Books from Iceland 2022

Literature Center

Icelandic

06–17 18–22 24–28 29–33 34–35 36–37

Fiction Children & YA Crime fiction Non-fiction Icelandic nominations for the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2!22 Icelandic Literature Prizes

Content

Icelandic Literature Center

promotes Icelandic literature abroad 2

The Mark Merking

The King and The Clockmaker Sigurverkið

Allir fuglar fljúga í ljósið All Birds Fly into the Light

Sixty Kilos of Knockouts Sextíu kíló af kjaftshöggum

Boudoir Dyngja

Kolbein Island Kolbeinsey

Counting to A Million Að telja upp í milljón

Heavy Clouds Þung ský

Lost and Found Artefacts Óskilamunir

The Warmth of the Wax Museum Hitinn á vaxmyndasafninu

S T O L

S T O L

BJÖRN HALLDÓRSSON

Borg bróður míns The City of my Brother

Route One Stol

3

Rán Flygenring Do Not Destroy!

Bannað að eyðileggja!

Strong Sterk

Fífa Finnsdóttir Witches’ Brew – Weird Mountain #1 Furðufjall: Nornaseiður #1

Akam, Annika and I Akam, ég og Annika

Sigmundur Breiðfjörð Inferno of Time Bál tímans

I See You Lok, lok og læs

Kopernika Kópernika

White as Snow Náhvít jörð

celand has always been a land of stories and storytelling is probably our most important cultural tradition. Plenty of its

places have enthralling tales to tell, which in turn have inspired novels, poems and art of all kinds. This book is a round trip

around the country, with thirty stops at such places along the

way. Some relate to authors or works of literature, others to folk

tales or historical events. It doesn’t hurt, either, that they are often set in spectacular locations, as shown in the book with new photos

from all the settings. Where a rich cultural legacy and awe-inspir-

HALLDÓR GUÐMUNDSSON

HALLDÓR GUÐMUNDSSON

I

ing nature join together – or come into conflict – the stories that

DAGUR GUNNARSSON has photographed the locations.

HALLDÓR GUÐMUNDSSON

is a writer living in Reykjavík. His biography of Halldór Laxness, which was also published in English, received the Icelandic Literary Prize in 2004.

Land of Stories

emerge are often magical.

Land of Stories A literary journey around Iceland

9 789979 345138

Slowly and Silently to Hell Hægt og hljótt til helvítis

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Deceit Launsátur

Dagur Gunnarsson Land of Stories – A Literary Journey Around Iceland Sagnalandið

Kvár – What is Being Non-Binary?

Kvár – Hvað er að vera kynsegin?

Reykjavík Poetics – Essays by 14 Icelandic authors Póetík í Reykjavík – Erindi 14 höfunda

The Farm Burns – The Last Execution in Iceland Bærinn brennur – Síðasta aftakan á Íslandi

Vatnajökull National Park Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður

A selection of new Icelandic fiction, non-fiction, crime, children’s & YA and awarded titles 5

Fríða Ísberg

The Mark Merking

The Mark is a polyphonic novel set in Reykjavík in the near-future, a society divided by a development in social technology – a diagnostic tool called The Empathy Test that measures compassion or amorality. In less than two months, a national referendum will determine whether ‘marking’ will become compulsory. Four main characters face dilemmas around their agency and autonomy while navigating everyday desires and duties, and the dawn of irreversible changes in healthcare ethics, socioeconomic stability and the cultural fabric lay bare the balance of their loyalties and conflicts. A novel exploring partisanship and polarization, prejudice and empathy, The Mark heralds the impactful, fulllength debut from one of Iceland’s most exciting young authorial voices.

English sample translation available foreign rights RCW Literary Agency Laurence Laluyaux l.laluyaux@rcwlitagency.com sold to Publishing), Brazil (Fosforo) Denmark (Gyldendal), Faroe France (Laffont), Germany (Hoffmann und Campe), Hungary

UK & Commonwealth (Faber & Faber)

Fríða Ísberg (b. 1992) is an Icelandic author based in Reykjavík and has published the short story collection Kláði (Itch) and the poetry collections Slitförin (Stretch Marks) and Leðurjakkaveður (Leather Jacket Weather). Her work has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize, The Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize and won the Icelandic Booksellers’ Prize for Poetry.

Fríða is a member of the Icelandic poetry collective Svikaskáld and she occasionally writes reviews for The TLS. The Mark is her first novel.

previous titles sold to Denmark (Torgard), Hungary (Polar Konyvek), Poland (Artur Burszta Biuro Literackie), Ukraine (Vydavnytstvo) • • • • • •

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Fiction

awards & nominations Women’s Literature Prize Award for Fiction by the President of Iceland Council Literature Prize Award for the Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize

Arnaldur Indriðason

The King and The Clockmaker Sigurverkið

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is sold to France (Éditions Métailié), Denmark (Gyldendal) previous titles sold to Abu Dhabi (Thaqafa), Armenia (Guitank), Basque Country (Alberdania), Brazil (Editora Record), Bulgaria (Infodar), Catalonia (La

Arnaldur Indriðason treads a new path with an intriguing story based on actual events and characters. A compelling human drama in a remarkable narrative that is unique among the author’s works.

The King and the Clockmaker is set in the 18th century in both the southern part of the Westfjords in Iceland and in Copenhagen. It tells a complex and tragic story in a powerful and moving exposition of the bitter fates of Icelandic commoners and the authority to which they are subject.

Croatia (Knjige i sve), Denmark Ethiopia (Qirtas), Faroe Islands (Sprotin), Finland (Blue Moon), France/Switzerland/Luxembourg/ Canada (Métailié), Georgia (Palitra), Germany/Switzerland/Austria (Verlagsgruppe Lübbe), Greece/ Cyprus (Metaixmio), Hungary (Animus), Israel (Keter), Italy (Ugo Guanda), Japan (Tokyo Sogensha Co), Korea (Younglim Cardinal Inc.), Latvia (Apgards Mansards), Lebanon (Media Incognito), Macedonia (TRI Publishing Centre), Macedonia/ (Cappelen Damm), Persia (Ghatreh), Poland (Foksal), Portugal (Livraria Civilizaçao Editora), Romania (Trei), Russia (Corpus), Serbia (Booka), Slovenia (Didakta), Spain/Andorra/ South and Central America/USA Luxembourg (Volt), Taiwan (Crown), Thailand (Pearl), Turkey (Dogan), UK/

Arnaldur Indriðason (b. 1961) has the rare distinction of having won the Nordic Crime Novel Prize two years running. He is also the winner of the highly respected and world famous CWA Gold Dagger Award for the top crime novel of the year in the English language, Silence of the Grave.

Indridason’s novels have sold over 13 million copies worldwide, in 40 languages, and have won numerous well-respected prizes and received rave reviews all over the world.

