MARIA BOURONCLE was born in 1965 in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. She has lived in Washington, DC since 2002. An economist by profession, Maria – who spent over 25 years in the field of international development – published her first book in 2018, and subsequently decided to pursue her passion for writing professionally. Her work has been translated into several languages and is required reading in the Scandinavian program at UCLA and the University of Michigan.
LITERARY AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Eckerö Post and Customs House, Finland, July 2026
Finlandia Foundation, Pasadena, CA, May 2025
The Donner Residence, Helsinki, March 2025
Ariane Wahlgren’s House, Athens, January 2025
American Scandinavian Association,
Washington, D.C. 2024
Tore G. Wärenstam Foundation, Borås 2023
Swedish Authors’ Fund 2022
Folke Tengeland Cultural Award 2022
AIR Literature, Villa Martinson, Jonsered,
December 2021
Hagstad, the home of Artur Lundkvist, Oderljunga, August 2021
The school of Harry Martinson, Alltidshult,
September 2020
Lilla Björka, the home of Elin Wägner, Berg,
May 2019
During the spring of 2026, Maria was a writer in residence at the University of Michigan. While in Ann Arbor, she also taught Swedish literature and creative writing.
In the spring of 2024, Maria was a guest writer for the introductory course in creative writing at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Maria serves on the board of the Swedish–American Historical Society (SAHS) at North Park University in Chicago. Founded in 1948, SAHS is a nonprofit organization that documents and interprets the Swedish presence in America, from emigration history to culture, research, publications, and archives.