Great authors from Iceland at Gothenburg Book Fair 2023
Sjón, Fríða Ísberg and Ævar Þór Benediktsson
are Iceland´s representatives at the Fair
and the Icelandic Literature Center will also be there
The largest Book Fair in Scandinavia, Gothenburg Book Fair will return full force on 28 September to 1 October. Every year the fair gathers around 100,000 visitors; writers, publishers, and book lovers alike. The fair is known for its diverse program, and this year the culture of Swedish Jews; history, literature, and philosophy, will be in the spotlight.
Icelandic Literature Center, in collaboration with the organizers of the book fair, has organized the participation of writers Sjón and Frída Ísberg in various events at the fair this year, and Ævar Þór Benediktsson will also be at the fair and participate, among other things, in a program with a well-known Swedish author and TV personality.
The program of the GothenburgBook Fair 2023 (pdf)
The Icelandic authors will appear in many events in the Gothenburg book fair, where they will discuss, among other things, child play and reading, the work on the "big novel" and also the power of dystopia.
Solvej Balle and Sjón will talk about their masterpieces.
Writing long and well
The Danish writer Solvej Balle and Sjón have known each other since the early eighties when they were taking their first steps as poets. The authors will discuss their careers and the large writing projects they have both tackled, in a seminar led by Swedish author Amanda Svenson. Sjón won the Swedish Academy's Nordic Literature Prize this year and Solvej Balle won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 2022 for the first three volumes out of seven in the novel collection Om udregning af rumfang, while the first volume, Rúmmálsreikningur was recently published in Icelandic translation by Steinunn Stefánsdóttir at Benedikt Publishing.
Friday, 29 september 15:00, https://bokmassan.se/programs/att-skriva-lange-och-val/
Other events with Sjón
Friday, 29 september 10:30, https://bokmassan.se/programs/att-som-stader-ta-stallning-for-yttrandefrihet-styrkan-i-fristadsnatverket-icorn/
Friday, 29 september 13:00, https://bokmassan.se/programs/poesi-fran-island-belgien-stockholm-goteborg/
Swedish cover of The Mark by Fríða Ísberg
Nordic dystopias
Fríða Ísberg takes part in an interesting seminar together with the Danish author Rasmus Daugbjerg, where the focus will be on Nordic dystopias and the manifestations of power. Fríða's novel, Merking, was published in a Swedish translation last year and has attracted well-deserved attention in that country, but Fríða won the Pers Olovs Enquist Literary Prize in 2022.
Saturday, 30 september 10:00, https://bokmassan.se/programs/nordiska-dystopier/
Other events with Fríða
Saturday, 30 september 12:00, https://bokmassan.se/programs/frida-isberg-market/
Saturday, 30 september 13:00, https://bokmassan.se/programs/market/
Þín eigin saga: Draugagangur is to be published in Swedish.
Ævar Þór and playful reading
The writer Ævar Þór Benediktsson takes part in a seminar on „Lekande läsning” where he talks to the Swedish comedian, TV host and children's book author David Sundin about the importance of play for reading and vice versa. A Swedish translation of Þín eigin saga: Börn Loka was published recently, and in September young Swedish readers can rejoice because Þín eigin saga: Draugagangur is expected then!
Saturday, 30 september 12:00, https://bokmassan.se/programs/lekande-lasning/
Other events with Ævar Þór
Friday, 29 september 14:30, https://bokmassan.se/programs/bocker-i-dataspelsformat-vacker-barnens-lasintresse/
Book a meeting
The Icelandic Literature Center selects annually a list of Icelandic books for promotion at book fairs and literature events abroad as well as digital promotion. Books from Iceland brochure 2023 . Please feel free to book a meeting at islit@islit.is.
In connection with the fair, there will be a reception hosted by the Icelandic embassy in Stockholm for various publishers, authors, translators, and others interested in literature.
There will also be a gathering for Icelandic-speaking children and their parents to encourage reading. It is Kristín Pálsdóttir, Icelandic teacher, who organizes in collaboration with the embassy.
The participation in the fair in Gothenburg is in collaboration with Íslandsstofa.