(Random House/Harvill Secker), USA /Philippines (St. Martin’s Press/ Thomas Dunne Books), Vietnam (Alphabooks) • • • •

Literature Prize of Honour, Poland

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Fiction

awards & nominations

du Point de Elle Award

7

Auður Jónsdóttir

Allir fuglar fljúga í ljósið All Birds Fly into the Light

Björt is a wanderer, always on the outside, she mainly travels between places in Reykjavík, observes people and records what she sees. She rents a room in a shabby house with other people at a similar point in life and has a rigid routine.

Everything is in place – until she meets Ólöf Brá… and subsequently receives a letter from her. Then, existence disintegrates and a story erupts; a friendship with Vera, toxic relationships with Steingrímur and Hálfdán – gradually an incredible and dramatic life is revealed.

Auður Jónsdóttir’s (b. 1973) books have garnered attention both at home and abroad for their rare blend of heartfelt sincerity and biting humor.

Her last novel, Grand Mal was nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize, an award she won for The People in the Basement. Her previous novel, Secretaries to the Spirits, won the Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize and was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. As with her other work, Auður seeks inspiration from her own experiences and writes with boldness and originality.

Several of her works has been adapted to film and theatre.

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Fiction

English sample translation available foreign rights Immaterial Agents Chiara Toniolo chirara@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no

previous titles sold to Denmark (Tiderne skifter), Germany/Switzerland/Austria (btb Random House), Hungary (Gondolat Kiado), Lithuania

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awards & nominations Prize Literature Prize

Literary Prize

Hallgrímur Helgason

Sixty Kilos of Knockouts Sextíu kíló af kjaftshöggum

The stand-alone sequel to the award-winning novel Sixty Kilos of Sunshine. With this book Hallgrímur Helgason continues to portray the peculiar journey of Icelanders from dank turf huts to electrified living rooms. The reader is whisked away into a dance on the herring pier under a churning rhythm that echoes in the mind long after the book is closed, as Helgason has, yet again, managed to create a spectacular work of art from the fate of the working poor at the outermost shores of the civilized world. Like a Norwegian herring captain, Hallgrímur Helgason has discovered a gold mine where his relentless knack for fable making and his eye for the comical find deeper meaning than usual.

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is sold to Lithuania (Alma littera), Russia (Gorodets) previous titles sold to (Meandar Media), Czech Republic (Albatros), Denmark (Lindhardt & France (Actes Sud/Gallimard/ Cotta), Hungary (Scolar Kiado), Italy (Longanesi/Mondadori/Guanda), Rapa), Lithuania (Alma Litera), The (Cappelen Damm), Macedonia Romania (Art Grup Editorial/ Universal Dalsi), Russia (Gorodets/ Azbooka/Corpus Books), Serbia

Hallgrímur Helgason (b. 1959) is an Icelandic painter, novelist, translator, and columnist.

His first novel was published in 1990 and he came to international fame with his third novel, 101 Reykjavík, which was translated into fourteen languages and made into a film. A father of four, he divides his time between Reykjavík and the island of Hrísey. Hallgrímur is a three-time winner of the Icelandic Literary Prize for The Author of Iceland in 2001, Sixty Kilos of Sunshine in 2019 and Sixty Kilos of Knockouts in 2021. www.hallgrimurhelgason.com

US (Algonquin/Amazon Crossing/ Simon & Schuster) • • • • • • •

Fiction

awards & nominations The Icelandic Literary Prize Translators’ Prize The Icelandic Literary Prize Prize City Artist Prize

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Sigrún Pálsdóttir

Boudoir Dyngja

Flight attendant Teddy gets into a little dispute with a passenger on her last flight at the end of a 35-year career. To regain composure she escapes to the lavatory, but just before she is ready to come out from there the plane loses altitude and she is thrown to the floor where she lies motionless, unable to do much of anything besides listening to the commotion and distress coming from the other side of the door.

Herewith begins the story of this woman’s life and all that hides behind the rigid definitions of her profession. Underneath the uniform and silk scarf, the sun-kissed complexion, the red nail polish and the costume jewelry is an astonishing story. It begins in the mid-20th century at a small farm at the edge of the Ódáðahrun lava field and gradually reaches into the country’s highlands.

And from there out into space and eventually to the moon.

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is

previous titles sold to Croatia (Vukovic & Runjic),

Sigrún Pálsdóttir completed a Ph.D in the History of Ideas at Oxford University in 2001, after which she was a research fellow and lecturer at the University of Iceland. Since 2007 she has worked freelance as a writer and editor. Her books have been nominated for The Icelandic Literary Prize, Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize, The Hagþenkir Non-fiction Prize and The DV Culture Prize. Her book Uncertain Seas was chosen the best biography in 2013 by booksellers in Iceland.

Pálsdóttir’s novel, Embroidery, is the Icelandic winner of the European Union Prize for Literature 2021.

Macedonia (Antolog), Serbia (Treci Trg), France (Éditions Letter) • • • • • • •

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Fiction

awards & nominations Women’s Literature Prize European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) Cultural Prize Booksellers’ Literary Prize

Icelandic Literary Prize Icelandic Booksellers’ Prize

Bergsveinn Birgisson

Kolbein Island Kolbeinsey

A man decides to visit his depressed friend who is admitted to a psychiatric ward. They start talking to each other and pick up their friendship again but are constantly interrupted by the nurse in charge. The friends decide to flee from the hospital together, but it soon turns out that they are being persecuted by the angry nurse. It develops into a fierce chase that ends with them overpowering the woman and traveling on with her tied up in the back of the car.

The escape from civilization is becoming increasingly challenging, and the two friends must seek refuge in remote areas in order to remain together. They set course for the outermost island in the north that belongs to Iceland – Kolbeinsey – constantly with the aggressive nurse as a travel companion.

Bjartur (in Iceland) Vigmostad & Bjørke English sample translation available foreign rights Immaterial Agents Chiara Toniolo chiara@immaterial.no sold to Austria/World German (Residenz), Denmark (Gyldendal), France

previous titles sold to Azerbaijan (Alatoran), Brazil (Globo), Columbia (Poklonka editors), Czech Republic (Albatros Media), Denmark (C&K/ Gyldendal), Egypt (Al Arabi Publishers), Estonia (Varrak), Rivages), Germany (Residenz Verlag), Hungary (Lira/Corvina), Israel (Lesa Press), Italy (Bompiani/ Iperborea), Lithuania (Gelmes/

Bergsveinn Birgisson holds a doctorate in Norse philology and has an expansive background in folklore, oral histories, and lyrical poetry.

Birgisson is also happy having learnt about the cultural institution a sheep farm represents.

A true researcher at heart, Birgisson has spent his life studying language and how it represents the truth of the human condition. He currently resides in Bergen, Norway, where he continues to write classical tales. Birgisson’s work has been widely recognized through prestigious awards and nominations.

