Awarded for the 41st time and now to Anna Heiða Pálsdóttir for her book Mitt eigið Harmagedón (My Own Harmagedón)

for his short story collection, Ást í meinum (Love and Other Complications).

Gerður Kristný, Hallgrímur Helgason and Kristín Ómarsdóttir in Washington D.C.

Auður Jónsdóttir wins the 2013 Icelandic Women's Literature Prize.

Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl for his novel Illska (lit.Evil) and Gunnar F. Guðmundsson for his biography on Pater Jón Sveinsson - Nonni.

- The Icelandic Literature Fund and Fabulous Iceland merge.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

The nominations for the Icelandic Literary Prize were announced, at the National Gallery of Iceland, earlier this month

Hallgrímur Helgason, and Guðmundur Andri Thorsson nominated

A new biography of the well known Icelandic children's author Jón Sveinsson, or Nonni, has been published. The book is simply named Jón Sveinsson – Nonni.

Gauti Kristmannsson's book Responses from Víðsjá, has been released by the German publisher Queich, titled Ausbrüche und Eindrücke.

Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir was recently a guest of the culture festival Les Boréales, which is held each November in Caen, a city in Normandy, France.

Selected city benches in Reykjavík have become literary retreats, through an initiative of Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature.

Two years have passed since Emil H. Petersen treated us to the first Icelandic urban fantasy. Now, with next book just around the corner, the young author takes to the road.

After translating countless Icelandic titles for German publishing houses in the build-up to last year's Frankfurt Book Fair, you might say that Ursula Giger has become Switzerland's primary expert on Icelandic literature.

A year has passed since Iceland appeared as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. This year the Icelandic stand will reference the cozy, living room atmosphere of the Icelandic Guest of Honour pavilion in 2011.

Andri Snær Magnason has two forthcoming books with the American publishing house Seven Stories Press, and both titles recently received scintillating advance reviews in Publisher's Weekly.

In the build-up to the Frankfurt Book Fair 2011, demand for translators increased exponentially. Richard Kölbl never had any time off, but he's not complaining.

“In Italy, there is a passion for literature,” says author Jón Kalman Stefánsson, who was one of the hundreds of appearing authors at the Festivaletteratura, a literary festival in Mantova, Italy.

This year, the event shines a spotlight on the Nordic countries, and many Icelandic writers will be appearing.

Icelandic literature is widely featured abroad these days. Authors from Iceland played a prominent role at the recent Edinburgh International Book Festival, which concluded on August 27, as will they at the upcoming Göteborg Book Fair, starting September 27.

A yet to be published French translation of Rigning í nóvember (Rain in November) by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir has been nominated for the Prix du roman Fnac.

The New York Times finds Kristín Ómarsdóttir's novel Children in Reindeer Woods “daringly droll, wholly perturbing.”

Sjón's From the Mouth of the Whale on the shortlist for UK Prize.

Gyrðir Elíasson's short stories continue long run of success.

Jón Kalman's chilly turn-of-the-century fable finds favour in sunnier climes.

The Swedish Academy has announced that the Icelandic author Einar Már Guðmundsson will receive the Academy's Nordic Prize for Literature this year.

When years ago, a friend of Guðmundur Andri Thorsson suggested that he translate Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio,he passed on it. Or did he really? We spoke to him of his critically praised new book, The Waltz of Valeyri.

a groundbreaking book on the Icelandic novelist and poet, to be published by McGill University Press in February.

Nominations for Fjöruverðlaunin, the Icelandic Women's Literature Prize, were announced on December 14.

Authors Bergsveinn Birgisson and Gerður Kristný are the Icelandic nominees this time around.

Her previous book stayed on German bestseller lists for weeks on end. Now, with a new mystery out featuring an abandoned yacht drifting into Reykjavík Harbour, Iceland's queen of crime is again set to make waves.

10 books are nominated for the Icelandic Literature each year. This year's nominees were announced on December 1 at the National Gallery of Iceland.

"It is in the most dog-eared and perused books that the language flourishes," stated the jury for the Jónas Hallgrímsson Prize upon awarding it to   Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir for extraordinary service to the Icelandic language."

“When I was a teenager reading Vesaas and Heinesen, little did I suspect I would stand here, in the footsteps of these wonderful authors,” Gyrðir Elíasson said upon receiving the Nordic Council's Literature Prize on November 2.

Iceland's presentation as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2011 was greeted enthusiastically by the media. Read on for a short selection of quotes.

