Arnaldur Indriðason awarded the Spanish RBA Prize for Crime Fiction. Icelandic crime novels in over 40 languages
The Icelandic crime novel genre has become increasingly popular in recent years, with Arnaldur Indriðason undeniably at the forefront; his books have been translated into around 40 languages.
Recently Arnaldur Indriðason was awarded the prestigious Spanish RBA International Prize for Crime Fiction (premio RBA de novela negra) for his soon-to-be-published book Skuggasund (Shadow Channel), which will be released simultaneously in Iceland and Spain this autumn. The Spanish translator is Fabio Teixido Benedi. The Icelandic crime novel genre has become increasingly popular in recent years, with Arnaldur Indriðason undeniably at the forefront; his books have been translated into around 40 languages. Sales of his books recently reached 10 million copies, certainly remarkable considering that he writes in a language spoken by so few. Other Icelandic crime writers have also achieved international success: Yrsa Sigurðardóttir's books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and works by Árni Thórarinsson, Stefán Máni and Viktor Arnar Ingólfsson are available in a number of languages, including French, Spanish, English, Danish and German.
Morgunblaðið's newspaper feature on Icelandic crime novel translations (in Icelandic):
http://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2013/09/15/glaepasaga_til_naesta_baejar/
Arnaldur Indriðason awarded the RBA International Prize for Crime Writing (in Spanish):
http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2013/09/12/actualidad/1378975542_617607.html