“Great literature always finds a path“
“Our most important aim is to strengthen the literary culture in Iceland, promote Icelandic literature abroad, and contribute to the increased distribution of Icelandic works of literature” says Hrefna Haraldsdóttir, Managing Director
“Our most important aim is to strengthen the literary culture in Iceland, promote Icelandic literature abroad and contribute to the increased distribution of Icelandic works of literature.” Says Hrefna Haraldsdóttir, Managing Director.
The Icelandic Literature Center was founded in 2013 and the scope of the work done there, as well as the number of projects, has increased steadily ever since.
“Our most important aim is to strengthen the literary culture in Iceland, promote Icelandic literature abroad, and contribute to the increased distribution of Icelandic works of literature" says Hrefna Haraldsdóttir, Managing Director.
Hrefna tells us that the offering grants for the translation and publication of literature in Icelandic is one of the most effective ways to strenghten the literary culture in Iceland. "We offer publishing grants, “grassroots grants”, such as for a debut work by a new author, and translation grants for translating literature from a foreign language. We also provide travel grants for authors for promotional travel and residential grants for translators, in co-operation with the Writers´ Association. International publishers and agents can also apply for grants for translating a work from Icelandic into another language. We take part in the big book fairs annually, where we introduce foreign publishers as well as readers in general to Icelandic authors and Icelandic literature."
The Center is a multi-functional service centre for literature in a broad sense, similar to its “sister organisations” in the other Nordic countries.
“We get more grant applications every year and there is no doubt that the demand is great indeed, which comes as no surprise, given the ambition and industry of Icelandic writers and publishers. We also get a lot of requests for information on anything related to Icelandic literature and authors, such as for readings, book fairs and similar events abroad. Everything we do here at the Center is done with one goal in mind: To promote, introduce and sharpen the focus on Icelandic literature.”
Hrefna adds that she is especially pleased that they have been able to increase the grant amount for illustrated children´s books in particular, without having to eat into other grant monies.
Hrefna also likes to stress that a strong relationship with translators is a key factor in the work done at the Literature Center, something that was underlined at a big translators´ conference the Center organised last fall, in co-operation with the major literary institutions.
“We gathered 30 translators from 17 linguistical areas. These people are vital for us, because if we want our written works to spread its wings beyond our own linguistic space and reach a bigger readership, we need great translators. They can truly be called Ambassadors of Literature and today, we can boast of Icelandic literature being translated and published in around 50 foreign countries.”
But why is there such great interest in the literary activities of a small nation in the Far North? "There are many different reasons for that, one is that Iceland is trending as a country at the moment and that helps. And there only has to be one “hit”, one translated book that becomes a bestseller abroad, for the interest to awaken, which has been the case in France for example and elsewhere. Our guiding principle, however, is and always will be this: Great literature always finds a path.”
The status of reading for pleasure and the importance of children´s literature has been a frequent subject for debate in recent years. Hrefna tells us that the Literature Center tries to do its part, for example by opening the website “Ready, Steady, Read” (Allir lesa) and organising a competition called the “Champions League” in reading, which people signed up for by the thousands, as a joint project with “Reykjavik, City of Literature”.
“One of our aims has been to put special emphasis on books for children and young adults, for instance by providing special grants for high-quality illustrated children´s books, as these tend to be expensive to produce and publish. We did get a small increase in this year´s fiscal allotment and decided to channel those funds into that genre, without having to decrease other grant monies. This was very important. This is the first step on that road and we greatly hope to take several more steps in the immediate future.”
Hrefna feels that high-quality illustrated books are ideal for awakening and maintaining children´s interest in reading and will greatly encourage a young reader, as well as being well suited for a family reading hour.
“There are already a considerable number of such books published, but we sense a keen need for a bigger and broader selection. We hope that the new grants will improve that situation and I am very optimistic that they will result in new titles on the market as early as next fall and that the harvest will be even richer in the months and years to come.”
An interview by Magnús Guðmundsson in Fréttablaðið newspaper, February 21st 2018.