News
Literary award nominations
Nominations for the Icelandic Literary Prize were announced at a ceremony at the National Gallery of Iceland on Tuesday 1 December. Ten books in all gained nominations, five in the fiction category and five in non-fiction.
The following books were nominated in the fiction category:
Böðvar Guðmundsson: Enn er morgunn (Morning Continues) published by Uppheimar
Guðmundur Óskarsson: Bankster, published by Ormstunga
Gyrðir Elíasson: Milli trjánna (Between the Trees), published by Uppheimar
Steinunn Sigurðardóttir: Góði elskhuginn (The Good Lover), published by Bjartur
Vilborg Davíðsdóttir: Auður, published by Mál og Menning
In the general and non-fiction category the nominations were as follows:
Helgi Björnsson: Jöklar á Íslandi (Glaciers in Iceland) published by Opna
Kristín G. Guðnadóttir: Svavar Guðnason published by Veröld
Árni Heimir Ingólfsson: Jón Leifs – líf í tónum (Jón Leifs – a Life in Music), published by Mál og menning
Jón Karl Helgason: Mynd af Ragnari í Smára (A Picture of Ragnar in Smári), published by Bjartur.
Þórdís Elva Þorvaldsdóttir: Á mannamáli. Ofbeldi á Íslandi (Plain Language. Violence in Iceland), published by JPV.
The Icelandic Literary Prize was established in 1989 by The Association of Icelandic Publishers. On the ooccasion of the 20th anniversary of the prize the Association held an internet poll where the public had the opportunity of selecting the best prize-winning books of the last twenty years. The writer Andri Snær Magnason won in both categories: for Draumalandið – Sjálfshjálparbók handa hræddri þjóð (The Dream Country – a Self-Help Manual for a Frightened Nation) in the non-fiction category and for Sagan af bláa hnettinum (The Story of the Blue Globe) in the fiction category.
Iceland's nominations for the Nordic Council Literary Prize were also announced last week. The novels Ofsi (Rage) by Einar Kárason and Konur (Women) by Steinar Bragi were selected for nomination. The prize-winners will be announced in March, with the award ceremony taking place during the convention of the Nordic Council in Reykjavík in the coming autumn. The Nordic Council Literary Prize enjoys a very high regard.