Moa Backe Åstot

Moa Backe Åstot (born 1998) is a Swedish Sámi author of young adult literature. She has been awarded the Norrlands litteraturpris and the Slangbellan. Her debut novel, Himlabrand (2021), which follows a gay Sámi teenager navigating his identity and first love, was nominated for the August Prize in the category of Children's and Youth Literature and for the Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize. The novel was later translated into English as Fire From the Sky (2023).

Backe Åstot is Sámi and was born in 1998 in Malmberget, Sweden.^[1] At the age of 17, she won the Lilla Erik Lindegrenpriset for her short story "110 Lydia".^[2] She knows Swedish and Lule Sámi, and studied writing at Jakobsberg Folk High School and Umeå University.^[1] Backe Åstot later moved to Jokkmokk, where her mother is from.^[3] She owns reindeer, but is not a full-time reindeer herder.^[4] In 2018, she won a short story competition for young people sponsored by Sveriges Radio. Her short story, "En liten röd droppe", was about the experiences of a Sámi brother and sister during reindeer calf marking.^[3]

She made her debut in 2021 with the young adult novel Himlabrand, which was published by Rabén & Sjögren. The story follows Ánte, a 16-year-old Sámi boy and reindeer herder who fears the consequences of his homosexuality and develops romantic feelings for his best friend, Erik.^[5] The novel is mostly in Swedish, but also includes some untranslated Lule Sámi dialogue.^[6] It received a positive review from Lydia Wistisen in Dagens Nyheter; she wrote that it was a "brilliant debut" (strålande debut) that captured both social realities of Sámi marginalisation as well as the sincere feelings of first love.^[7] For Himlabrand, Backe Åstot won the Slangbellan, which is a literary prize awarded annually by the Sveriges Författarförbund for debutants in children's and young adult literature. Amanda Lindström of Sveriges Radio described her as the first Sámi author to receive the award.^[8] She also won the Norrlands litteraturpris.^[9] Himlabrand was nominated for the August Prize, in the category of Children's and Youth Literature.^[10] It was also one of three Swedish-language books nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize.^[11] Eva Apelqvist translated the novel into English, which was published as Fire From the Sky.^[12]

In 2023, Backe Åstot was one of four recipients of a Saami Council grant of 200,000 SEK.^[13] The same year, her second young adult novel, Fjärilshjärta, was published. It focused on a girl named Vilda who has Sámi heritage but does not speak the language or fully understand the culture.^[14] Sydsvenskan journalist Shora Esmailian listed it as one of the year's best children's books.^[15] Fjärilshjärta was translated by Agnes Broomé and released with the English title of Butterfly Heart, which was nominated for a Kirkus Prize in the young readers' category.^[16] Backe Åstot's third young adult novel, Det är om dig jag skriver, marked a departure from her previous two; it was a verse novel and not about Sámi culture, rather the plot followed a high school romance. Wistisen praised the second-person narrative and the lack of gender markers for the main characters, which she felt created a sense of intimacy and encouraged reader self-identification. Although characterising the poetry quality as uneven, she concluded the book's style made it a strong candidate for use in classrooms.^[17]

• Backe Åstot, Moa (2021). Himlabrand [Fire From the Sky] (in Swedish). Rabén & Sjögren. ISBN 9789129725575.
• — (2023). Fjärilshjärta [Butterfly Heart] (in Swedish). Rabén & Sjögren. ISBN 9789129741872.
• — (2026). Det är om dig jag skriver [You’re the One I Write About] (in Swedish). Rabén & Sjögren. ISBN 9789129752403.