The final day of the Frankfurt Book Fair 2011 is upon us! Contemporary authors such as Kristín Steinsdóttir and Gyrðir Elíasson, as well as older dignitaries like Borges and Thor, god of thunder, all play their parts in the Icelandic Pavilion's schedule today.

Fabulous Iceland gave its final press conference on Saturday.

We are halfway through the book fair, and here is a look at what has been going on the Icelandic Pavilion, as well as the schedule for Saturday.

In 1944, U-300 sank the Icelandic freighter and passenger ship MS Goðafoss. Sixty-seven years later, two former crewmembers shook hands in the Icelandic Pavilion.

At a press conference given by Sagenhaftes Island and AmazonCrossing at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 10, AmazonCrossing announced its intention to publish ten Icelandic titles in the near future.

The Frankfurt Book Fair 2011 was formally opened on October 11, with authors Arnaldur Indriðason and Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir speaking on behalf of Icelandic writers, and Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, president of Iceland, speaking on behalf of the Guest of Honour.

The Frankfurt Book Fair 2011 started October 12, with Iceland as its Guest of Honour. Some 400 Iceland-related events take in Frankfurt during the fair. Read on to hear about a few of them.

As part of the celebration at the world‘s largest book event, the British Library has developed a „Fabulous Iceland“ feature as part of their larger British Library 19th Century Historical Collection iPad App.

Never before in Germany has Icelandic literature received more attention than now, in the run-up to the Frankfurt Book Fair 2011. Some 40 Icelandic authors will appear at the event.

The Schirn hosts a monographic exhibition on Iceland's best-known contemporary artist.

On September 28, the exhibition “Crepusculum”, in which the artist Gabríela Friðriksdóttir creates a unique context for eight medieval manuscripts from Iceland, opened in Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt.

The author Jón Kalman Stefánsson was awarded the Per Olov Enquist Literary Prize at the Gothenburg Book Fair on September 22.

The castle of Corvey in Westphalia provided a spectacular setting for a recent three-day presentation of Sagas of Icelanders.

One of many exciting exhibitions to open in Frankfurt these days is “On the Cutting Edge | Design in Iceland,” hosted by the Museum für Angewandte Kunst.

Corvey Abbey in North Rhine-Westphalia will be the site of a 4-day international conference on the Sagas of Icelanders.

The Reykjavík International Literary Festival takes place between September 7 and September 11. Here is a quick look on what to expect.

Danish critics applaud Gyrðir Elíasson's short story collection Between the Trees.

On the occasion of Iceland's appearance as Guest of Honour of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the contemporary art museum Frankfurter Kunstverein opened two large-scale exhibitions on August 18.

- becomes part of UNESCO's Creative City network

The German publishing house Queich-Verlag has published Jarðarteikn – Erdzeichen,a bilingual anthology of the poetry of Þorsteinn frá Hamri.

Katla Travel and Sagenhaftes Island have signed a sponsorship agreement. Katla Travel is a travel agency specializing in trips to Iceland for German-speaking travelers.

The outfit Riding Iceland organizes trips between the settings of Njál's Saga. “We'll all read the story very differently from now on,” says the literary scholar Jón Karl Helgason.

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir receives the Blood Drop, awarded by the Icelandic Crime League, for the horror mystery I Remember You. The book will be Iceland's nomination for the Nordic crime fiction award The Glass Key.

At a press conference on June 23 Sagenhaftes Island and pharmaceutical company Actavis announced an extensive sponsorship deal.

On June 18, the International Weeks of Children's Literature kicked off in Cologne. This time around, the annual event takes Iceland as its theme.

Sagenhaftes Island presented it's cultural programme at a press conference on June 6. Nearly 200 Icelandic works in translation—and works with a bearing on Iceland—are expected to be published on the German-speaking market this year.

On June 8, ten Houses of Literature in Germany, Austria and Switzerland celebrated a Day of Icelandic Poetry.

On May 13 , Ambassador Kristín A. Árnadóttir met with representatives of Peking University at a meeting where Icelandic literature was the main theme.

The website Icelandic Cinema Online, which formally opened on May 23, allows web users to view Icelandic movies directly online.

Icelandair Cargo will support Sagenhaftes Island's many exhibitions in Frankfurt, taking on the task of seeing the exhibited artwork safe and sound across the Atlantic and into German exhibition halls.

Steinunn Sigurðardóttir has her hands full in the year 2011, which will see the publication of no less than three of her books in France

The novel Afleggjarinn (The Greenhouse) by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir recently received the Canadian Prix des libraires du Québec award, in the category of best of best foreign novel.

