The Iceland Writers Retreat is a one-week international event for writers that takes place in Reykjavik,

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 ...

History

The Iceland Writers Retreat (IWR) was founded in 2014 by

Eliza Reid Eliza Jean Reid (born 5 May 1976) is a Canadian-Icelandic writer and, since 2016, the First Lady of Iceland through her marriage to Icelandic President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson. Before becoming First Lady she co-founded the Iceland Writers Re ...

, who is currently the

First Lady of Iceland This is a list of spouses and partners of Icelandic presidents. Eliza Reid is the spouse of incumbent president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson. List † – denotes that the person died while the president was in office References {{First Lad ...

, and Erica Jacobs Green, of the United States. It has been held annually since 2014 in Reykjavik,

. Iceland is known for its literary tradition, and Reykjavik is the world’s first non-native English speaking

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

City of Literature UNESCO's City of Literature programme is part of the wider Creative Cities Network. The ''Network'' was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields. The other creative fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gas ...

. The Iceland Writers Retreat was named one of the world's best writers' retreats in

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

. Spring 2016 marked the third annual Iceland Writers Retreat, taking place 13–17 April 2016. The fourth event was hosted from 5–9 April 2017, with the fifth taking place 11-15 April 2018. The sixth annual Retreat is scheduled for 3-7 April, 2019.

Schedule

The retreat is an international gathering, bringing together authors from many different countries. The Retreat consists of several small-group writing workshops led by acclaimed authors from around the world. There are opportunities to explore

between workshops, which introduce participants to Iceland's rich literary tradition and beautiful landscapes. The Retreat includes Q & A Panels with all faculty, and social events to allow participants to network with an international group of writers.

Funding

The retreat's founding sponsor is

Icelandair Icelandair is the flag carrier airline of Iceland, with its corporate head office on the property of Reykjavík Airport in the capital city Reykjavik. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both si ...

. It is also supported by the Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Reykjavik UNESCO City of Literature, the City of Reykjavik, the US Embassy in Iceland, and the Icelandic Literature Center.

Featured authors

*2014:

Randy Boyagoda Soharn Randy Boyagoda (born 1976) is a Canadian writer, intellectual and critic known for his novels ''Governor of the Northern Province'' (2006), ''Beggar's Feast'' (2011), ''Original Prin'' (2018), and ''Dante's Indiana'' (2021). He is also the ...

Joseph Boyden Joseph Boyden (born October 31, 1966) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer of Irish and Scottish descent. He also claims Indigenous descent, but this is widely disputed. Joseph Boyden is best known for writing about First Nations culture ...

, Geraldine Brooks, Andrew Evans,

Susan Orlean Susan Orlean (born October 31, 1955) is a journalist, television writer, and bestselling author of ''The Orchid Thief'' and '' The Library Book''. She has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1992, and has contributed articles to many ...

Iain Reid Iain Reid (born 1981) is a Canadian writer. Winner of the RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award in 2015, Reid is the author of '' I'm Thinking of Ending Things'' (2016) and '' Foe'' (2018). Writing career Reid established his writing career by publi ...

, James Scudamore,

Sara Wheeler Sara Diane Wheeler (born 20 March 1961) is an English travel author and biographer, noted for her accounts of polar regions. Biography Sara Wheeler was brought up in Bristol, England, and studied Classics and Modern Languages at Brasenose C ...

*2015:

Alison Pick Alison Pick (born 1975) is a Canadian writer. She is most noted for her Booker Prize-nominated novel ''Far to Go'', and was a winner of the Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award for most promising writer in Canada under 35. Life and career Alison Pick ...

, Marcello Di Cintio,

Adam Gopnik Adam Gopnik (born August 24, 1956) is an American writer and essayist. He is best known as a staff writer for ''The New Yorker,'' to which he has contributed non-fiction, fiction, memoir, and criticism since 1986. He is the author of nine books ...

Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo in her early childhood. Kingsolver earned degrees in biology at DePauw University and the Univers ...

Ruth Reichl Ruth Reichl (; born 1948), is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''The New York Times'', Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and ...

Taiye Selasi Taiye Selasi (born 2 November 1979) is a British-American writer and photographer. Of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin, she describes herself as a "local" of Accra, Berlin, New York and Rome. Early life and education Taiye Selasi was born in Lond ...