Fiction

Forlag/Vigmostad & Bjørke), Russia (Eksmo/Gorodets), Spain (Lumen), Sweden (Bazar Förlag), Turkey (Palto) • • •

awards & nominations University of Bergen Booksellers’ award for

• • • • Prix Amphi, France • Prix du Cercle de l’Union Interalliée • •

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Anna Hafþórsdóttir

Counting to A Million Að telja upp í milljón

A stirring novel about the complexity of family relationships, trauma and the absence of communication, but also about love and life.

On the day her boyfriend leaves her, Rakel’s world is turned upside down. The news comes as a shock for Rakel having grown up in difficult circumstances and now being estranged from her family and with few friends. But just before she completely goes to pieces, she gets a surprise visit.

Anna Hafþórsdóttir (b. 1988) works as an actress and scriptwriter. Counting to a Million is her first novel after having published short stories and poetry. The novel was one of two books that won Forlagið’s New Voices manuscript competition in 2021.

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Fiction

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is

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awards & nominations Voices manuscript contest

Einar Kárason

Heavy Clouds Þung ský

A strange boy in a remote town is obsessed with everything that flies; first the birds in the air, then the large steel birds that he increasingly sees over his homelands. On a heavy spring day, he stands on the shore below the town when a large passenger plane appears out of a thick cloud. The people in the windows are waving. Later that day it is reported that the plane is missing. Farmers set off by boat to search for the plane and the boy goes with them. In a nearby fjord, debris has been spotted in the mountains and a search party goes ashore and ventures up the steep slope, the boy leading, quick on his feet. What he finds at the edge of the ridge is indescribable. But there is one little light of life that he must not let go out.

The spellbinding story of a devastating flight accident by the far North Sea, a fateful rescue mission, and its effects on the people who take part.

Einar Kárason (b. 1955) is a novelist and one of the most popular author and scriptwriter of his generation; best known for his Devils’ Isle trilogy.

Kárason set a new tone in Storm Birds, released in 2018, which enjoyed great success. The Sunday Times named it the best translated fiction of the year 2020, and it won a prestigious Swedish translation award in 2019. In Heavy Clouds Kárason follows a similar historical path, loosely based on true events.

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is sold to Sweden (Thorén & Lindskog)

previous titles sold to World English (MacLehose Press), Brazil (Intrínseca), China (China Booky), Czech Republic (Albatros), Egypt (Al Arabi), Faroe Islands (Sprotin), Finland (Aviador), France (Grasset), Germany (RandomHouse/btb), Hungary (Magvetö), Israel (Lesa), Italy (Einaudi Editore), Macedonia (Artkonekt) Sweden (Thorén & Lindskog AB) • • • • • • •

Fiction

awards & nominations Books, Fiction in translation, by Financial Times Translation category of Sunday Times’ overall selection International Literature Prize, Sweden

Icelandic Literary Prize

13

Kristín Ómarsdóttir

Borg bróður míns The City of my Brother

If you knit me a sweater with diagonal yellow stripes (or voices) under red stars (or a pond) in a light blue sky, I promise not to go out so much at night… This sentence is not to be found here, it just hangs in the air, like the words that were plucked into this book – while worlds lay in a covid daze? This is a collection of stories – snapshots – screenshots – fragments – that K (wrote and) collected.

Borg bróður míns contains scenes and fragments that all take place in an unknown city, where reality and the magical meet in familiar and unfamiliar places. Ómarsdóttir writes about a city where love, death, fate, the otherness of existence, and above all sorrow and grief coexist in a surreal way.

Kristín Ómarsdóttir was born in Reykjavík in 1962.

She has received numerous awards for her work.

The novel My love, I die was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 1999 and her play, Love Story 3, for the Nordic Playwrights’ Prize.

In 2005 she received the Grímuverðlaun as playwright of the year for her play Tell me everything.

For the book of poems See your beauty she received the 2008 Fjöruverðlaunin (Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize). She has also received numerous nominations for the Icelandic Literature Prize, most recently for her novel Milla (2012) and the book of poems Spiders in Display Windows (2017), which also won the Maístjarnan Award and was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize.

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Fiction

English sample translation available foreign rights ICM Partners Anna Stein anna.stein@icmpartners.com

previous titles sold to Denmark (Jensen & Dalgaard), Finland (Like), France (Le Cavalier Bleu), Spain (Rinocenontre Editora) Sweden (Bokförlaget Faethon, Kabusa Böcker, Anamma), UK (Partus Forlag),

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awards & nominations

for the Icelandic Literary Prize Literature Prize Prize, playwright of the year Council Drama Prize

Björn Halldórsson

Route One Stol

S T O L

S T O L BJÖRN HALLDÓRSSON

Baddi is an aimless young man who returns home to Iceland to care for his terminally ill father, Hörður. A tumor has robbed him of almost everything he once took for granted and father and son now find their roles reversed. Together, they drive out of Reykjavík in an old Suzuki jeep, but their trip is beset with troubles from the start.

Hörður is quickly losing his faculties, his memory, and his language, and Baddi is ill-prepared for the circumstances and the responsibility he bears for his helpless father.

This heartfelt, engaging and yet gently humorous narrative shines a light on a dysfunctional parent-child relationship and one son’s struggle to cope with an impossible situation – and say goodbye to his father.

A compelling story about life and death, about the struggle to hold onto memories and make the most of time when time is quickly running out.

Björn Halldórsson was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1983. He studied English and American Literature at the University of East-Anglia in Norwich and has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. During his studies in Glasgow, he taught creative writing seminars at the university and took part in the city’s literature festival, AyeWrite! His short stories have been published by literary journals in Iceland and Scotland and have also appeared in translation in English, German, Italian and Hebrew. Björn’s first book, a short story collection titled Smáglæpir (Misdemeanours), was published in 2017. It won the Icelandic Literature Center’s Grassroots Grant.

Fiction

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is

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awards & nominations Grassroot Grant

15

Eva Rún Snorradóttir

Lost and Found Artefacts Óskilamunir

I have a hard time concentrating on the lecture because I have yet to respond to her message.

Constantly thinking of potential scenarios for a tasteful flirtation between female colleagues in their forties and fifties. The hall isn’t full and that’s why there is more pressure on those of us who showed up to pay attention to the artists. It’s a foreign heterosexual couple delivering a PowerPoint presentation on their work. She leads the talk, speaking rather monotonously about their third and latest work: a performance that lasted for three days and revolved around allowing themselves to be in a bad mood. I’m not managing to hold my concentration, but I gather that people have come to their home for coffee and got to experience her in a bad mood.

Lost and Found Artefacts – stories about love that is found and lost, how we are shaped by pain, about all the things that break, but not least the fragments that no-one comes to claim. How we search with a faint light for a way through this perpetual masquerade called life.

