Birnir Sigurðarson, known simply as Birnir (1996), is an Icelandic singer, rapper and songwriter. Growing up in Kópavogur, he rose to prominence in 2017 through his participation as a guest artist on Joey Christ’s hit ‘Joey Cypher’, which was the 6th best-selling single in Iceland during 2017, and triumphed at the Icelandic Music Awards, in the Song of the Year – rap/hip hop category. 

Bragi Ólafsson, born in Reykjavik in 1962, is an Icelandic writer of novels, short stories, plays and poetry. His novels are undoubtedly among the most original and remarkable Icelandic stories of recent years and he has also received critical acclaim for his plays, short stories and poetry. His subtle humor and ability to depict the extraordinary in ordinary life, often while painting a tragi-comic picture, make his work thrilling in a most unconventional way.

Bríet Ísis Elfar was born in Reykjavik 22 March 1999, known mononymously as Bríet, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who meticulously crafts every aspect of her work. She directs her own music videos, designs her costumes, and serves as the creative force behind the art direction of her projects, ensuring that her artistic vision is fully realized in every detail. Bríet studied at Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð.

Brynja Hjálmsdóttir was born in 1992. Okfruman (The Zygote), her first book of poetry, was published in 2019. The piece received excellent critical response, was nominated for The Icelandic Women’s Literary Award (Fjöruverðlaunin) and was awarded Poetry Book of the Year by The Icelandic Bookseller’s Choice Awards. For her next poetry book, Kona lítur við (A Woman Looks Over Her Shoulder), Brynja received a nomination for the Maístjarnan Poetry Prize.

Elísabet Kristín Jökulsdóttir (b.1958) has received several awards and recognition for her work. Her first poetry collection, Dans í lokuðu herbergi (Dance in a Closed Room) was published in 1989, and she has since released further poetry collections as well as novels for children and adults, short stories, and plays, and produced dance works and performances.

Gyrðir Elíasson (b. 1961) won the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2011 for his short story collection Milli trjánna (Among the Trees) „for stylistically outstanding literary art which depicts inner and outer threats in dialogue with world literature.” Elíasson made his debut in 1983. Throughout his literary career he has published a great number of works of short prose, lyric poetry and seven novels.

Hannes Pétursson was born in Sauðárkrókur in the north of Iceland on the 14th of December, 1931. He graduated from college in Reykjavík in 1952, and received his Cand Mag in Icelandic and Icelandic Literature from the University of Iceland in 1959. He also studied Germanics at the Universities of Cologne and Heidelberg from 1952-1954. Hannes held posts at publishing companies from 1959-1976, where he edited local history books about the region of Skagafjörður.

Linda Vilhjálmsdóttir was born on June 1, 1958, in Reykjavík and grew up in Seltjarnarnes. She trained as a nursing assistant and worked in that field for many years alongside her writing. Linda’s poems have appeared in newspapers, magazines, and anthologies since 1982. Her first poetry collection, Bláþráður (Blue Thread), was published in 1990. All nine of her poetry book were featured in a collection published in 2024

Magnús Sigurðsson (1984) is a poet and translator. Born in a small fishing village in Iceland’s remote Westfjords, in 2019 he received his PhD for a dissertation on Emily Dickinson’s reception in Icelandic literature. His debut was a translation of Ezra Pound’s The Pisan Cantos, published by the University of Iceland Press in 2007. In 2008, Sigurðsson was awarded the Tómas Guðmundsson Prize for his first book of poems.

Óskar Árni Óskarsson was born in Reykjavík in 1950. Óskar Árni has long been engaged in writing poetry and translations. He published his first poetry collection, Handklæði í gluggakistunni (A Towel on the Windowsill), in 1986. Alongside his writing, he has worked as a librarian at the National and University Library of Iceland. He has published a number of poetry and/or short-prose collections, as well as translating poetry by a number of foreign poets.

Sigurbjörg Þrastardóttir was born on August 27, 1973, in Akranes, Iceland. She completed a BA in Comparative Literature from the University of Iceland in 1997 and a diploma in Applied Media Studies in 1998. For many years, she worked as a journalist at the newspaper Morgunblaðið. Sigurbjörg’s first book, the poetry collection Blálogaland (Land of Blue Flames), was published in 1999.

Vigdís Grímsdóttir was born in Reykjavík on August 15, 1953. She graduated from the Icelandic College of Education (Kennaraskóli Íslands) in 1973, received a BA in Icelandic and Library Science from the University of Iceland in 1978, and completed a degree in education and pedagogy from the Iceland University of Education in 1982. She also pursued candidate-level studies in Icelandic literature at the University of Iceland from 1984 to 1985.

Þórarinn Eldjárn was born in Reykjavík on August 22 1949. He studied literature and philosophy at the University of Lund in Sweden between 1969 and 1972, Icelandic at the University of Iceland 1972-1973, and completed a phil.cand. degree in literature at the University of Lund in 1975. Þórarinn lived in Stockholm from 1975 to 1979 and spent a year in Canterbury in 1988-1989.