“It's like handling mummies from the British Museum. These are soul capsules, born of a certain period in Icelandic history,” says artist Gabríela Friðriksdóttir of working with the ancient manuscripts woven into her exhibition Crepusculum. It will open in Frankfurt in September.

A millennium and a half into his career, Thor shows few signs of losing his thunder. In 2011, the Old Norse deity will be the subject of two new films, no less: Marvel Studios' Thor, and the Icelandic computer animated feature Legends of Valhalla – Thor.

In collaboration with Faroese authors and publishers, and the support of the Faroese Ministry of Education and Culture, Sagenhaftes Island has opened a window to Faroese literature on its website.

Gyrðir Elíasson receives the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2011 for his short story collection Between the Trees.

In January, we asked Icelanders to share  photographs of their home libraries with us. On April 7, three randomly picked contributors won a trip to the Frankfurt Book Fair in October.

Fjöruverðlaunin, the Icelandic Women's Literature Prize, was awarded for the 5th time on March 20. Three works received the prize.

This year, Steidl Verlag will publish 16 titles by titles by Halldór Laxness, making the Nobel Laureate's entire ouvre available in German.

From the Mouth of the Whale by Sjón was recently published in Germany by S. Fischer Verlag. The first reviews are in.

At the Leipzig Book Fair and beyond, the spring's first Icelandic titles in Germany are warmly received.

"We're surprised at the high level of participation," says Bryndís Loftsdóttir about the project "Join us in Frankfurt". When this is posted, the Icelandic public has sent in over 200 photos of their home libraries.

For German book lovers and industry insiders, the Leipzig Book Fair is the biggest event of the spring. Featured this year: six Icelandic authors and a profusion of new German translations of Icelandic works.

In all, nine titles have been nominated for Fjöruverðlaunin, the Icelandic Women's Literature Award.

Sagenhaftes Island has received a grant from the European Union's Culture programme.

The Literaturhaus Basel recently hosted an evening of Icelandic literature, featuring the works of Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir and Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl.

Sagenhaftes Island and The Blue Lagoon have made a sponsorship agreement for Iceland's appearance as Guest of Honour at the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair.

Cintamani and Sagenhaftes Island sign a sponsorship agreement.

“I‘m sure I could write a novel each year, if I‘d hire an assistant to type it up for me on the computer, that is,” says author Thor Vilhjálmsson. His historical novel, Morning Verse in the Grass, is currently being translated into German.

Gerður Kristný and Helgi Hallgrímsson receive the awards for fiction/poetry and non-fiction, respectively.

The crowd was tightly packed into the Icelandic Embassy yesterday, as the German actor Joachim Król read from the Icelandic post-war classic Car 79by Indriði G. Þorsteinsson.

Sagenhaftes Island is calling on Icelandic bibliophiles to send pictures of their private book collections, to be exhibited at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October.

Sagenhaftes Island is calling on Icelandic bibliophiles to send pictures of their private book collections, to be exhibited at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October.

Emil H. Petersen had published two books of poetry when he decided to try his hand at fantasy. “The tradition for this sort of literature hasn't taken root in Iceland yet, and I'd like to see that change,” says the young author.

Jónína Leósdóttir recently published the novel Allt fínt... en þú? (Fine... And You?), to which a German publishing house bought the translation rights while the book was still unpublished in Iceland – a rare occurrence.

Whoever writes out the weekly little best-seller lists in the newspapers is presumably having no end of trouble with the title of Bragi Ólafsson's newest work.

The printing company Oddi and the bank Landsbankinn have pledged their support for Sagenhaftes Island.

The nominations for 2010 have been announced.

 “We really do think with our hearts,” says Bergsveinn Birgisson, whose third novel, the epistolary Svar við bréfi Helgu (Reply to Helga's Letter) has proved a surprise hit this season.

The German film company teamWorx secures film rights to all of Yrsa Sigurðardóttir's books. Meanwhile, she publishes her newest thriller.

Ævar Örn Jósepsson has a new crime novel out. His favored prose-style? Less of the pretty, more of the nitty-gritty.

“There´s a definite air of excitement about,” says Jón Ómar Erlingsson of the printing firm Oddi, now in the midst of the frenzied “Christmas book flood.”

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir receives the Jónas Hallgrímsson Prize on the Day of the Icelandic Language. “I'm deeply touched that my life's work has attracted attention,” she told Sagenhaftes Island.

A turn-of-the-century woman called Ljósa has been on Kristín Steinsdóttir's mind for fifteen years. Now the novel is out.

