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Iceland Noir 2025

By Lee-Anne Fox I was pleasantly surprised that the programme for my third Iceland Noir revealed a number of Icelandic authors on the daytime panels. I admit to having mixed feelings about the changes the festival has seen over the years, particularly moving away from the Noir and crime element and focusing more on getting the big names in as headliners, for example, George RR Martin of Game of Thrones fame and Squid Game writer, Hwang Dong-Hyuk. I was thrilled to see som

Feb 145 min read

Skammdegi

by Gunnar Birgisson A view of Reykjavik, December 2015 Photo Credit: Arbol01, Creative Commons This is the time of year we experience skammdegi . The days are short and the nights are long. It’s dark when you go to work and it’s dark when you come home. In between, you sip coffee while gazing through the window at the grayish day outside. It’s a long se

Jan 162 min read

New Years Eve

By Bryndís Víglundsóttir Photo Credit: Börkur Sigurbjörnsson from Barcelona, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Jól have been celebrated in Iceland as long as people have lived here. Our ancestors, the early immigrants to Iceland celebrated the returning of the sun at winter solstice, around December 20th (jólmánuður/ mörsugur). It is simply not possible for people of the present generation to imagine or understand what the dark season of this region was like. People had to continu

Jan 35 min read

Jólabókaflóðið: The Christmas Book Flood

By Phyllis Smith It is that time of year again where giving gifts to family and friends is part of our tradition. Icelanders experience the Jólabókaflóðið, both giving and being given a book, or more! The best part is curling up with that new book and a hot beverage of choice. Image generated using Canva Friends who have heard far too much about the Icelandic side of my lineage will send me messages in the lead-up to Christmas. “I just read an article about Iceland. Have y

Dec 5, 20253 min read

Hitaveita

By Gunnar Birgisson Photo Credit: Mathieu Neville: Geothermal Power Plant in Iceland; Wikimedia Commons Over the ages, Iceland offered its residents few resources to enjoy. The soil and climate rendered it difficult to grow crops for human consumption, with most farmers instead using their land to grow grass to make hay for feeding sheep and cows in winter. Aside from blueberries (see my earlier article on Berjamór ), almost nothing growing in nature could be harvested an

Dec 5, 20252 min read

Interesting Icelander - Magnús R. Einarsson

Interesting Icelander for November 2025: Magnús R. Einarsson

By Phyllis Smith We never know who we are going to meet when we travel, be it near of far. Phyllis tells us of their trip to Iceland and the people they met over dinner. They were talking with someone named Magnús . Here's what she had to say about that encounter... During our last trip to Iceland, we took the ferry over to the Westman Islands to stay for a day or two. It’s worth a visit. We did a tour around the Island on a zodiac. It’s a fabulous view of the area. We toure

Nov 22, 20253 min read