraq, and moved to Sweden as a four-year-old. She spent her formative years in Kristianstad, but now lives and works in the Swedish capital as a journalist and columnist at the renowned newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. She’s also worked in television, for the Swedish national broadcaster SVT and Swedish Radio.
The autobiographical novel Who Said Anything About Love? is her debut.
Shortlisted for the Storytel Awards (Best YA) Sweden – Vem har sagt något om kärlek? Who Said Anything About Love? | 2023 |
The Carl von Linné Plaque Sweden – Vem har sagt något om kärlek? Who Said Anything About Love? | 2022 |
The Adlibris Award (YA Book of the Year) Sweden – Vem har sagt något om kärlek? Who Said Anything About Love? | 2021 |
Kristianstadsbladet’s Culture and Entertainment Award Sweden – Vem har sagt något om kärlek? Who Said Anything About Love? | 2021 |
Kvist’s scholarship Sweden – Vem har sagt något om kärlek? Who Said Anything About Love? | 2021 |
Slangbellan (Shortlisted for the debutant prize) Sweden – Vem har sagt något om kärlek? Who Said Anything About Love? | 2021 |
The nominees for this year’s Swedish Storytel Awards have been announced. The Storytel Awards have been bestowed since 2007 in Sweden to highlight the best audio books of the year. The awards are granted within six categories: Suspense, Fiction, Non-fiction, Feelgood, YA, and Children’s books.
Among the nominees for suspense are Lars Kepler’s The Spider, Anders de la Motte’s The Mountain King, Kristina Ohlsson’s Dimmed Lights, Anders de la Motte and Måns Nilsson’s Death Goes Antiquing, and Liza Marklund’s The Mire.
The Details by Ia Genberg is featured within the fiction category.
Meanwhile, Anders Hansen and Mats Wänblad’s The Happiness Cure for Teens and Elaf Ali’s Who Said Anything About Love? feature on the YA list, whilst Martin Widmark’s The Masquerade Mystery and Stories from Valleby: The mysterious letter are in the running for the children’s books award.
Readers will be able to vote for their favorite works until February 5, after which a jury will pick a winner among the three candidates with the most votes in each category.
To cast your vote, click “Read more” below.
Elaf Ali (b. 1987) was born in Baghdad, Iraq, and moved to Sweden as a four-year-old. She spent her formative years in Kristianstad, but now lives and works in the Swedish capital as a journalist and columnist at the renowned newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. She’s also worked in television, for the Swedish national broadcaster SVT and Swedish Radio.
Her debut, the autobiographical novel Who Said Anything About Love? is a personal and poignant depiction of a life marked by honor oppression. A direct insight into the rules of conduct and prohibitions that permeated the upbringing of the author, and the memories of a daily oppression that the people who were closest to her exerted. It is also a story about the courage it takes to go one’s own way, and come to terms with one’s parents’ worldview and the history that’s shaped it.