Icelandic author Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir was recently awarded the 2018 Nordic Council Literature Prize for her novel, Ör, making her the eighth Icelandic author to be presented this award. Past Icelandic winners include: Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson (1976), Snorri Hjartarson (1981), Thor Vilhjámsson (1988), Fríða Á. Sigurðardóttir (1992), Einar Már Guðmundsson (1995), Sjón (2005) and Gyrðir Elíasson (2011).
The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded to a work of fiction written in a Nordic language that is of high literary and artistic quality. Since 1962, the prize has been awarded to various works of literature, including plays, essays and novels.
Ör is Auður’s fifth novel and was also awarded the Icelandic Literary Prize in 2017. Auður’s work ranges from novels, poems, plays and even song lyrics. Auður has won numerous other awards for her work including the Bókmenntaverðlaun Tómasar Guðmundssonar literature prize and the Icelandic women’s literature prize. Her current novel has been translated in 12 languages and continues to captivate and interest a wide range of readers. “I write against the darkness in the world,” said Auður. Currently, she is also the the head of the University of Iceland’s art museum.
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