Reykjavík Gets Lit

The Reykjavík International Literary Festival turns 40

Although Iceland may be best known internationally for its dramatic and alien landscapes, locals and well-informed visitors know that the country punches above its weight when it comes to culture. This is evident in the seemingly endless cycle of festivals celebrating arts and culture in many forms.

The Iceland Airwaves music festival may be the most notable for showcasing Iceland’s thriving music scene alongside international artists both up-and-coming and world-renowned, but many other spring to mind: Reykjavík International Film Festival, Design March, Reykjavík Pride, and Menningarnótt, to name a few. One festival that may have flown under your radar, however, is the Reykjavík International Literary Festival (RILF).

40 years of literature

Known as Bókmenntahátið in Icelandic, RILF brings a lineup of international writers to Reykjavík to connect with local writers and readers through panel discussions, readings, workshops and all things literary. It was founded in 1984, held its first event in 1985, and eventually shifted to a biannual schedule falling on odd years. This year will be its 40th anniversary, making it one of the oldest festivals in Iceland – second only to Reykjavík Arts Festival.

RILF was one of Reykjavík’s many literary qualifications when it was selected as the fifth city to be added to UNESCO’s City of Literature program in 2011. The festival has hosted some of the biggest names in literature over the years, including Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in 2021 and Han Kang in 2017. The South Korean novelist went on to win the Nobel Prize just last year.

In 2019, the festival also began to award the Halldór Laxness International Literary Prize to international authors who have “contributed to the renewal of the narrative tradition” in honour of Iceland’s Nobel Prize-winner. It has been awarded to Ian McEwan, Elif Shafak, Andrey Kurkov, and, most recently in 2024, Salman Rushdie. The award ceremony coincided with the publication of the Icelandic translation of his most recent memoir, Knife, which recounts the assassination attempt on the controversial novelist at a New York event in 2022. Salman received a standing ovation for his humble and compassionate perspective on the series of events.

To Iceland

One of the stars of this year is Anne Carson, the Canadian poet who has recently become a kind of national treasure in Iceland. She began her career as a scholar and translator of ancient Greek, publishing poetry and essays along the way. She rose to fame in 1998 with the publication of her bestselling novel-in-verse Autobiography of Red and has remained at the forefront of English-language poetry ever since, publishing dozens more books of poetry, essays, and translations.

Her connection to Iceland was first made in 2009 with a six-month residence at The Library of Water, the installation of American artist Roni Horn in Stykkishólmur. She has since returned regularly for readings, performances and even published two chapbooks with the elusive small press Tunglið, who only publish books on the full moon and burn any copies left unsold. Anne recently became an official resident of Iceland, calling Reykjavík her part-time home and making her one of this year’s local headlining authors.

From the world

The theme of this year’s festival is Home and Away. While some of the participating authors hail from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy, many come from immigrant backgrounds with roots spreading all around the world. Writers like the Tanzanian-born British novelist and Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah ruthlessly examine the results of colonialism and migration; others, like Ireland’s lauded author Claire Keegan, capture the universality of the mundane regardless of its setting.

While most of the Icelandic authors hadn’t been confirmed at the time of this writing (hey, þetta reddast), some of this year’s local talent also comes from beyond Iceland. In addition to Anne Carson, both the best-selling Finnish crime novelist Satu Rämö and the Norwegian poet Knut Ødegård, one of the original founders of RILF, are also longtime residents of Iceland.

The other Nordic countries are especially well represented this year. More than half of the lineup hails from Scandinavia, Finland, and Greenland, including the Inuk-Danish artist Kuluk Helms and the Norwegian author of narrative non-fiction Erika Fatland.

One of the Reykjavík International Literary Festival’s foundational philosophies is that literature is for everyone. Because of this, all of its events are free to attend and open to all. It takes place across multiple venues in the city, with special attention paid to accessibility and live-streaming options. Add that to the fact that it only happens once every two years, and you have no choice but to get up, get out, and get lit.

The 2025 festival is currently in full swing and has events through April 27. Check out the full lineup of authors and the program at bokmenntahatid.is/en/program/.