Milli mála - 2020, Blaðsíða 193
Milli mála 12/2020 193
ANGELA RAWLINGS, LARA W. HOFFMANN, RANDI W. STEBBINS
10.33112/millimala.12.7
title of Iceland’s presentation as the guest of honor at the 2011 Frank-
furt book fair, Sagenhaftes Island, referring to the Icelandic sagas.
The idea of Icelandic literature as pure and homogenous prevails in
the popular imagination and marketing strategies. There have been
attempts at diversification, such as the inclusion of immigrant authors
in Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature5 events and a 2016 edition
of Tímarit Máls og menningar that dealt directly with what it means to
be an Icelandic author.6 More recently, Flóra útgáfa has included a
handful of immigrant voices in its publications, such as the 2018
“Grein með hreim” essay from Jo Van Schalkwyck.7 Despite these
initiatives, UNESCO City of Literature’s website predominantly lists
authors who would be classified as Icelandic8 under their authors’ list,
as does Flóra útgáfa.9 At this point, it is difficult to say if there are any
long-term trends towards diversification of Icelandic literature, as was
discussed in a 2020 radio program on the National Broadcasting
Company’s radio program titled Lestin.10 Furthermore, the Union of
Icelandic Publishers has 41 members, all companies that are headed
by Icelandic directors.11 The Writer’s Union of Iceland has 597 mem-
bers, of which only 2.5% could possibly be of foreign origin based on
a quick analysis of the listed names.12
This is in stark contrast to the significant increase in the number
of people living in Iceland who do not speak Icelandic as a first lan-
guage in the 21st century. The number of immigrants in Iceland
5 Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature, https://bokmenntaborgin.is/en [accessed October 16,
2020].
6 Fórlagið, TMM 3. hefti 2016 https://www.forlagid.is/baekur/timarit-mm-3-hefti-2016/?fbclid=-
IwAR1m7peEkqq6Ts58wiCuXsa-Ja8fnf4XM4dXyCLl4E6sOueYN26b6ocjKPY [accessed
October 16, 2020].
7 Van Schalkwyk, Jo “Grein með hreim”, Flóra útgáfa, 2018, https://flora-utgafa.is/2utgafa/grein-
med-hreim [accessed 16.10.2020].
8 Statistics Icelandic classifies an Icelander as someone who is born in Iceland of Icelandic parents.
Icelanders who have become citizens through other means are not included in this definition.
Hagstofa Íslands, 2020, https://www.hagstofa.is/utgafur/lysigogn/lysigogn/?fileId=19525 [acces-
sed October 16, 2020].
9 Flóra útgáfa, 2018, https://flora-utgafa.is/um-okkur [accessed 16.10.2020].
10 RÚV. Lestin – Íslenska með hreim, Emilíana Torrini og bókasöfn. https://www.ruv.is/utvarp/spila/
lestin/23619/7hr8me?fbclid=IwAR1iUgh6_zsOo7JqvXcJLxoELjtzgrh2J1sRo94PZY
47GOl7rnzUDsyJteA [accessed 16.10.2020].
11 Félag Íslenkra Bókaútgefenda, List of Members, 2018, https://fibut.is/english/list-of-members [acces-
sed April 28, 2020].
12 Rithöfundasamband Íslands. Félagatal, 2020, https://rsi.is/felagatal [accessed April 29, 2020].