Arnaldur Indriðason, the author of the popular Detective Erlendur series, has many awards and nominations under his belt, so it’s no wonder he has been Iceland’s most popular author for decades. Recipient of The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Gold Dagger award in 2005 for Silence of the Grave, he also has the rare distinction of having won the Nordic Crime Novel’s Award, The Glass Key, two years in a row. In addition, Arnaldur has received The Order of the Falcon, the highest order of the Republic of Iceland, for his contribution to Icelandic literature.

Before he began writing, Arnaldur worked for many years as a journalist and critic with his novels having since sold over 20 million copies worldwide in 45 languages. This popularity is highlighted by, in 2004, Arnaldur’s books being ranked seven of the ten most popular loans from the Reykjavík City Library.

The Coventry born Lee Child, a winner of The Crime Writer’s Association prestigious Diamond Dagger award in 2013, is best known for his thriller novels featuring the iconic Jack Reacher, a former military police officer known for his sharp instincts, formidable skills and unwavering sense of justice. Since the introduction of Jack Reacher in Killing Floor, Lee has seen his books sell over 200 million copies worldwide, been translated into over 50 languages and inspired successful film and television adaptations.

Lee wasn’t always a full time novelist and before Jack Reacher came alone he had an 18 year career at Granada Television in Manchester, an experience that helped shape his fast-paced, cinematic storytelling style. A corporate restructuring led to Lee being fired and when some would have seen a crisis, he saw an opportunity and after purchasing six dollars worth of paper and pencils, Lee sat down to write a book.

With numerous literary awards under his belt and a devoted international readership, Lee’s work is widely praised for its gripping plots and memorable characters, establishing him as one of the most influential voices in modern crime and suspense fiction.

Sofi Oksanen is a Finnish-Estonian novelist, librettist and playwright. One of the most awarded literary authors in Scandinavia, Sofi is an icon in her field with her work being translated into 46 languages and sold more than two million copies worldwide.

Named a “literary phenomenon” by The Times, and with her breakthrough novel, Purge, she has proven time and again to be a mistress of human drama, incorporating historical and contemporary issues that move the reader. Her most recent work Same River, Twice: Putin’s War on Women, is a literary essay on colonialism and oppression, women, and war.

Riley Sager is a New York Times bestselling author of ten novels and “a master of twists” as quoted by The New York Times Book Review. Riley’s most recent works include With a Vengeance, Middle of the Night and The Only One Left as well as The Unknown that was released on 4th August 2026.

Riley has seen his work published in 40 countries with more than 5 million copies sold worldwide. A former journalist and editor, Riley’s work frequently sets the scene using isolated settings to heighten tension and with his New York Times bestselling status in 2018, he has seen consistent commercial success since.

Tobias Santelmann, a German-born Norwegian actor, has progressed from supporting roles in film and TV in his native Norway to being one of the leading actors in Scandinavia today. Born in Freiburg, Germany, he moved to Norway with his family as a child and later trained as an actor at the renowned Oslo National Academy of Dramatic Arts. Tobias then went on to join the ensemble at The Norwegian Theater in Oslo, performing classical and modern drama until 2012, whilst simultaneously taking on roles in film and TV.

One of his best-known roles was as Norwegian explorer Knut Haugland in the Academy Award-nominated Kon-Tiki in 2012. His notable performance led to further significant roles in big Norwegian films including The Congo Murders, which he was awarded both an Amanda Award and a Kanon Award for ‘Best Male Actor in a Leading Role’, as well as his English language debut in Hercules, playing the villainous warlord Rhesus opposite Dwayne Johnson’s mythical hero.

Other noteworthy international appearances include a starring role as Young Ragnar in The Last Kingdom and supporting roles in Homeland, Marcella and Darkness: Those Who Kill, among others. Some of Tobias’ most recent work also include the role of Henrik Kranz in the Norwegian hit TV show EXIT, and the lead role Harry Hole in the much anticipated Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole, which premiered on Netflix in 2026 to rave reviews.

Tinie Tempah, born Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu, is a multi-award-winning British musician, broadcaster, and entrepreneur whose cultural impact spans music, fashion, and the arts. Emerging as one of the most prominent voices in UK grime and hip-hop, he achieved breakout success with his double-platinum debut album Disc-Overy (2010), which generated generation-defining hits like Pass Out and Written in the Stars and earned him two Brit Awards.

Beyond his chart-topping music career, Tinie has established himself as a dynamic storyteller and cultural curator. He has hosted compelling television documentaries exploring art, architecture, and design, and frequently lends his voice to conversations surrounding British identity, creativity, and entrepreneurship. At this year’s festival, he joins us to discuss his multidisciplinary career, the intersection of music and the written word, and his ongoing work as an author and creative trailblazer.

Steve Mosby AKA Alex North, found critical acclaim with his first novel The Whisper Man as a Sunday Times, New York Times and international bestseller. Published in 2019, it has already been translated into over 30 languages. With the recent release of The Whisper Man on Netflix starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, and Adam Scott, Alex’s work continues to reach new audiences.

Before writing as Alex North he published ten crime novels as Steve Mosby, winning the Crime Writers’ Association Dagger in the Library in 2012, an award which recognises an author’s body of work and popularity with library users.

A former Philosophy student at the University of Leeds, Steve later worked in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy before becoming a full-time writer.

Makoto Yukimura is an acclaimed Japanese manga artist best known as the creator of the epic historical fiction series Vinland Saga and the hard science fiction masterpiece Planetes. Born in Yokohama in 1976, his work often focuses on historical settings, themes of violence and personal growth.

