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Britain Surpasses Iceland In Most Book Titles Per Capita
While Iceland may be world famous for their love of books, their long-standing position of publishing the most titles per capita has been overtaken by the UK. A new report (.pdf) from the International Publishers Association (IPA) puts Britain in the top…
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The Book Flood Cometh: Iceland’s ‘Jólabókaflóð’ Arrives Once Again
The Icelandic Yuletide is a time for two things: Reading and eating—and you can only do so much eating. Every year, during the “Jólabókaflóð,” or Christmas book flood, Icelandic publishers release a high volume of new works to fill the shelves just…
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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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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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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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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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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…
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Get Your Read On: Out Of The Blue & The Flatey Enigma
There’s probably at least one sunny day left in this grey Icelandic summer. Here are a few ideas for things you could read while lolling around in the park. Helen Mitsios ed. – Out of the Blue: New Short Fiction from Iceland…
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Running Around In A Brand New Diaper: Steinar Bragi’s Ice Lands
Last year, Steinar Bragi’s fifth novel found its way into the English-speaking world under the title ‘The Ice Lands’. It’s an eerie read that plays around with tropes of the horror genre, although the threats that the characters face are more internal…
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Get Your Read On: Zombie Iceland & Tómas Jónsson, Bestseller
Remember: nobody on their deathbed ever said: “I wish I’d spent more time online.” Guðberger Bergsson – Tómas Jónsson, Bestseller Originally published in 1966, Tómas Jónsson: Bestseller is often seen as having ushered in a new era in Icelandic literature and is…
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Against Perfection: Poet Fríða Ísberg Raises Her Hand
Fríða Ísberg has just received the much-coveted Grassroots Grant from Icelandic Literature Center, an award intended to support new authors in publishing their first book. She also writes for the Times Literary Supplement and works as an editor for local publisher Partus…
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Uncharted Waters: Emil Hjörvar Boldly Goes Where No One Has Gone Before
Emil Hjörvar Petersen published the first book in his Saga of Survivors trilogy in 2010. The trilogy is a sci-fi/fantasy epic that follows the exploits of the old Viking gods that survived Ragnarok, the Asgardian apocalypse. It basically made Emil a one-man…
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Get Your Read On: The Swan & Children In The Reindeer Woods
The latest in our series of English-translated Icelandic books, old and new, looks at ‘The Swan’ and ‘Children in Reindeer Woods’. Guðbergur Bergsson – The Swan In his 1991 classic ‘The Swan’, Guðbergur Bergsson immerses himself in the perspective of a child—a…
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Bergur Ebbi Benediktsson’s Top 8 Books
Bergur Ebbi is a writer and comedian. He is the author of stage plays and poetry and his latest book, ‘Stofuhiti’, out in April, is an aesthetic essay about personal identity in the age of social media and hyperconnectivity. I only chose…