Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir (born 1958) is an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic professor of

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

, a

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

, playwright and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

. She received the

Nordic Council Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

for ''Hotel Silence'' in 2018 and the Médicis Foreign Award for ''Miss Iceland'' in 2019.

Early life and education

Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir was born in 1958, in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

. She studied

history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic visu ...

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Career

Auður works as an assistant

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

. For a time, she was the director of the university's Art Museum. Her first novel ''Upphækkuð jörð'' (''Raised Earth'') was published in 1998. It set the stage for her future works in its fine dissection of the smaller things in life. Her book ''Rigning í nóvember'' (''Butterflies in November'') was lauded as a "moving, layered and optimistic piece of writing". The book won the Tómas Guðmundsson Literary Award. In 2009, she published ''Afleggjarinn'' (''The Greenhouse'') to mixed reviews. It was described as meticulous and finely crafted, yet lacking a tension both in its language and friction in its emotion. It was also described as a sweetly comic and wry observation of sex, manhood, death and parenthood.

Personal life

Auður has revealed that her temporary residence in Catholic countries and her deep interest in their

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

led her to convert to Roman Catholicism.

Works

Novels

* ''Upphækkuð jörð'' (''Raised Earth''), 1998 * ''Rigning í nóvember'', 2004, in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as ''Butterflies in November'', in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

as ''Ein Schmetterling in November'' * ''Afleggjarinn'', 2007, in

as ''The Greenhouse'', also translated into French,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

* ''Undantekningin'' (''The Exception''), 2012 * ''Ör'' (''Scar''), 2016, in

as '' Hotel Silence'', also translated into

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

(Ärr) and Estonian as Arm. * ''Ungfrú Ísland'', 2018, in

as ''

Miss Iceland Miss Iceland or Miss Universe Iceland ( is, Ungfrú Ísland) is a national beauty pageant in Iceland. Began 2023 the winner represents Iceland at Miss Universe pageant. History The competition has been carried out since 1950; in the first yea ...

'', also translated into French * ''Dýralíf'', 2020, in English as '' Animal Life''.

Poetry

* ''Sálmurinn um glimmer'' (''The Psalm of Glimmer''), 2010

Theatre

* ''Swans mate for life'' (National Theatre of Iceland, 2014)

Awards

* 2018 - Bókmenntaverðlaun Norðurlandaráðs: Ör * 2016 - Íslensku bókmenntaverðlaunin: Ör * 2011 - Prix des libraires du Québec: Rosa Candida (Afleggjarinn í franskri þýðingu Catherine Eyjólfsson). Í flokknum þýðingar (Roman hors Québec) * 2010 - Prix de Page (Frakkland): Rosa Candida * 2008 - Menningarverðlaun DV í bókmenntum: Afleggjarinn * 2008 - Fjöruverðlaunin, bókmenntaverðlaun kvenna: Afleggjarinn * 2004 - Bókmenntaverðlaun Tómasar Guðmundssonar: Rigning í nóvember

References

External links

*
Info
*
literature.is
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olafsdottir, Audur Ava 1958 births Living people Audur Ava Olafsdottir Audur Ava Olafsdottir Audur Ava Olafsdottir Audur Ava Olafsdottir Audur Ava Olafsdottir Prix Médicis étranger winners Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism