Sjón
Sjón is the pen name of Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson (born 27 August 1962). His pen name is formed from his given name (Sigurjón), and means 'Sight'.
Sjón is an Icelandic author and a poet. He was awarded the The Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 2005 for the novel Skugga-Baldur ('The Blue Fox'), but is perhaps best known in the English speaking world for writing some of the Icelandic singer Björk's lyrics. Lyrics Sjón has written for Björk are for the songs "Isobel", its sequel "Bachelorette", "Jóga", "Oceania", written especially for the 2004 Summer Olympics and "Wanderlust"
As a poet Sjón published his first volume of poetry, Sýnir ('Visions') in 1978 and has since published numerous books of poetry, prose and even children's novels. His novels have been translated to Italian, Spanish, Dutch, German and French, among twelve other languages, with the English edition of The Blue Fox (Skugga-Baldur) published in 2008 by Telegram Books. The Blue Fox was nominated for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2009.
Arnaldur Indridason
Arnaldur Indriðason (born 28 January 1961) is an Icelandic writer of crime fiction. He has repeatedly proved to be the most popular writer in Iceland in recent years - topping bestseller lists year after year]. In the year 2004 his books were seven of the ten most popular titles borrowed in Reykjavík City Library.
Arnaldur was born in Reykjavík, the son of writer Indriði G. Þorsteinsson. He graduated with a degree in history from the University of Iceland in 1996. He worked as journalist for the newspaper Morgunblaðið (The Morning Times) in 1981-1982, and later freelanced. From 1986 to 2001, he was a film critic for Morgunblaðið.
He published his first book, Sons of Dust (Synir duftsins) in 1997, the first in the series of Detective Erlendur. The series includes ten novels as of 2010.
Arnaldur's books have been published in twenty-six countries and have been translated into Russian, Polish, German, Greek, Danish, English, Italian, Czech, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Finnish, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Chinese and French. Arnaldur received the Glass Key award, a literature prize for the best Nordic crime novel, in 2002 and 2003. He won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award in 2005 for the novel Silence of the Grave.
Halldor Laxness
Halldor Laxness (Halldór Guðjónsson) (April 23, 1902—February 8, 1998) was a twentieth-century Icelandic novelist and author of Independent People, The Atom Station, and Iceland's Bell. His pen-name Halldor Laxness stems from the place he grew up as a kid – Laxness on Iceland.
In 1955, Laxness won the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vivid epic power which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland".
Laxness published his first book at the age of 17. He is best-known for his fiction depicting the hardships of the working fishermen and farmers, and historical novels combining the tradition of sagas and mythology with national and social issues. With Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889-1975) and Kristman Guðmundsson (1902-1983) Laxness was among the first internationally known Icelandic authors. Laxness skillfully changed his style from novel to novel but always maintained his ironic humor. His production consists over 60 works: novels, plays, essays, short stories, memoirs and travel books. Laxness's several awards include also Stalin Peace Prize, the Danish Nexö Award, and Sonning Award. Laxness died in Iceland in 1998 at the age of 95
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/laxness.htm
Fríða Áslaug Sigurðardóttir
Fríða Áslaug Sigurðardóttir (born 11. desember 1940 in Hesteyri, Sléttuhreppi, Island) She has a Master’s degree in Icelandic language and literature, has worked as a librarian and taught at the university. From 1978 and on she has been a full-time writer..
Her debut as an author came in 1980 with a collection of short stories called “Þetta er ekki alvarlegt” (This is not serious). In 1992 she received the Nordic Counsil Literary Award for the novel “Meðan nóttin líður” (During the Night).
Her books have been translated into Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, English and Czech.
Einar Már Guðmundsson
Einar Már Guðmundsson(Born september 18th 1954) has a bechelor’s degree in literature studies and after 1979 he was working in this field at Copenhagen University.
His literary debut came with the poetry book ”Sendisveinninn er einmana” og ”Er nokkur í kórónafötum hér inni?” in 1980. However, it his novels that has made him famous; his first nove, ”Riddarar hringstigans” (The Knights of the Round Staircase) was published in 1982.In 1995 he received the Nordic Counsil Literary Price for the novel “Englar alheimsins” (Angels of the Universe). Einar Már Guðmundsson is reckoned as one of the finest Icelandic authors of his generation.
“Englar alheimsins” was made into a film in 2000. His books have been translated into Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, German, English, Italian, Dutch, Faroese and Greenlandic.
