Sally Franson, author of Big in Sweden
Genre Fiction Category, sponsored by Macalester College
Each week leading up to the 37th annual Minnesota Book Awards, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their fellow category finalists here.
What inspired you to write this book – or inspired you while writing it?
I was inspired to write Big in Sweden while filming an actual reality TV show in Sweden called Allt for Sverige, which tracks Americans with Swedish heritage discovering their ancestry and Swedish culture. Pretty early on into filming the show I thought, “you know, this would be a funny milieu for a novel,” but it wasn’t until I had finished filming that I realized I had the soul of a novel in my hands, not just a funny milieu. Doing a reality TV show opened up my eyes and my heart in ways I never could have imagined – both grew three sizes – and I really wanted to share that experience with readers…and of course make them laugh too.
What is one detail you wanted to include in this book, but couldn’t find a place for?
In an earlier draft, there was a whole chapter dedicated to Swedish-American communities here in Minnesota – specifically Dalbo, where my family settled and lived for a couple generations before migrating to the Cities. I had all these big questions I wanted to explore about how to integrate a sense of heritage with daily life, including how to expand one’s idea of family to include distant relatives uncovered through genealogical research, but my editors (who are great) were like “um, Sally, the book is already long and this has nothing to do with the plot” so we cut it out. SORRY, DALBO!
Tell us about someone (whose name isn’t on the cover!) who proved instrumental to the creation of this book.
Without my husband, the poet Ben Voigt, Big in Sweden would not exist. Not only did he take care of our house and dog (and my email) while I filmed a reality show in Sweden for five weeks, but he also accompanied me on a research trip to the Arctic Circle, watched our baby daughter for hours while I did copyedits, and did the work of five support staff, including AV tech and nanny, while I was busy with events last summer. The book is dedicated to him, and my love for him suffuses every page.
Please tell us something about yourself that is not widely known. (It doesn’t have to be about the book in question – or even about your writing at all!)
This might be semi-known since I wrote a piece about it in Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, but I’ve attended clown school TWICE and was doing a virtual intensive with the renowned teacher Christopher Bayes while drafting Big in Sweden. I was – and still am – obsessed with creating laughter that connects rather than separates us, that’s rooted in vulnerability, and I learned so much from Chris during my training that he’s in the acknowledgements of the book.
Share your thoughts about the role and value of libraries.
All my life, libraries have been an escape and a lifeline. They’re the portal to wider worlds outside our limited context and a conduit to not only knowledge but a deeper kind of awakening. Now that I’m a mother, I’m also aware that libraries are a precious “third space” for various community members, including caregivers with small children. I’m at the Washburn Library in South Minneapolis at least twice a week with my daughter, who loves to be there at least as much as I do. For her it’s part bookshelf, part play zone, and part neighborhood chit-chat hub. It brings me joy to see her so at home in the library, which is exactly how I’ve felt my whole life.
Sally Franson grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and was educated at Barnard College and the University of Minnesota. She is also the author of A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Best American Travel Writing, and on NPR, among other places.