Stories that break down old and outdated sanctuaries and explore new paths in 21st Century literature.

Eva Rún Snorradóttir is a self-employed performing artist and poet. For years she has worked with the performing arts groups Kviss búmm bang and 16 lovers.

Eva Rún has published three books of poetry: The apocalypse follows you all your life, A Plug in the sky and Seeds fertilize the dark – which was published in 2018 and won the Maístjarnan poetry book award. Lost and Found Artefacts is Eva Rún’s first novel.

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Fiction

English and Swedish sample translations available foreign rights Benedikt Publishing Guðrún Vilmundardóttir gv@benedikt.is benedikt.is

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awards & nominations Award

Ísak Harðarson

The Warmth of the Wax Museum Hitinn á vaxmyndasafninu

The Warmth of the Wax Museum contains clever, vivacious and concise stories from our present society – sharp and memorable stories about human existence and the ever-long search for truth and happiness.

Modern miracles aren’t always spectacular; sometimes it’s just an unexpected turn of events, or an unexplained incident, that shines a brand new light on the past, present, and future. Ordinary circumstances suddenly turn into a dream-like adventure and characters find new perspectives that turn their lives upside-down; a different point of view changes everything.

Ísak Harðarson (b. 1956) attended the Iceland Teachers’ Training College as well as studying Icelandic language at the University of Iceland.

In 1982 Harðarson was awarded a prize for his first book of poetry Þriggja orða nafn (A Three-Word Name). Many more books of poems followed, along with a collection of short stories, a novel and a memoir. He has been awarded a prize from the Icelandic State Radio Writers’ Fund; in 2011 his tenth poetry book Rennur upp um nótt (Sunrise at Night), published in 2009, was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize.

Fiction

Short stories

foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is

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awards & nominations Council Literature Prize Award

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Gunnar Helgason Rán Flygenring

text

illustrations

Do Not Destroy!

Bannað að eyðileggja!

There’s lots that Alexander Daniel Hermann Dawidsson has: a terrific dad who works way too much, loads of alarm clocks to keep him on track, a good head for maths as long as he can use blocks, a mean teacher who won’t let him use blocks, a great friend nicknamed Pacman and fantastic feet for scoring soccer goals!

But Alexander Daniel Hermann Dawidsson doesn’t have: an easy time remembering to show up for soccer practice, a mom he gets to see, or cool shoes.

He also has ADHD, which is just fine as long as everything else is just fine. But this is a story about when nothing at all goes just fine!

Gunnar Helgason is one of Iceland’s most popular children’s authors and has won several awards for his books. Alexander Daniel Hermann Dawidsson isn’t a real person, but maybe you know someone like him? Or maybe he’s a little like… YOU?

Gunnar Helgason (b. 1965) is a popular actor and well known for all kinds of entertaining material for children which has enjoyed great popularity for many years. In the past few years Helgason has published several extremely popular children’s books, including the five-part series about Stella and her family. Gunnar Helgason is nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2022.

Rán Flygenring (b. 1987) is an awardwinning illustrator and graphic designer. She has published books both in Iceland and Germany, She has been nominated for the German Academy of Children’s and Youth Literature Illustration prize Serafina and the ALMA prize.

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is

previous titles sold to Denmark (Turbine), Korea (Woorischool), Macedonia (Antolog) • • • • • • •

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Children & YA

awards & nominations Lindgren Memorial Award Book Prize Books for Young People with Disabilities Selection

Literary Prize Prize

Margrét Tryggvadóttir

Strong Sterk

Birta shares a rundown basement apartment with complete strangers, a life she has chosen rather than living in her hometown, which she left behind after coming out as trans at a little party with family and friends. But then the woman in the next room vanishes without a trace and then another woman as well. Who are these women and what has become of them? And what is going on with Jóhanna, her old classmate? Does she have a crush on Birta? Does she even realize who Birta is?

An exciting book, written in the Nordic Noir tradition and touching on important social issues.

YA Fiction

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is

previous titles sold to Italy (Il gioco di leggere Edizioni)

Margrét Tryggvadóttir (b. 1972) is a literary scholar with a master’s degree in cultural management and a former member of parliament, but her true passion is writing for young people. Her book Kjarval – The Painter Who Followed His Own Path was awarded the Reykjavík Children’s Literature Prize, her books Here is Iceland! and Let’s Look at Art were awarded the The Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize, while The Story of the Pretty Princess and Her Brave Prince received the Icelandic Children’s Literature Prize.

• • •

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Children & YA

awards & nominations Children and Young People’s Literary Prize Book of the Year Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize Icelandic Literary Prize illustrations Icelandic Literature Prize Reykjavík Children‘s Literature Prize Reykjavík Children‘s Literature Prize

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Gunnar Theódór Eggertsson Fífa Finnsdóttir

text

illustrations

Witches’ Brew – Weird Mountain #1 Furðufjall: Nornaseiður #1 Ima is not happy with her life. She gets stuck with all the worst chores on the island while her sister gets to learn magic from the witches! Andreas is learning to be a blacksmith from his father on the mainland but dreams of becoming a knight and all the heroic adventure it entails. Fate has something else in store for both of them, however, and soon a series of surprising and terrifying events turn their lives upside down.

Witches’ Brew is the first book in a brand new and thrilling fantasy series for children and young adults with a story that includes rich illustrations.

Gunnar Th Eggertsson (b. 1982) holds a master’s degree in Film Studies from the University of Amsterdam and a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Iceland, specialized in animal studies. He has received awards for his Children’s and Young Adult books The Stone Animals and Dead Disa.

Fífa Finnsdóttir is a video game artist and is currently working at Wooga as a senior game artist.

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Children & YA

Fantasy | Children’s/YA

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is

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awards & nominations Icelandic Literary Prize Literature Prize

Þórunn Rakel Gylfadóttir

Akam, Annika and I Akam, ég og Annika

“As soon as I took the hat I could feel the note stapled inside. I silently gave thanks that Mom hadn’t found it. Turning to the window I read the note. ‘Look out for your hat, you bitch. And your head too. Leave Akam alone. He belongs to us.’”

Hrafnhildur is forced to move to Germany with her family when her stepfather takes a new job. Her new school is extremely strict, and she misses her father and grandmother, but most of all her best friend. And when she gets to know the kids at school she begins to have serious misgivings. Of course it’s hard to be the new girl in class, not knowing the language and having no friends, but matters quickly turn much worse.

Þórunn Rakel Gylfadóttir teaches creative writing at Hagaskóli middle school and works as a physical therapist with clients including professional athletes. She is also currently pursuing a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of Iceland. Akam, Annika & I is her first book. The idea for the book came from an incident at a German school, which she heard about during a family trip to Germany.

