Anni Swan's mother Emilia Malin was a literature enthusiast and taught all of her nine daughters to read fairy tales and narratives at an early age.

Swan went to an all-girls school in Mikkeli and graduated in 1895 from Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu.

Her first book for young adults, which was partly based on her father's recollections, was Tottisalmen perillinen ("The Heir of Tottisalmi"), published in 1917.

Often the protagonist is experiencing challenges when suddenly meeting people of higher or lower social class.

[2][3] Every 3 years, since 1961, an award named after her called the Anni Swan -mitali, has been given to a distinctive young-adult fiction of high quality, published in Finland and written in either Finnish or Swedish.