Alsterdal, Tove

Swedish author, dramatist and journalist Tove Alsterdal has her roots in Norrbotten and Värmland. Her mother, sociologist and author Elsa Bolin came from Tornedalen, while her father, journalist and embassy press secretary Alvar Alsterdal was from Alster, close to Karlstad. She was born in Malmö, but grew up mainly in Jakobsberg and Umeå. She worked as a mental health nurse for some years before studying Journalism at Kalix Folkhögskola, where she met Liza Marklund in 1984; they became good friends and she has also edited Marklund’s books ever since Marklund’s debut novel Sprängaren (1998).