Children & YA

Young adult

English translation available foreign rights Angústúra angustura@angustura.is

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awards & nominations Literature Prize children’s/YA book

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Arndís Þórarinsdóttir Sigmundur Breiðfjörð

text

Inferno of Time Bál tímans

illustrations

Take a sensational trip through time in the company of an ancient vellum manuscript.

A locked vault in Reykjavík holds a number of vellum manuscripts written in Iceland centuries ago. These volumes – ancient stories, poems, spells, laws and lore – present a sort of riddle. No one knows who wrote them or when they were written, whom they belonged to and what has been lost from their pages. In this novel one of these manuscripts, Möðruvallabók, steps into the spotlight to tell its story. It was highly valued in terms of riches and prestige, got into all sorts of trouble on land and sea, survived mishaps and acts of vandalism and often only narrowly escaped the inferno of time.

Inferno of Time was published on the fiftieth anniversary of the first medieval manuscripts returning to Iceland after centuries in Denmark. Arndís Þórarinsdóttir tells the story of Möðruvallabók using academic sources combined with a rich imagination, so the events of the story truly come off the page, aided by dazzling illustrations from Sigmundur Breiðfjörð.

English translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is

previous titles sold to Denmark (Carlsen), France (Milan Jeunesse/Casterman), Germany (Franckh Kosmos (Volt), Portugal (Presença), Taiwan (Locus Publishing), US (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum), Russia (Mann, Ivanov & Ferber)

Arndís Þórarinsdóttir (b. 1982) is an Icelandic writer and translator. She has a degree in comparative literature from the University of Iceland and a postgraduate degree in Writing for Performance from Goldsmiths College, University of London. Þórarinsdóttir has written several books for children and published short stories and articles in various Icelandic magazines.

Sigmundur Breiðfjörð (b. 1985) is an Icelandic Art Director and Illustrator based in Canada. He co-founded the indie game development company Porcelain Fortress and has illustrated numerous children’s books.

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Children & YA

awards & nominations Reykjavík Children’s Book Award Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize Helgadóttir Children’s Literature Prize for an unpublished manuscript Prize in the children’s book category Icelandic Literary Prize, in the Icelandic Literary Prize Children’s Book Prize

Did you know …

986 titles were published in Iceland in the year 2021 Icelanders read 2.3 books per month on average Compared to a decade ago, there are now three times as many Icelandic books translated into foreign languages Icelandic Literature Center distributed approx. 120.000 euros in translation grants and travel grants to foreign publishers and literary events in 2021.

Did you know?

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Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

I See You Lok, lok og læs

On a cold winter evening on the secluded fjord Hvalfjörður, a neighbor visits the house of a family that has not been seen or heard for in a week. He sees traces left of the family, but no one comes to open when he knocks on the door.

After breaking into the house through the back door, he is met by a grizzly scene and quickly runs out in horror.

Policeman Týr and forensic pathologist Iðunn are called to the scene to investigate the dreadful crime committed upon the family members. As the case advances, harrowing secrets about the family are revealed and it looks as if not everything is at it first seemed.

I See You is the first installment in the Black Ice series. The term “black ice” refers to the climate condition when ice is transparent and the risk for accidents is higher. Much like black ice – the seemingly distant dangers in Yrsa Sigurðardóttir’s Black Ice series are often right under your nose.

Crime novel

foreign rights Salomonsson Agency Federico Ambrosini federico@salomonssonagency.com

previous titles sold to Albania (Shkupi), Bulgaria (Emas), Metafora), Denmark (Lindhardt og Ringhof), Estonia (Varrak), (BTB/Random House), Greece (Metaichmio), Hungary (Animus), Italy (Mondadori), Korea (Munhakdongne/Taurus Macedonia (Antolog), The (Kagge), Portugal (Quetzal/ Sonia Draga), Romania (Editura Trei), Russia (Eksmo), Sweden (HarperCollinsTurkey), (Koridor), UK (Hodder & Stoughton), USA (St. Martin’s Press)

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (b. 1963) is an award-winning, bestselling Icelandic crime fiction author.

Sigurðardóttir made her crime fiction debut in 2005 with Last Rituals, the first installment in the Þóra Guðmundsdóttir series. She has since gone on to write a number of acclaimed stand-alone thriller novels, and is to date translated into more than 30 languages. With The Legacy, the first novel in the award-winning series about child psychologist Freyja and police detective Huldar, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir has consolidated her position as one of the finest crime writers of our time, and a master storyteller at the top of her game.

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Crime fiction

awards & nominations for the Petrona Award International Dublin Literary Award for The Drop of Blood LovelyBooks’ Der Leserpreis Writers’ Award of Blood Award Glass Key Award

Sölvi Björn Sigurðsson

Kopernika Kóperníka

Copenhagen 1888. A serial killer runs free in the midst of a syphilis pandemic. Children suspiciously disappear from the city. Finnur Kóperníkus, an Icelandic junior doctor at The Royal Danish Hospital, is fired from his job and is charged with the investigation of his best friend’s death. Is the answer hiding in plain sight? Finnur begins to monitor the behaviour of his colleagues at the hospital, who he suspects are not all as they seem. Bodies are exhumed from cemeteries and pile up on the autopsy tables. And love becomes a welcome distraction. In the end, Finnur can trust nothing but his own intuition.

Crime novel

Sölvi Björn Sigurðsson (b. 1978) received the Icelandic Literary Prize for fiction for his latest novel, Saltwater: Apocrypha from the Life of the Physician General (Selta: apókrýfa úr ævi landlæknis, 2019). A translator of classical poetry, he has been distinguished for his translation of Rimbaud’s A Season in Hell. He has written seven novels and a long-form poem.

previous titles sold to Denmark (Vild Maskine, Torgard), Macedonia (Ikona), English

English sample translation available foreign rights Copenhagen Literary Agency Monica Gram monica@cphla.dk

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Crime fiction

awards & nominations Literary Prize Fund Award President Prize Prize Icelandic Literary Prize The DV Cultural Prize Prize

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Lilja Sigurðardóttir

White as Snow Náhvít jörð

On a white winter morning, an abandoned shipping container is found near Reykjavík.

Once it’s opened, the horror begins to unfold; inside are the lifeless bodies of five women who have apparently been transported overseas in the container. How can this happen and who is behind it? Police detectives Daníel and Helena arrive at the scene and begin their investigation, meanwhile Daníel’s friend Áróra does something else: Her aunt Elín is in a relationship with a Russian man who is eager to wed, but he has a nefarious agenda…

White as Snow is an unsettling story of ruthless criminals and victims of human trafficking – modern-day slaves.

