Kristín Ragna Gunnarsdóttir (born 2 May 1968) is an Icelandic writer and illustrator of children's books. A

literary scholar A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

, she has lectured on

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

and hosted art workshops. Kristín created and curated the exhibition ''Barnabókaflóðið'' (''The Children’s Book Flood'') which was presented in the Baltic countries in the early 2020s. She has twice received the Icelandic illustration award Dimmalimm for books inspired by

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

Early life and education

Born in Reykjavik on 2 May 1968, Kristín Ragna completed her studies at Iceland's College of Arts and Crafts (Myndlista- og handíðaskóla Íslands) in 1992. She went on to study comparative literature and creative writing at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) 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' school to a modern co ...

, graduating in 2006 and earning a master's degree in creative writing in 2016.

Career

As a literary scholar, Kristín has held lectures on creative writing at the University of Iceland and participated in courses on illustrating children's literature at Iceland's Academy of the Arts. She has frequently hosted workshops at the Reykjavík School of Visual Arts. As a writer and illustrator, she has published a number of children's books. She is recognized in particular for her books invoking Nordic mythology, combining contemporary interests with ancient myths. In particular, she has twice won the Dimmalimm prize for her illustrations, in 2009 for ''Örlög guðanna'' (The Fates of the Gods) and in 2012 for ''Hávamál'' (Sayings of the High One). In 2018, her book ''Úlfur og Edda'' was nominated for the

West Nordic Council's Children and Youth Literature Prize West Nordic Council's Children and Youth Literature Prize is a literary award, which was established in 2002 by the West Nordic Council. The prize is awarded every second year at the annual meeting of the West Nordic Council, normally in August. T ...

. Kristín has also arranged and curated exhibitions on Norse mythology, in particular ''Barnabókaflóðið'' (''The Children’s Book Flood'') was presented in the Baltic countries in the early 2000s. In March 2022, at the

Jaipur Literature Festival The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), often hailed as the "''greatest literary show on Earth''," is a renowned annual cultural and literary festival held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Established in 2006 by writers Namita Gokhale and William Dalry ...

she also made a presentation on her books relating to Nordic mythology.

References

External links

Kristïn Ragna Gunnarsdóttir's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kristín Ragna 1968 births Living people Writers from Reykjavík 21st-century Icelandic writers 21st-century Icelandic women writers Icelandic children's writers Icelandic children's book illustrators Women children's book illustrators University of Iceland alumni 21st-century Icelandic illustrators