Sjón 260px, Sjón at LiteratureXchange Festival ín Aarhus (Denmark 2019) Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson (born 27 August 1962), known as Sjón ( ; ; meaning "sight" and being an abbreviation of his first name), is an Icelandic poet, novelist, lyricis ...

Linn Ullmann Karin Beate "Linn" Ullmann (born 9 August 1966) is a Norwegian author and journalist. A prominent literary critic, she also writes a column for Norway's leading morning newspaper and has published six novels. Early life Ullmann was born in Oslo ...

John Vaillant John Vaillant (born June 4, 1962) is an American-Canadian writer and journalist whose work has appeared in ''The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic'', and '' Outside''. He has written both non-fiction and fiction books. Personal life ...

*2016:

Cheryl Strayed Cheryl Strayed (; née Nyland; born September 17, 1968) is an American writer and podcast host. She has written four books: the novel ''Torch'' (2006) and the nonfiction books '' Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail'' (2012), '' Ti ...

Elina Hirvonen Elina Hirvonen (born 1975, Helsinki) is a Finnish writer, journalist and documentary film-maker. She was educated at the Helsinki University of Art and Design, and also the University of Turku, where she studied literature in the Faculty of Humani ...

Mark Kurlansky Mark Kurlansky (December 7, 1948) is an American journalist and writer of general interest non-fiction. He has written a number of books of fiction and non-fiction. His 1997 book, ''Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World'' (1997), ...

Vincent Lam Vincent Lam (born September 5, 1974) is a Canadian writer and medical doctor. Early life and education Born in London, Ontario and raised in Ottawa, Lam's parents came to Canada from the Chinese expatriate community in Vietnam. He attended ...

, Neel Mukherjee,

Miriam Toews Miriam Toews (; born 1964) is a Canadian writer and author of nine books, including ''A Complicated Kindness'' (2004), '' All My Puny Sorrows'' (2014), and '' Women Talking'' (2018). She has won a number of literary prizes including the Governor ...

, Adelle Waldman,

Andrew Westoll Andrew Westoll is a Canadian writer, who won the 2012 Charles Taylor Prize for his non-fiction book ''The Chimps of Fauna Foundation: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery''. A primatologist, Westoll previously published the travel memoir ...

, Kate Williams,

Gerður Kristný Gerður Kristný (born 1970) is an Icelandic writer who is best known for her poetry and books for children. Early life Gerður Kristný was born on 10 June 1970 and brought up in Reykjavík. She graduated in French and comparative literature fro ...

*2017:

Bret Anthony Johnston Bret Anthony Johnston is an American author. He wrote the novel ''Remember Me Like This'' and the story collection, ''Corpus Christi: Stories''. He is also the editor of the non-fiction work, ''Naming the World and Other Exercises for the Creat ...

Claudia Casper Claudia Casper is a Canadian writer. She is best known for her bestseller novel ''The Reconstruction'', about a woman who constructs a life-sized model of the hominid Lucy for a museum diorama while trying to recreate herself. Her third novel, ...

David Lebovitz David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

Meg Wolitzer Meg Wolitzer (born May 28, 1959) is an American novelist, known for '' The Wife'', ''The Ten-Year Nap'', ''The Uncoupling,'' ''The Interestings'', and ''The Female Persuasion.'' She works as an instructor in the MFA program at Stony Brook Southa ...

Nadifa Mohamed Nadifa Mohamed ( so, Nadiifa Maxamed, ar, نظيفة محمد) (born 1981) is a Somali-British novelist. She featured on ''Granta'' magazine's list "Best of Young British Novelists" in 2013, and in 2014 on the Africa39 list of writers aged u ...

, Paul Murray,

Sara Gruen Sara Gruen (born 1969 in Vancouver) is an author with dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship. Her books often deal with animals and she supports numerous charitable organizations that support animals and wildlife. She is a 2007 recipient of an Alex ...

, Vilborg Davíðsdóttir,

Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir (born 1958) is an Icelandic professor of art history, a novelist, playwright and poet. She received the Nordic Council Literature Prize for ''Hotel Silence'' in 2018 and the Médicis Foreign Award for ''Miss Iceland'' in ...

