Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.12.2019, Blaðsíða 32

32The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 21— 2019
Wordflood
Bókamessa boasts a record-breakin! year for
fiction and poetry books
Words: a rawlings Photo: Art Bicnick
Film
Iceland’s annual book fair ran from
November 23rd-24th at Harpa.
Bókamessa, Iceland’s annual
book fair, is a déluge of books,
publishers, readers, writers, and
piparsmákökur—Icelandic pep-
per cookies. As the kick-off to the
country’s infamous Jólabókafló!,
or Christmas Book Flood, the book
fair, now in its ninth year, provides
a safe harbour to sample new pub-
lications in anticipation of the sea-
son’s book-buying frenzy.
The ultimate gift
“This is such a sport for Icelanders
during Christmastime,” Bókames-
sa organizer Bryndís Loftsdóttir
explains. “At Christmas parties,
the question is always, ‘What
books have you gotten? What are
you reading?’”
In Iceland, it has become rote
that the ultimate Christmas
present is a book… in addition to
socks, of course, so as to ward off
Jólakötturinn from kidnapping
unfortunate souls to be devoured
by the ogress Gr$la. But more sig-
nificantly: books. This has little to
do with bleak midwinter supersti-
tions, but has become tradition on
our subarctic island.
Poetry for days
Harpa’s views of Faxaflói Bay and
the snow-covered Mt. Esja in the
distance juxtapose against the
busy book-fair interior. Throngs
shu ff le th roug h Bóka messa
looking for titles to add to their
wishlists.
Cult author Stefán Máni perch-
es by rows of his new novel, offer-
ing commentary on cover designs
for his blood-soaked ‘A!venta’
(‘Advent’) and the biblical ‘Svarti-
galdur’ (‘Black Magic’). Ásta Fan-
ney Sigur!ardóttir smiles in a por-
trait overtop Partus Press, where
her poetry collection ‘Eilíf!arnón’
(‘Cows Come Home’) astounds
in purple cloth, hardcover, and
metallic ink. Gu!rún Eva Míner-
vudóttir sits in Storytel’s booth
for a live-broadcast interview on
her new book ‘A!fer!ir til a! lifa af’
(‘Methods of Survival’).
In addition to publisher booths
and tables, the book fair features
a robust programme of author
readings and public interviews.
These are organized as a partner-
ship with Reykjavík UNESCO City
of Literature program manag-
ers Kristín Vi!arsdóttir and Lára
A!alsteinsdóttir.
“We had poetry hour for sev-
eral hours today, but we could
have been reading continuously
for days with so much new poetry
in Iceland,” Kristín says of the live
programming. “It’s so fabulous, so
many young authors.”
Aprés moi, le déluge
The growth in publications is tru-
ly staggering, Bryndís confirms.
“There is 21% more Icelandic fic-
tion this year than the year before,
and 51% more poetry. It's crazy,”
she explains.
The organizers agree that the
rise in publications has to do with
a new generation of publishers and
writers flooding the market. “So
many young people are into pub-
lishing,” Kristín says. “I think that's
wonderful.”
Importing ksi,-ki
Icelandic fiction for children
ages six to 12 is also increasing.
“There are more Icelandic authors
writing for kids
than tran slat-
ing books,” says
Bryndís.
P u b l i s h i n g
house Sögur em-
pha si zes ch i l-
dren’s books in
Ic e l a n d i c a n d
in translation.
Their import in-
n ov at i on t h i s
year caught the
eye of Bryndís. “Sögur used the
opportunity to import 300 books
in Polish. They have books in both
Icelandic and Polish. It’s so clever,”
she exclaims.
East meets West
Sveinn Snorri Sveinsson has trav-
elled from Egilssta!ir to represent
his two new novellas ‘Minning
#ess gleymda’ (‘Memory of the
Forgotten’) and ‘"orpi! í skógi-
num’ (‘The Village in the Woods’).
Initially publishing his first book
at the tender age of 18, Sveinn has
gone on to publish poetry, novel-
las, and a comic book over his28-
year career. It is, however, his first
time attending Bókamessa. He
stands with one of his publishers,
Félag ljó!aunnenda á Austurlandi,
also visiting from East Iceland,
engaging visitors in conversation
about the books.
He is no stranger to face-to-face
sales. As a teen, Sveinn sold his
first books by going door-to-door
in Egilssta!ir. “I sold a lot,” he con-
fides, “because it was something
new—that a kid like me was pub-
lishing poetry in Egilssta!ir. Over
time, I developed a group of people
who always buy my books.”
Sveinn is thrilled by his first
experience at Bókamessa. “You
have an opportunity to show
and present. The best thing
about sel ling a book here is
when somebody doesn't want to
buy but he reads it and decides
to buy it. That's a compliment.”
A sea of readers
“It's a public fair,” explains Kristín.
“It's not a business fair. It's from
the publisher to the readers.”
The fair features numerous Ice-
landic-language publishers, most
from Reykjavík. The largest pub-
lisher, Forlagi!, displays its titles
against a wall of pallets gussied
up with pine boughs. Bjartur /
Veröld decorates its walls with
larger-than-life portraits of their
aut°hors; each eye is as large as a
reader’s head, and
stares directly at each
would-be consumer.
When some of these
authors arrive later,
life-sized and ani-
mated, whiffs of fan-
dom ripple through
the room.
“There is this
beautiful relation-
ship to be able to talk
to authors,” Lára re-
marks of the encounters taking
place during Bókamessa. “People
see their favourite author and you
can see them thinking, ‘I’m going
to catch this one.’”
Participants of book fairs past in the used book store on Hverfisgata
Books
“There is 21%
more Icelandic
fiction this year
than the year
before, and 51%
more poetry.
It's crazy.”
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raspberry sauce
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Icelandic
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Must try dishes