Crime novel

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is sold to

previous titles sold to Armenia (Guitank), Czech Republic (Leda), Finland (Docendo), France/Switzerland/ Luxembourg/Canada (Éditions Métailié), Denmark (ArtPeople), Egypt (Al Arabi), Germany (DuMont), Hungary (Észak), (Font), Poland (Wydawnictwo, Kobiece), Romania (Crime Scene Press), Sweden (Modernista), Film rights sold to Palomar Pictures, USA •

Lilja Sigurðardóttir (b. 1972) is an award-winning playwright, and an author of many crime novels.

She has won the Icelandic Crime Fiction Award for Cage and Betrayal, and both titles represented Iceland at the Nordic Crime Fiction Awards.

Sigurðardóttir has also been longlisted for a CWA International Dagger Award, Prix du Meilleur Polar at Points and Edinburgh International Book Festival’s First Book Award. The film rights to her Reykjavík Noir trilogy (Snare, Trap and Cage) have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California.

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Crime fiction

awards & nominations European crime novels of the Times Crime Club’s best books

the Year Key Award Longlist Meilleur Polar at Points Summer Reads in France Book Award York Journal of Books Drop of Blood, Iceland

Magnús Guðmundsson

Slowly and Silently to Hell Hægt og hljótt til helvítis

Everything sooner or later has its consequences.

A father dreams of good things and a bright future for his family, zealous bankers pledge everything but their own interests, and a middleaged real estate agent goes swimming in search of a better life, but finds death and the devil.

When the investigating officers Aron Freyr Einarsson and Jóhanna Gunnarsdóttir come to the scene of the murder in Bergstaðastræti, it soon becomes clear to them that this is no ordinary crime. There seems to be something deeply-rooted and exceptionally malicious behind the acts of this murderer, who might continue on his spree, undaunted.

This is a thriller that deals with Icelandic society where anger, greed, bitterness and hatred resound like animals in a cage that finally burst out of the darker recesses of social media chat lines.

This is the first thriller of an author who has a long track record in journalism.

Crime novel

English sample translation available foreign rights Benedikt Publishing Guðrún Vilmundardóttir gv@benedikt.is benedikt.is

Magnús Guðmundsson (b. 1968) was born and raised in Reykjavík and worked as a technician at the National Theatre from adolescence into his twenties, when he turned to advertising. There he worked on ideas and copywriting for several years, and turned to writing his own material, publishing his first novel, Sigurvegarinn (The Winner), in 2001.

Magnús later turned to journalism and worked, among other things, as cultural editor at Fréttablaðið, in addition to currently conducting projects for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, RÚV. In 2018, Magnús published the book Stöngin út, the adventurous biography of Halldór Einarsson in Henson. In the fall of 2021, he released the thriller Slowly and Silently to Hell, published

by Benedikt.

Crime fiction

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Jónína Leósdóttir

Deceit Launsátur

Who slips needles into fruit on a shop counter – and why?

Trying to get to the bottom of this mystery, detective Soffía doesn’t get much help form her own department as Covid has left the force short-staffed. Her psychologist ex-husband Adam has assisted the police before, and she brings him in to shed light on the psychological angle. The search for the criminal leads this former couple down some unexpected avenues as they follow one lead after another – even though Adam would much prefer to deal with his professional and personal problems in the privacy of his own home.

Crime novel

English sample translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is sold to UK (Corylus)

previous titles sold to Egyesület/Tilos az) •

Jónína Leósdóttir (b. 1954) studied modern languages and Latin at college, attended Essex University and graduated from The University of Iceland with a BA-degree in English and Literature. Jónína Leósdóttir has built up a devoted following for her novels, not least for her series featuring Edda, who turns detective in her retirement. In this new novel she continues to weave a tangled mystery with an engaging cast of characters, each of whom brings a complex set of their own issues to the story.

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awards & nominations of Blood, the Icelandic crime writers‘ prize Award Ljóðstafur Jóns úr Vör

Crime Writing Competition, one Icelandic Theatre Awards As the radio play of the year Sælustundir (Bliss) of Disabled in Iceland) and the Icelandic Municipalities Að vera eða vera ekki

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Crime fiction

Halldór Guðmundsson Dagur Gunnarsson

text

photography

Land of Stories – A Literary Journey Around Iceland Sagnalandið

nty of its

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ound trip

along the

rs to folk

are often

ew photos

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HALLDÓR GUÐMUNDSSON

ytelling is

HALLDÓR GUÐMUNDSSON

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Land of Stories

Land of Stories A literary journey around Iceland

Iceland has always been a land of stories and storytelling is probably our most important cultural tradition. Plenty of its places have enthralling tales to tell, which in turn have inspired novels, poems and art of all kinds. This book is a round trip around the country, with thirty stops at such places along the way. Some relate to authors or works of literature, others to folk tales or historical events. It doesn’t hurt either, that they are often set in spectacular locations, as shown in the book with new photos from all the settings. Where a rich cultural legacy and awe-inspiring nature join together – or come into conflict – the stories that emerge are often magical.

Halldór Guðmundsson (b. 1956) is a writer living in Reykjavík. He studied literature at the University of Iceland and then at the University of Copenhagen.

For 19 years he worked in publishing, for the longest time as the publisher for Mál og menning. At the same time he continued researching and writing about literature, with emphasis on the works of Halldór Laxness. His biography of Halldór Laxness, which was also published in English, received the Icelandic Literary Prize in 2004. Guðmundsson has been the project manager for a Guest of Honour country at the Frankfurt book fair twice; Iceland (2011), and Norway (2019).

Non-fiction

English translation available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is sold to Germany (Corso Verlag)

previous titles sold to Denmark (Vandkunsten), Germany (btb Verlag, Steidl Sweden (Leopard förlag), UK (MacLehose Press) • • •

awards & nominations Germany, in the category Literary Travel Books Booksellers’ Prize Literary Prize

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Elísabet Rún

Kvár – What is Being Non-Binary?

Kvár – Hvað er að vera kynsegin?

To be non-binary is to define oneself outside the gender system; to identify as neither male nor female, both at the same time or even something completely different. Kvár is a documentary comic about being non-binary that examines the gender dualism of our society, gendering in language, gender in Icelandic legislation and what it is like to be non-binary. The story is based on interviews with six non-binary people about their experiences and opinions; Regn Sólmundur, Embla, Alda Villiljós, Viima, Hrafnsunna and Mars. This is the first book on this subject to be written and published in Icelandic. It is also the first Icelandic documentary comic.

Elísabet Rún is a comics artist, illustrator and graphic designer from Reykjavík, holding a BA in graphic design from the Iceland University of the Arts and diplomas in drawing from the Reykjavík School of Visual Arts and in comics from ÉESI in Angoulême. Elísabet’s comics have been published in various magazines, such as The Nib in the USA, Italian Internazionale and Charente Libre in France. Elísabet has published two graphic novels, illustrated several books and been featured in comics anthologies.

