About

Congratulations! You have found one of the many Anu Partanens out there in the world (mainly in Finland).

I am the Anu Partanen who has been a journalist based in New York City for more than a decade. I am the author of The Nordic Theory of Everything, published by HarperCollins. The book debunks some of the most common myths about Nordic societies and discusses what the United States might be able to borrow from aspects of Nordic success in the twenty-first century, in order to help restore the American dream. In recent years I have also written for The New York Times and The Atlantic. In 2009 I worked at Fortune Magazine as a visiting reporter through the Innovation Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University.

I am a U.S. citizen, but I am originally from Finland, and I write all sorts of articles for all sorts of magazines and newspapers in both Finnish and English. I've covered education, politics, technology, culture, and the arts, and have written for Finnish magazines about everything from the latest developments in neuroscience to the effects of Hurricane Sandy to domestic abuse. I've interviewed Andre Agassi, Jonathan Franzen, James Ellroy, Zadie Smith, and numerous Hollywood celebrities (I admit I particularly loved Willem Dafoe).

I also appear frequently on TV and radio, including appearances on CNN, CNBC, Public Radio International, and various local outlets. I've been a regular on-air commentator for the BBC World Service, and currently I appear on live television programs of the Finnish National Broadcasting Company (YLE), including the current-affairs debate show Jälkiviisaat.

For many years I worked as a journalist in Helsinki. My past responsibilities there include working as a staff writer for Helsingin Sanomat, one of the largest daily subscription newspapers in the Nordic region (I held posts at the national news section, the Sunday pages, and the monthly magazine); serving as the managing editor of a monthly general-interest magazine called Image; discussing news trends and current affairs on a live television program called Pressiklubi (Press Club); and teaching magazine writing at Tampere University in Tampere, Finland. I have also written regular columns published in the aforementioned Helsingin Sanomat and Image, in Metro newspaper (Finnish edition), and in the magazine Suomen Kuvalehti, and am now a columnist for Ulkopolitiikka (The Finnish Journal of Foreign Affairs). I have worked as a science communicator at the University of Helsinki and as the director of international communications consulting at Nordic West Office in Helsinki, and am currently a senior adviser at Miltton. I have a master’s degree in social sciences and I have studied for a year both in France and Australia. I am married to the American writer Trevor Corson. If I'm the Anu Partanen you are looking for, please make yourself at home.

Unfortunately, I am none of the Anu Partanens who have: translated foreign literature into Finnish; worked at the Etelä-Saimaa newspaper; taken part in the Pirkanmaa Writing Competition; been involved in the Arto Paasilinna Society (dedicated to a crazy Finnish novelist); worked as the secretary of the Väinö Linna Society (dedicated to a distinguished Finnish novelist); owned a cruise ship called Kristina Katarina; competed in the Suuri seikkailu (The Great Adventure) reality TV series; posted cool stuff on Pinterest; or spent time in Ireland in 1996. If you are trying to find one of these Anu Partanens, I must with regret advise you to move along.

If, on the other hand, you happen to be the Anu Partanen who was some years ago standing in line in front of Vuorikatu 20, Helsinki for the entrance exams of the Faculty of Law at Helsinki University and who is originally from the Kerimäki area, Jukka is looking for you. Please send me a message, and I will forward your contact info to Jukka.

In any case, have a great day!

—Anu