“Each day, you experience something new, think of something that has never occurred to you before,” says the indefatigable Einar Kárason of his newest work, titled I Am Amused.

Warm words for Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir's The Big Dipper in the Danish newspaper Information.

Þorgrímur Þráinsson's Are You God, Grandpa? is a winner.

A new novel by the crime titan Arnaldur Indriðason appeared in Icelandic stores on November 1. The book marks the return of Indriðason's most famous creation, Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson.

Praise and prizes rain down on Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir's Rosa candida in France.

In an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Klaus Böldl discusses an all-new German translation of the sagas, and explains why we needed it.

“It stands comparison with the finest contemporary crime writing anywhere in the world,” says the TLS of Yrsa Sigurðardóttir's Ashes to Dust.

The 6^th Nýhil Poetry Festival calls together talent from across the seas.

Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl simultaneously finds favor with a German film festival jury and releases a novel in Germany.

German version of a novel by Hallgrímur Helgason wins “Strangest Book Title of 2010”  competition at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

On October 10, the last day of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Iceland formally accepted the title “Guest of Honour” from Argentina.

Short films by Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl and Lára Garðarsdóttir are playing from October 14-17 at the Babylon Mitte in Berlin.

Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Minister of Education, Science and Culture, was among those who spoke at a Sagenhaftes Island press conference at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

A German arts foundation contributes generously to a new and complete translation of the Icelandic sagas.

The Frankfurt Book Fair has begun, and will last from October 6-10. This year's Book Fair will see many events related to Icelandic literature and publishing.

Arnaldur Indriðason on the Icelandic crime fiction tradition, C.S.I. and Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson. He is about to release a new novel, which contains a pleasant surprise for fans.

Hallgrímur Helgason's newest German release has been nominated for a "Strangest Book Title of 2010" prize.

...says a Danish review of Jón Kalman Stefánsson's recently translated Heaven and Hell.

German author Finn-Ole Heinrich has completed two video works containing scenes from his recent visit to Iceland – including an unexpected ride through the ash cloud of erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull.

From the production of parchment to modern interpretations of centuries-old texts, a new website opens a door to the ancient world of Icelandic manuscripts.

As always, summertime marks the arrival of flowering growth, funny looking birds and an abundance of new travel books. Here's a brief look at this season's crop of rucksack reads.

In its newest issue, the French literary magazine Lire declares Skipið / The Ship by Stefán Máni to be the the best crime novel to appear in France this year.

The historical whodunnit Þegar kóngur kom / When the King Came receives the annual crime-writing prize – and a nomination for the Scandinavian Glass Key award.

Since the early 19th century, the Kiel University Library has been collecting books on Iceland.

“It was especially touching to meet writers from countries which are genetically related to us through the female line of descent,” says author Þórunn Erlu-Valdimarsdóttir, who recently represented Iceland at the festival "Days and Nights of Literature" in Neptun, Romania.

A deal was struck last week to publish Útkall – árás á Goðafoss / Rescue – Goðafoss under Attack. "I think that the time is right for Germans to read of what really happened out there," says author Óttar Sveinsson.

For the third time, the Icelandic Literature Fund presents its New Voices Grant – intended to encourage literature projects with artistic potential, but little chance of financial success.

“A great trip in good company,” says Bergur Ebbi Benediktsson of German-Icelandic spoken word collaboration.

A new book on the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull is in the pipelines. A collaboration between geologist Ari Trausti Gudmundsson and photographer Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson.

Three young German writers have spent the last few days in Iceland, assiduously studying Iceland's literary heritage. On the Thursday of May 27 the entourage will perform along with young Icelandic poets at Næsti bar.

So far, Iceland's bestseller of the year is the report detailing the build-up to the Icelandic bank crash of 2008. Which means that the Icelandic parliament is currently the bestselling publisher of 2010.

The Reykjavík Arts Festival kicked off earlier this week. The annual event has become a harbinger of spring in Iceland, brimming with concerts and exhibitions.

Fríða Á. Sigurðardóttir, author, died in the early hours of May 7.

The German-speaking media reacts to Einar Már Gudmundsson's work on Iceland's meltdown.

“This interesting project has got off to a good start,” says Ólafur Davíðsson, chair of the board of Friends of "Sagenhaftes Island".

The Spanish Flu looms over the inhabitants of Reykjavík and, in the distance, a menacing plume rises to the sky. A 90 year old work which speaks directly to the present times' preoccupation with swine flu and cataclysmic eruptions.

Slam – Saga is a literary event in May which will see German and Icelandic poets performing original prose inspired by the Old Norse Sagas.

