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The Benefits Of Being Lost: Rebekka Rafnsdóttir On Writing And Being
Earlier this year, Rebekka Rafnsdóttir received the Bette Howland Prize for Non-Fiction for her essay ‘A Girl on the Hunt.’ Rebekka, who resides in Brooklyn, is a merit-awarded graduate of the New School’s creative writing program. Her work has appeared in NY…
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Lit News: TV Adaption Of ‘The Shroud’ In The Works
Original TV dramas have always struggled in Iceland, largely due to the country’s small viewing market and the limited budget of the local networks. However, after the international success of Scandinavian TV programmes such as ‘The Killing,’ along with the streaming services…
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Get Your Read On : The Perfect Landscape & The Atom Station
Christmas is coming, so here are two more English-translated Icelandic books that we’d recommend as a gift for the Icelandophile in your life. Ragna Sigurðardóttir – The Perfect Landscape A young art historian named Hanna returns to Iceland and takes up a…
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A Life In Reverse: Ragnar Jónasson’s Hulda Series Published By Penguin
This coming March will see the publication of Ragnar Jónasson’s latest thriller in English by publishing house Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Books. Ragnar has already established himself as a major author among the wave of Scandinavian crime writers currently sweeping…
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Get Your Read On: Walking Into The Night & Place Of The Heart
Long winter nights are made for reading. Here are two Icelandic works, both translated into English, to stock up on. Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson – Walking into the Night William Randolph Hearst’s lavish estate, San Simeon, is scrupulously managed by his private butler…
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Lesbian Crime Fiction From Iceland: Lilja Sigurðardóttir’s ‘Snare’
This October, a new Icelandic author launched into the expanding genre of Scandinavian crime fiction available in English. Lilja Sigurðardóttir’s thriller ‘Snare’ is the first in her Reykjavík Noir Trilogy, published by UK-based Oreanda Books, home of fellow crime author Ragnar Jónasson.…
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Get Your Read On: Sjón & Jón Gnarr
A couple of modern classics that you can pick up translated to English at a good Amazon website near you. Jón Gnarr – The Pirate In this second volume of comedian and former mayor of Reykjavík Jón Gnarr’s bleakly hysterical autobiographical writing,…
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The Viking Crimelords: Snorri Kristjánsson Takes Nordic Noir To Strange Places
Next March, Snorri Kristjánsson’s fourth novel, ‘Kin,’ will be released by Jo Fletcher, a UK publisher focusing on works of science fiction and fantasy, and home to several award-winning authors. It’s the start of a new series entitled ‘The Helga Finnsdóttir Mysteries.’…
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The Alchemist Composer: Úlfur Hansson’s Arborescence
When it comes to music, it seems like Úlfur Hansson has tried his hand at just about everything. He has toured with some of Iceland’s foremost musicians, built his own instruments, composed music for the Icelandic Symphonic Orchestra and Kronos Quartet, and…
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Svartfuglinn Takes Flight: Icelandic Crime Fiction Prize Seeks Fresh Voices
This month, a new literary prize named Svartfuglinn (The Auk) was launched in Iceland. The prize is intended for crime fiction by previously unpublished Icelandic authors. Its name is a reference to a 1929 novel by Gunnar Gunnarsson about a notorious 19th…
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Get Your Read On: Reykjavík Nights & Ashes To Dust
On a disgusting, dim, grey, rainy autumn day, what could be better than blasting up the radiator and getting stuck into an English-translated Icelandic novel? Arnaldur Indriðason – Reykjavík Nights Fans of Arnaldur Indriðason will already be familiar with his leading figure,…
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Get Your Read On: Inside Voices, Outside Light & William Morris In Iceland
Reading is good for you. Everyone knows that. Here are some noteworthy Icelandic translations into English. Good luck and godspeed closing your laptop and muting your phone. Inside Voices, Outside Light – Sigurður Pálsson In this collection of poetry, translator Martin S.…
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Found in Translation: Ideas Of Iceland From Across The Globe
On September 11th and 12th, an international conference of translators will be held in Reykjavík at Veröld, the home of the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages. One of the major features of the conference will be the presenting of the National…
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Here We Go Again: Reykjavík’s Literary Festival Returns
The Reykjavík International Literary Festival will be held for the thirteenth time this year, from September 6th—9th at venues all around Reykjavík. The festival has previously hosted big names such as Kurt Vonnegut, Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami and Günter Grass, along with…
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Get Your Read On: 101 Reykjavík & Hildur, Queen of the Elves
Reading in the park is kind of done for this year it seems. But reading with a cup of coffee next to the radiator is just beginning. Here are some English translations of Icelandic books that you could greet the autumn season…
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A Time Of Cranks: ‘Tómas Jónsson: Bestseller’ Finds An Audience In The United States
Last July saw the publication of an Icelandic post-modern classic by Open Letter Books, a small New York based publisher that has previously published the works of Bragi Ólafsson, Kristín Ómarsdóttir and Sölvi Björn Sigurðsson. The novel, Guðbergur Bergsson’s ‘Tómas Jónsson: Bestseller,’…
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Under the Tree at the Venice Film Festival
This past month, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s third feature film, ‘Under the Tree,’ was nominated for the Orizzonte Prize at the esteemed Venice Film Festival. “It’s a category within the festival that is meant to promote a cross section of the latest developments…
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Queer History In 19th Century Iceland: Ólafur Davíðsson’s Diaries
Among the grants awarded this year by Rannís, The Icelandic Centre for Research, is a project by a young classicist named Þorsteinn Vilhjálmsson, who has taken on the task of transcribing the diary of Ólafur Davíðsson. “He was a unique man,” says…
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The Outsiders: Ós Press Tackles The Icelandic Publishing Industry
Despite the rich literary history of Iceland, anyone will tell you that Icelandic publishing is a risky business. It’s no wonder: by nature, any book published in a language spoken by only around 350,000 people already caters to a niche market. To…
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Get Your Read On: The Lodger & Story of the Blue Planet
Feel like running away from work and reading a book under a tree? We feel you, tbh. Here are some English-translated Icelandic books you could choose. Andri Snær Magnason – Story of the Blue Planet This deceptively simple book comes bearing a…
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Puking Robots And Mutated Dinosaurs: Iceland’s Comic Underground
The history of Icelandic comics has many prophets, but a small flock. After an influx of European comics through local publisher Fjölvi in the 1970s, and the translated Marvel and DC comics of the legendary Siglufjarðarprent in the 1980s, something akin to…
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Comets And Trúnó: Moses Hightower On Knowing How To Break The Rules
Moses Hightower might be one of the busiest bands in Reykjavík. As we sit down to talk, lead singer and keyboardist Steingrímur “Steini” Karl Teague is about to embark on a monthlong tour; drummer Magnús “Maggi” Trygvason Eliassen is in more bands…
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A Captive Of The Mind: Transcending The Barriers Of Language With Eunsan Huh
Young writer and illustrator Eunsan Huh already had several languages under her belt when she became infatuated with the Icelandic tongue. Having been born in Korea and raised in Canada, she’d always lived in a multilingual environment, and appreciated the specific qualities…
