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The Icelandic Literary Prize
Icelandic Literary Prize 2009 awarded
The Icelandic Literary Prize 2009 was awarded at a ceremony at Bessastaðir (the official residence of the President of Iceland) earlier today; Guðmundur Óskarsson won in the category of fiction for the novel Bankster, from the publisher Ormstunga, and Helgi Björnsson in the category of non-fiction for Jöklar á Íslandi (Glaciers in Iceland) from the publishing house Opna.
Eight books were nominated in addition to the award winning books, four in each category. The following novels were nominated in the fiction category:
- Böðvar Guðmundsson: Enn er morgunn (Morning Continues) published by Uppheimar
- 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
Non-fiction nominations were
- 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 award winning books: Icelandic collapse and Icelandic nature
Bankster was informally appointed as the best ‚crisis-book‘ of the year by a critic at Morgunblaðið last year and was considered to be a poignant and sympathetic deliberation on the effects the economic collapse had on a common bankworker in Iceland. Although critical reception was generally favourable it came as a surprise to many when the book was nominated.
The authour himself confessed to being surprised by the decision of the award-committee when Sagenhaftes-Island contacted him today. Guðmundur, who works as a banker alongside his writing career, took a day off to prepare for the ceremony and when asked if the award confirms the assertion that Bankster was the best ‚crisis-book‘ he responded that he‘s not too keen on this newly created category of Icelandic fiction; he hopes that the novel will survive the crisis and that it‘s core will earn a wider meaning after this period in Icelandic history has passed. Guðmundur is currently the Authour of the month here on the website, where further information about Bankster and his writing career thus far can be found, together with three useful tips to keep in mind when you win a literary prize.
Helgi Björnsson, geophysicist, is among the foremost scholars in the field of glacier research in Iceland. For almost forty years he has carried out extensive research and presented his findings in lectures, articles and now in this thorough book Glaciers in Iceland, contributing to a growing knowledge about this great force of nature which has molded both landscape and human life on the island for centuries. Glaciers in Iceland contains all the major findings in the history of glacier study, since they started in Iceland and up to modern research. Guðni Einarsson, critic of Morgunblaðið, said that the book was a great feat: „It opens the eyes of those who enjoy reading into the land through the wonders of natural forces. Their perception of the land will be altered dramatically after reading this book.“