Over the next three years, the Natur och Kultur Foundation will be financing the fiction initiative under the name SSE Literary Agenda. This is a bilingual initiative open to all students at the Stockholm School of Economics, regardless of the program they are enrolled on. An Advisory Board has been appointed to select the works of fiction that the students will be encouraged to read. This group consists of publisher Eva Bonnier, publisher Nina Eidem, author Elise Karlsson, author Cilla Nauman, partner for McKinsey & Co Sweden Mikael Robertson, cultural journalist Maria Schottenius, and the President of the Stockholm School of Economics Lars Strannegård.

“We hope literature will be able to open other worlds for students, helping them see circumstances from other people’s perspectives. Future leaders will need this empathy and capacity for reflection,” says Lars Strannegård, President of the Stockholm School of Economics.

Within the framework of SSE Literary Agenda, researchers from the Stockholm School of Economics and representatives of McKinsey & Co will conduct literary discussions with students and invite currently active writers of fiction to participate in public discussions. Approved students will receive a certificate from the Stockholm School of Economics in partnership with McKinsey & Co, which is also co-financing the initiative.

During the first year, students will read works of fiction by authors Johannes Anyuru, Kerstin Ekman, Mohsin Hamid, Theodor Kallifatides, Han Kang, Sofi Oksanen and Julie Otsuka. The selection has been based on criteria of literary quality, readability and relevance.

SSE Literary Agenda is led by Ph.D. Erik Wikberg, who is currently researching the effects of digitization on the Swedish book market.

“I am convinced that this selection of books will give students reading experiences that they will take with them for a long time. This is literature on the human experience that conveys joy, consolation, wisdom and courage to readers,” says Erik Wikberg.

For further information, please contact:

Lars Strannegård, President of the Stockholm School of Economics
+46 70 811 7573, lars.strannegard@hhs.se

Erik Wikberg, responsible for SSE Literary Agenda
+46 70 427 90 20, erik.wikberg@hhs.se