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Non-fiction

Documentary comic

foreign rights Elísabet Rún mail@elisabetrun.is

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awards & nominations Women’s Literature Prize

Reykjavík Poetics – Essays by 14 Icelandic authors Póetík í Reykjavík – Erindi 14 höfunda Póetík í Reykjavík – Erindi 14 höfunda (Reykjavík Poetics) is a book of essays by 14 Icelandic authors, published on the occasion of Reykjavík’s ten year anniversary as a UNESCO City of Literature in 2021. Local writers penned essays that center on the poetic process and the nature of literature. These are reflections on the purpose or errand of literature in a wide context while at the same time giving readers a glimpse of the authors’ way of thinking and their philosophy.

The essays are vastly different in style and nature, but all are inspirational and spark further dialogue on writing, creativity and language.

Gender, author background, hierarchy of genres and even forms of communication are among the topics raised. The authors are all well-known contemporary Icelandic writers, both of Icelandic and foreign origin, and many have been published in translations. In Reykjavík Poetics, these outstanding poets, novelists, fantasy writers, children’s book writers and an illustrator share their thoughts and experience, in texts that are either poetic, autobiographical, auto-fictional, mythical or all of the above.

Essays

English sample translation available foreign rights Literature Kjartan Már Ómarsson Kjartan.mar.omarsson@Reykjavík.is www.bokmenntir.is

Authors Alexander Dan, angela rawlings, Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, Bergrún Íris Sævarsdóttir, Bergsveinn Birgisson, Elías Knörr, Gerður Kristný, Hallgrímur Helgason, Hildur Knútsdóttir, Margrét Bjarnadóttir, Mazen Maarouf, Steinar Bragi, Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir.

Non-fiction

31

Þórunn Jarla Valdimarsdóttir

The Farm Burns – The Last Execution in Iceland Bærinn brennur – Síðasta aftakan á Íslandi

In 1828 Friðrik Sigurðsson, the son of the farmer at Katadalur, murdered his neighbor, the farmer and doctor Natan Ketilsson, at the victim’s farm Illugastaðir in the rural Húnavatnssýsla region of Northwest Iceland. Natan’s housekeeper Sigríður and one of his working women Agnes plotted with Friðrik to kill Natan, encouraging Friðrik and pledging their loyalty and assistance. The three burned Natan’s sleeping quarters to cover up the crime, which was committed for financial gain, and then helped hide the stolen goods so they wouldn’t be consumed by the blaze.

Regional magistrate Björn Blöndal convened the district court to hear the case. This book details the interrogations of the accused and his associates, which shed new light on the story and transport the reader into world of one of Iceland’s most fascinating murder cases.

foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is

•

Þórunn Jarla Valdimarsdóttir (b. 1954) is a writer and historian whose earlier works count novels, books of poetry, biographies and academic publication. Her books have received numerous awards, such as nominations for the Icelandic Literary Prize and the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize.

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•

awards & nominations of the Year Icelandic Literary Prize Women’s Literature Prize Prize for Literature Feather Award

•

• •

32

Non-fiction

The Icelandic Library and Information Science Association Council’s Literature Prize Prize for Literature

Snorri Baldursson

Vatnajökull National Park Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður

The white cape of Vatnajökull is Iceland’s greatest splendour. It looks eternal, but not everything is as it seems. Violent eruptions break open clefts in the glacial ice and surrounding land with lava flows, ash fall, glacial floods, and global warming threatens the very existence of the glacier. This perennial crucible of fire and ice is the pivot of the Vatnajökull National Park. The park was established in 2008 and declared a World Heritage Site, the heritage of all mankind, in 2019.

In this book, biologist Snorri Baldursson describes the unique nature, history and evolution of the national park in words and pictures and discusses its claim to the highest quality certification awarded to treasured territories worldwide.

foreign rights Forlagið Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is www.rights.forlagid.is

Snorri Baldursson, (1954–2021), a biologist and writer, worked for two decades on agricultural and forestry research, but later held various management positions in the field of natural sciences and nature conservation in the Arctic Council, the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, the Agricultural University of Iceland and the Vatnajökull National Park.

Snorri wrote his book on Iceland’s Biosphere – the Ecology of its land and sea, which won the Icelandic Literary Prize in the scholarly category in 2014. He edited the nominations for Surtsey and Vatnajökull National Park for the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007 and 2019, and he also wrote numerous smaller publications and newspaper articles about Iceland’s nature and its preservation.

Non-fiction

33

Elísabet Jökulsdóttir

The Chill of the April Sun Aprílsólarkuldi

The Chill of the April Sun tells of the sudden loss of a father and how the shock reverberates through his daughter’s life. The story is told from the perspective of Védís, a student and single mother; chronicling the love that finds her almost as unexpectedly and her descent into mental illness, all in a split-second that seems to last an eternity.

What happens between people when words fail?

When the connections to language break down, where do you turn? Rich with imagery and sensitivity, Elísabet tells an intensely personal story, based on parts of her own life.

English and Russian sample translations available foreign rights The Forlagid Rights Agency vala@forlagid.is rights.forlagid.is sold to Denmark, (Turbine), Sweden (Thorén & Lindskog)

previous titles sold to

Elísabet Kristín Jökulsdóttir (b. 1958) has received several awards and recognition for her work. Her first poetry collection, Dance in a Closed Room was published in 1989, and she has since released further poetry collections as well as novels for children and adults, short stories, and plays, and produced dance works and performances. Elísabet was also a candidate in the 2016 presidential election in Iceland. She was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 2016 and now in 2021.

(Editions Érès), Germany (Edition die horen/Insel Verlag), Poland (Miroslaw Godek), Sweden (Thorén & Lindskog) • • • • • • • •

34

awards & nominations Council Literature Prize Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize Award Writers’ Fund Prize Women’s Literature Prize Council’s Literature Award DV Cultural Award for Literature Red Raven’s Feather for the most curious sex scene in Icelandic Literature

Icelandic nominations for the

Steinar Bragi

The Disturbance Truflunin

The year is 2034. The world has split into two separate dimensions that overlap in central Reykjavík. A wall has been erected around the area, called the Disturbance, and only highly trained scientists and soldiers – so-called agents – may enter. One of the agents chosen is the psychologist Halla, a specialist in cults and alien abduction experiences. Having burned all bridges in her private life, Halla is ready to dive headfirst into her assignment: to find F, an agent from the first wave that was sent over. F has gone missing without a trace, but just before she disappeared, she left an eerie message to the outside world. It’s up to Halla to find out whether her warning stems from a mental breakdown, or something far larger and more sinister.

Lauded Icelandic author Steinar Bragi is back with The Disturbance, an unforgettably profound and unsettling deep-dive into a futuristic world where nothing is as it seems. Effortlessly confident and propelled by a powerful narrative, Steinar Bragi’s latest work is an unrivaled literary exploration of the human mind – a machine that AI can only strive to imitate. So far.