"Iceland is mainly just nature, with a few human beings scattered here and there," says Icelandic writer Jón Kalman Stefánsson in an interview with Sagenhaftes Island, which will appear on the project´s website on Friday.

„Football guides us towards the future“ says Didier Drogba, football player for Chelsea and the Ivory Coast, in the preface of a new book by photographer Páll Stefánsson.

“I think the book Should You be Laughing at This? is the only one that's been published in German,” says writer/cartoonist Hugleikur Dagsson. “And it's much funnier in German than in Icelandic.”

German publisher Fischer Verlag has secured the translation rights to Horfðu á mig (Look at Me).

Poems by Gerður Kristný and Sigurður Pálsson translated into Hindi and Bengali

Flora Islandica wins design award as best publication.

A German translation of Sólskinshestur (Sun Horse) published in paperback.

Presentation of women's book awards

and more to come!

Katrín Árnadóttir in Berlin on the success of the Culture Lounge at the ITB.

Kristín Steinsdóttir and Andri Snær Magnason promoted their books.

Sagenhaftes Island will be present at one of the largest travel trade shows in the world 10-14 of March.

Print run for Himnaríki og helvíti (Heaven and Hell) doubled only ten days after first issue.

Aufbau publishing house in Germany acquires German rights to Rúnagaldur/The Rune Cabal.

Sagenhaftes Island interviewed the author on the occation of the ceremony in Hamburg 28 February.

Guðmundur Óskarsson and Helgi Björnsson awarded the Icelandic Literary Prize 2009.

We are proud that Iceland is Guest of Honour in Frankfurt 2011.

The aim is to bring Icelandic culture to Germany 2011.

Three novels by Hallgrímur Helgason coming out in paperback in Germany.

Superb reviews, prizes and impressive coverage. Three Icelandic writers achieve success in Scandinavia

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Two new books by Gyrðir Elíasson were published this autumn, a short-story collection and a book of poetry. Critical consensus is that Elíasson is at his best this year.

A new photography book, Last Days of the Arctic, is expected in 2010.

The cookbook Maturinn hennar Nönnu (Nanna's Food) has been nominated for one of the world's most highly regarded prizes in Wine and Cookery writing.

This book selected as one of the three Books of the Week

Nominations for the Icelandic Literary Prize and The Nordic Council Literary Prize announced last week

Jón Leifs is one of Iceland's most important artists of the 20^th century. His story is that of a man who was to some extent too big for the Iceland of that time.

The newest issue of the Austrian literature magazine Lichtungen is dedicated to Icelandic literature

The KAIROS prize is awarded for work which connects art and society

The Jónas Hallgrímsson Prize was awarded on Icelandic Language Day 2009

Publication rights to Himnaríki og helvíti /Heaven and Hell sold to Italy, Spain and the Netherlands

Óttar M. Norðfjörð's books Hnífur Abrahams/Abraham's Knife and Sólkross/Sun Cross to be distributed in about 20 countries

One of Gunnar's best-known novels  translated by Karl Ludwig Wetzig

- excellent response to Frankfurt 2011

Contract of partnership signed 28 september.

The largest publishing house in Russia (AST) has purchased the rights to Yrsa Sigurðardóttir‘s first two novels.

The ninth Reykjavík International Literary Festival ended with a publishers' symposium and poetry.

A poetry collection dedicated to the five foremost modernist poets of Iceland will be published in the summer of 2011 in Germany.

held for the ninth time in Reykjavik 6-12 September 2009

...has been added to UNESCO‘s Memory of the World Register, thus becoming the first Icelandic relic to be submitted to the archives.

...rubs shoulders in Norway with literary giants.

Politiken and Jyllands Posten praise the book Skipið/The Ship.

An Icelandic cannibal wreaks havoc in Denmark...

Lebanese publisher Arab Scientific has bought the publishing rights to Brekkukotsannáll /The Fish Can Sing in arabic.

by Bragi Ólafsson published in German by S. Fischer Verlag.

Over thirthy translators into twelve different languages.

Translators of Icelandic literature gather in Reykjavík and at Hali.

Halldór Laxness, Egill Skallagrímsson, Grim and the Miðgarðsormur Serpent in Leipzig

The new Website is now open
The Project Fabulous Iceland has now opened it’s new website.

of Sagas of Icelanders in German for publication in 2011 Published and promoted by one of Germany’s leading publishing houses

Agreement signed by Iceland’s Minister of Education, Science and Culture and Book Fair managing director