Carsten Jensen Carsten Jensen (born 24 July 1952, Marstal, Denmark) is a Danish author and political columnist. He first earned recognition as a literary critic for the Copenhagen daily, ''Politiken.'' His novels, including ''I Have Seen the World Begin'' (199 ...

Chris Cleave Chris Cleave (born 1973) is a British writer and journalist. Biography Cleave was born in London on May 14, 1973, brought up in Cameroon and Buckinghamshire, and educated at Balliol College, Oxford where he studied psychology. He lives in the ...

Esi Edugyan Esi Edugyan (born 1978) is a Canadian novelist.Donna Bailey Nurse"Writing the blues" ''Quill & Quire'', July 2011. She has twice won the Giller Prize, for her novels '' Half-Blood Blues'' and '' Washington Black''. Biography Esi Edugyan was born ...

Madeleine Thien Madeleine Thien (; born 1974) is a Canadian short story writer and novelist. ''The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Literature'' has considered her work as reflecting the increasingly trans-cultural nature of Canadian literature, exploring art, expres ...

*2018:

Adania Shibli Adania Shibli ( ar, عدنية شبلي) is a Palestinian author and essayist. She was born in Palestine in 1974. Personal life and education Shibli holds a Ph.D. from the University of East London in Media and Cultural Studies. Her disserta ...

Andri Snær Magnason Andri Snær Magnason (born 14 July 1973) is an Icelanders, Icelandic writer. He has written novels, poetry, Play (theatre), plays, short stories, and essays. Andri is also a director and producer of three documentary films that have premiered in ...

Craig Davidson Craig Davidson (born 1975) is a Canadian author of short stories and novels, who has published work under both his own name and the pen names Patrick Lestewka and Nick Cutter. His style has been compared to that of Chuck Palahniuk. Early life B ...

, Gwendoline Riley,

Hallgrímur Helgason Hallgrímur Helgason (born February 18, 1959, in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic painter, novelist, translator, and columnist. Biography Hallgrímur Helgason is an Icelandic writer and artist, born in Reykjavik, Iceland, on February 18, 1959. He s ...

Lauren Groff Lauren Groff (born July 23, 1978) is an American novelist and short story writer. She has written four novels and two short story collections, including '' Fates and Furies'' (2015), ''Florida'' (2018), and '' Matrix'' (2021). Early life and ed ...

, Lina Wolff,

Pamela Paul Pamela Paul (born 1970/1971) is an American columnist, journalist, editor, and author. Since 2022, she has been an op-ed writer for ''The New York Times''. From 2013 to 2022, she was the editor of ''The New York Times Book Review'',Rory Maclean, Susan Shreve,

Terry Fallis Terry Fallis (born 1959) is a Canadian writer and public relations consultant. He is a two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, winning in 2008 for his debut novel ''The Best Laid Plans''

. Icelandic authors who have participated in the IWR through presentations and readings include:

Einar Kárason Einar Kárason (born 24 November 1955 in Reykjavík, Iceland) 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 Euro ...

, Ari Trausti Guðmundsson, Ragna Sigurðardóttir,

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson (; born 26 June 1968) is an Icelandic historian and politician serving as the sixth and current president of Iceland. He took office in 2016 after winning the most votes in the 2016 election, 71,356 (39.1%). He wa ...

Jónína Leósdóttir Jónína Leósdóttir (born 16 May 1954) is an Icelandic novelist, playwright, former journalist and Spouse of the Prime Minister of Iceland from 2008 until 2013. She is the author of a dozen plays, eleven novels, two biographies and a collect ...

, Sigurlín Bjarney Gísladóttir,

Jón Gnarr Jón Gnarr (; born 2 January 1967)This is an Icelandic name. ''Kristinsson'' is the patronymic, but he is properly referred to as ''Jón Gnarr'' as he had it legally removed. is an Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who served as the Ma ...

, Sigurbjörg Thrastardóttir, and

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir Vilborg Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (born in 1963) is an Icelandic people, Icelandic writer of both Crime fiction, crime novels and Children's literature, children's fiction. She has been writing since 1998. Her début crime novel was translated into ...

References

External links

Iceland Writers Retreat
{{authority control Annual events in Iceland Festivals in Reykjavík Spring (season) events in Iceland Recurring events established in 2014 2014 establishments in Iceland