Sarianna Kankkunen (PhD) is a literary scholar specializing in Finnish contemporary literature. Her postdoctoral project Escapismi – Literary Escapades (Eskapismi – kirjalliset karkumatkat) focuses on the works of Mika Waltari, Kaari Utrio and Laila Hirvisaari (Hietamies).

In 2021 and 2022, Kankkunen worked as a postdoctoral researcher in "Arctic Hysteria – Strange Northern Emotions", a project led by Riikka Rossi. Kankkunen's dissertation Harassing Habitats. Experienced Space in Finnish Contemporary Fiction, A Study on Maarit Verronen (2021) examines literary space in contemporary Finnish prose fiction. She was member of the European PhDnet for Literary and Cultural Studies (2017–2019) and wrote a co-supervised thesis between the University of Helsinki and Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Germany.