English sample translation available foreign rights Salomonsson Agency julia@salomonssonagency.com

previous titles sold to

Steinar Bragi (b. 1975), of Reykjavík, Iceland, is the author of several books of poetry and prose.

Debuting as a 23-year-old with the critically acclaimed poetry collection Black Hole (1998), he later turned to prose with the novel Women, a claustrophobic abstraction of the price of being a woman under the male-driven capitalist society and misogynistic power structures that threaten to break the nation’s economy. Women was later nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize.

(Gyldendal), Estonia (Varrak), Ethiopia (Hohe), Germany (DVA), Greece (Klidarithmos), Finland (Like), France (Métailié), Hungary (Animus), Italy (Marsilio),

(Literackie), Russia (Eksmo), Serbia (Vulkan), Slovakia (Albatros), Spain (Destino), Commonwealth (Pan Macmillan) • • • •

awards & nominations

Icelandic Literature Prize Blood Drop for the DV Cultural Prize for Literature

Nordic Council Literature Prize 2+22

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The Icelandic Literary Prize Fiction Hallgrímur Helgason Sixty kilos of Knockouts

Children’s and YA Books Þórunn Rakel Gylfadóttir

Sigrún Helgadóttir

Sigurður Þórarinsson: Portrait of a Man I–II Sigurður Þórarinsson: Mynd af manni I–II

The Icelandic Booksellers’ Prize

The Mark Merking

The Mark Merking

Fiction Fríða Ísberg

Sextíu kíló af kjaftshöggum

Akam, Annika and I Akam, ég og Annika

The Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize

Children’s and YA Books Margrét Tryggvadóttir & Linda Ólafsdóttir

Here is Reykjavík!

Reykjavík barnanna

Sigrún Helgadóttir

Sigurður Þórarinsson: Portrait of a Man I–II Sigurður Þórarinsson: Mynd af manni I–II

Fiction Fríða Ísberg

Anna Dröfn Ágústsdóttir & Guðni Valberg

Laugavegur Laugavegur

Young Adult Margrét Tryggvadóttir

Strong Sterk

Children’s Books Helgi Jónasson & Anna Margrét Marinósdóttir

Bird Songs Fagurt galaði fuglinn sá

Biography Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

Roots Rætur

Poetry Eydís Blöndal

I Brake Down 100% Ég brotna 100% niður

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Icelandic Literature Prizes

ARFUR ALDANNA I

Handan Hindarfjalls

Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir

ARFUR ALDANNA II

Norðvegur

AÐALHEIÐUR GUÐMUNDSDÓTTIR

AÐALHEIÐUR GUÐMUNDSDÓTTIR er prófessor í íslenskum bókmenntum fyrri alda við Íslensku- og menningardeild Háskóla Íslands.

ARFUR ALDANNA II

Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir NORÐVEGUR er annað bindi af fjórum í ritröðinni Arfur aldanna sem fjallar um fornaldarsögur, uppruna þeirra, útbreiðslu og einkenni. Í bókinni er dregin upp heildarmynd af efnivið sagnanna í norrænu samhengi fram að ritunartíma þeirra á Íslandi á 13. og 14. öld.

Einkum er stuðst við fornminjar á borð við myndsteina, rúnasteina, útskurð í tré og vefnað en við sögu koma þó einnig sagnaritarar og skáld sem unnu með sagnaefnið í ritum sínum og kveðskap.

NORÐVEGUR

AÐALHEIÐUR GUÐMUNDSDÓTTIR

AÐALHEIÐUR GUÐMUNDSDÓTTIR er prófessor í íslenskum bókmenntum fyrri alda við Íslensku- og menningardeild Háskóla Íslands.

ARFUR ALDANNA I

HANDAN HINDARFJALLS er fyrsta bindi af fjórum í ritröðinni Arfur aldanna sem fjallar um fornaldarsögur, uppruna þeirra, útbreiðslu og einkenni. Í bókinni er dregin upp heildarmynd af efnivið sagnanna í evrópsku samhengi utan Norðurlanda fram að ritunartíma þeirra á Íslandi á 13. og 14. öld. Einkum og sér í lagi er sótt í annála og aðrar fornar sagnfræðiheimildir en einnig söguljóð og fornminjar sem kunna að fela í sér myndrænar tilvísanir í söguefnið.

HANDAN HINDARFJALLS

Hagþenkir Non-fiction Prize

Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir

Legends of the Past I: On the Other Side of Hindarfjall Legends of the Past II: The Way North Arfur aldanna I Handan hindarfjalls.

Arfur aldanna II Norðvegur

Icelandic Literature Prizes

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Icelandic Literature Center

promotes Icelandic literature abroad

The role of the Icelandic Literature Center is to raise awareness of Icelandic literature, both in Iceland and abroad, and to enable its distribution through publishers of Icelandic books can apply for translations subsidies and authors, publishers and organizers of literary events can apply for travel support for Icelandic authors.

Contacts Hrefna Haraldsdóttir Managing Director hrefna@islit.is Guðrún Baldvinsdóttir Project Manager gudrun@islit.is

Grants Translation grants for foreign publishers to publish a work translated from Icelandic Nordic translation grants for publishers within the Nordic countries to translate from Icelandic into Nordic languages Sample translation grants for publishers, agents, translators & authors to translate samples from Icelandic Reader’s report grants for publishers & agents to seek professional opinion on Icelandic books Travel grants for authors for Icelandic authors, foreign publishers or organizations arranging events to support Icelandic authors travelling to promote their works abroad Translators’ residential grants for translators of Icelandic literature Application deadlines translation, sample translation, reader’s report & Nordic translation grants | February 15 & September 15 travel grants | January 15, May 15 & September 15 translators’ residential grants | October 1

On our website you can look up Icelandic authors whose books have been published in other languages – as well as a list of their published translations. www.islit.is/en/authors

Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

Andri Snær Magnason

Steinunn Sigurðardóttir

Sjón

Kristín Eiríksdóttir

Ragnar Jónasson

Sigríður Hagalín

Einar Már Guðmundsson

Kristín Helga Gunnarsdóttir

Jón Kalman Stefánsson

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Subscribe to our newsletter to get all the latest news on Icelandic literature

40

Subscribe to our newsletter on islit.is

Icelandic Literature Center promotes Icelandic literature distributes approx. 650,000 € in grants annually awards grants for 300 projects every year participates in international book fairs organises seminars for translators of Icelandic literature promotes Icelandic authors worldwide organises exchange programs for publishers and agents organises campaigns and efforts in order to promote reading, increase the number of translated titles and support the export of Icelandic literature

Icelandic Literature Center Tryggvagata 11 101 Reykjavík Iceland

+354 552 85 00 islit@islit.is www.islit.is

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