Steinunn Sigurdardottir

Steinunn Sigurðardóttir is one of Iceland´s most highly acclaimed novelists and poets. She published her first volume of poetry at the age of 19. Her output to date includes fourteen novels, eleven volumes of poetry, two books of fact, a children’s book, a stage play, TV-plays, radio plays. She is also translator of poetry and prose. She graduated in psychology and philosophy from University College Dublin, then embarking on a carreer as radio reporter and journalist.

Steinunn Sigurdardóttir has contributed greatly to the international recognition of contemporary Icelandic literature, being one of the most frequently translated living Icelandic writers. Her latest novel BÓL/Lavaland (Nov. 2023) has been received with unanimous enthusiasm, being called a "true masterpiece" and "opus magnum." For BÓL she won the most important Icelandic literary prize - the second time around, being the first female author to do so. Amongst her other novels are Place of the Heart (Herzort) which also won The Icelandic Literary Prize, Sunshine Horse (Sonnenscheinpferd),Jojo (Yo Yo) and The Love of the Fish (Die Liebe der Fische). Steinunn’s first novel, The Thief of Time (Zeitdieb) was made into a French feature film, Voleur de vie, starring Emmanuelle Béart, Sandrine Bonnaire.

Steinunn Sigurdardóttir's novels vary greatly in form and content, but the central theme is almost always love in its various aspects. All the novels are written in a clear, literary, sometimes colloquial style; Her unique voice moved one reviewer to state that her writing makes the reader “intoxicated.”

Steinunn Sigurdardóttir has through the years, since 1990, been published by leading European publishers, such as Hanser, Rowohlt, Gyldendal, Flammarion, Mondadori. Many of Steinunn Sigurdardottir’s books have been bestsellers. Her novel, “The Thief of Time” (Voleur de vie) was repeatedly reedited in Sweden and France where it sold in tens of thousands of copies. It was put on stage at the National Theatre in Iceland to great success in 2017, starring Nina Dögg Filippusdóttir as Alda - who has been called the most tragic of female heroines in Icelandic literature. Her book about President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was an all-time bestseller in Iceland. Steinunn Sigurdardottir also wrote a bestselling true story about Heida, The Mountain Farmer, published by leading European publishing houses.