Ófeigur receives EU Prize for Literature
At a ceremony taking place in Brussels last Monday, the author Ófeigur Sigurðsson received the EU Prize for Literature for the historical novel Jon (Icelandic: Skáldsagan um Jón).
Jon is Ófeigur's second novel and relates the story of the Enlightenment figure Jon “Fire Preacher” Steingrímsson, popularly believed to have delivered such a rousing sermon during a devastating 1783 eruption that a lava stream bound for nearby farms simply stopped.
Ófeigur, who has also published a number of poetry books and translations, is one of twelve authors receiving the prize, which is intended to shine a spotlight on the cultural importance of contemporary literature in Europe, increase its circulation and encourage cultural exchange between countries. The prize for each author consists of 5,000 Euros, as well as an increased possibility of translation subsidies.