Gyrðir receives Nordic Council Literature Prize

7. November, 2011

“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.

Gyrðir Elíasson - við ahendingu Bókmenntaverðlauna Norðurlandaráðs

“When I was a teenager reading The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas and The Good Hope by William Heinesen, little did I suspect that I would stand here, in the footsteps of these wonderful authors, and of others who have received this prize,” said author Gyrðir Elíasson upon receiving the Nordic Council Literature Prize, at a ceremony in the Royal Danish Academy of Music on November 2.

In April, it was announced that Gyrðir would receive the award for his short story collection Between the Trees (orig. Milli trjánna), which has already been published in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and is slated for publication in France as well.

“Coexisting with land and nature, people and animals, is equally important to the education that modern urban societies offer, and upon closer reflection, all true education is based on these things, even today,” Gyrðir said in his acceptance speech. “When urban societies have completely forgotten their origins, there will be trouble. Beneath all this concrete, there is still dirt. I hope that that the world of technology and so-called progress will never completely overshadow the vitality inherent in fiction and poetry, a vitality related to the earth itself.”

Three books by Gyrðir were published in German during Iceland's year as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair: the poetry book A Few General Remarks on the Cooling of the Sun(orig. Nokkur almenn orð um kulnun sólar) and the novels Wandering Squirrel (orig. Gangandi íkorni) and The Book of Sandá River (orig. Sandárbókin).

Photo: NN - norden.org


Latest news

Two bibliographies now make it easier to search for Icelandic works in French and Swedish translation - 20. August, 2025 News

These bibliographies are invaluable tools for everyone working within the field of literature and translations, as well as for enthusiastic readers, searching for the works by their favorite author in their preferred language. Hopefully we’ll see more bibliographies like these in the years to come. 

More

This year our Translators' Seminar was dedicated to Sjón - 16. June, 2025 News

The seminar took place in Reykjavík at the end of April and this time the emphasis was on translations of Sjón's works. All participants have one thing in common: they have translated works by the author and poet from Icelandic into their native languages

More

The Grassroot Grants of the Icelandic Literature Center for 2025 go to Karólína Rós Ólafsdóttir and Natan Jónsson - 16. June, 2025 News

Grassroot grants are awarded annually, with the aim of supporting publication of the work of newcomers on the writing scene and encouraging them to further endeavours

More

All news