Renowned for his meticulously researched, character-driven stories with detailed artwork and clear storytelling, Makoto has received critical acclaim and several awards for his work. This has contributed to his reputation as an influential creator in modern manga and he continues to produce work that reaches a wide international audience.

Lucy Foley is a No. 1 Sunday Times, Irish Times and New York Times bestselling author. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages and her contemporary murder mystery thrillers have sold over five million copies worldwide.

With a background in publishing, she began her writing career with historical fiction but it was her breakout thriller, The Hunting Party (2018) that became an instant bestseller, establishing her signature style of atmospheric settings, shifting perspectives and tightly controlled suspense. This was followed by The Guest List (2020) a Reese’s Book Club selection, The Paris Apartment (2022) and The Midnight Feast (2024) which all achieved phenomenal success, cementing her reputation as one of the leading voices in contemporary crime fiction.

A lifelong Agatha Christie fan, Lucy was one of 12 writers to contribute to Marple (2022), a collection of short stories featuring the legendary detective. Continuing with the Marple theme, Lucy will bring her own fully authorised new Miss Marple mystery to life when Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel is published in September 2026.

Chris Chibnall is a BAFTA, Royal Television Society and Peabody award-winning screenwriter, producer and playwright. He is the creator of the internationally acclaimed Broadchurch, and was showrunner for the BBC’s Doctor Who from 2018 to 2022, casting Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor and winning multiple awards domestically and internationally.

Chris is also the recipient of the prestigious FIPA Prix D’Honneur, and honorary doctorates from Edge Hill University and Sheffield Hallam University. Chris’ latest work, the Netflix miniseries Seven Dials that premiered in January 2026, is based on Agatha Christie’s 1929 novel and has really got us excited at Iceland Noir.

Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir is one of Iceland’s most celebrated contemporary authors. Celebrated for her dark, incisive humor and delicate exploration of human fragility, her diverse body of work spans nine novels, poetry, and award-winning plays.

Her fiction has achieved widespread international acclaim and has been translated into over 30 languages. Among her most notable achievements, her novel Hotel Silence won both the Icelandic Literary Prize and the prestigious Nordic Council Literature Prize. Her global success continued with Miss Iceland, which earned the French Prix Médicis étranger. She frequently weaves themes of language, nature, and art into her storytelling. She currently lives and works in Reykjavík.

Johan Theorin is an acclaimed Swedish journalist and suspense novelist. Born in Gothenburg, he spent his childhood summers on the Baltic island of Öland, where his mother’s family has lived for generations. Deeply influenced by the island’s raw, seasonal landscapes and rich oral tradition of folklore and supernatural tales, Öland became the atmospheric backdrop for his award-winning Öland series.

His haunting, slow-burning debut, Echoes from the Dead, achieved massive international success and was adapted into a feature film. Known for masterfully weaving local history, folklore, and psychological tension, Johan has received prestigious literary honors, including the CWA Dagger, the Glass Key Award, and accolades from the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy. He is widely recognized as one of Scandinavia’s most distinctive voices in modern mystery fiction.

James Prichard is the Chairman and CEO of Agatha Christie Limited (ACL) and Agatha’s great grandson.

ACL has managed the literary and media rights to Agatha Christie’s work around the world since 1955. With collaborations from the very best talents in film, television, publishing, stage and digital platforms, ACL ensures she continues to reach new audiences in innovative ways to the highest of standards.

James oversees all divisions of the company, which includes a growing film presence. As Executive Producer on A Haunting in Venice, Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express, James has worked with some industry greats. All three were produced by 20th Century Studios and directed by Academy Award winner Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as Poirot.

Executive Producer on a recent Netflix adaptation, The Seven Dials Mystery, James has also led a new vision for Agatha Christie’s works in theatre, with a critically acclaimed immersive production of Witness for the Prosecution at County Hall on London’s South Bank.

Ragnar Helgi Ólafsson studied philosophy at the University of Iceland and later fine arts at the Ecole Supérieure d’art d’Aix en Provence. He now works as a poet and writer and a visual artist often producing large scale installations, dealing with themes including the connections between oneself and others, poetry, time and memory. He has widely exhibited his works in museums and galleries such as MoMA PS1-Colony (New York), TBA21 Augarten (Vienna), KIASMA (Helsinki), Dimensions Variable (Miami) and The National Gallery of Iceland (Reykjavik). In 2015 he received the Tómas Guðmundsson Literary Prize for Poetry and in December 2017 was nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize for his book A practical guide to forgetfullness.

Ragnar Helgi runs the publishing house Tunglið forlag, which publishes between 6 and 8 works of fiction and poetry each year. He is also one of the editors of Ljóðbréf – A journal of contemporary poetry.

Tove Alsterdal is one of Sweden’s most acclaimed suspense writers. Prior to making her literary debut in 2009, Tove was a respected Swedish journalist and script writer having written for theatre as well as paper media, television, radio and film.

Known for combining thrilling suspense with powerful explorations of social and historical issues, she has seen her work published into more than 25 languages. Following a number of stand-alone crime novels, many of which explore actual historical events, Tove launched her first series, the High Coast Series, in 2020. She is also the recipient of some prestigious awards with the first book in this series, We Know You Remember, being awarded Best Swedish Crime Novel of the year and the Glass Key award for Best Nordic Crime Novel.

Tove is also one of the founders of Ådalen Literary Festival in the north of Sweden, a genre-crossing national and international literary festival set in the landscape of The High Coast series.

Kim Stanley Robinson is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest living science-fiction writers, as penned by The New Yorker. Some of Kim’s most recent books are The Ministry for the Future and The High Sierra: A Love Story. He has seen his work translated into 25 languages and has received numerous awards.

Kim participated in the Antarctic Artists and Writers Program in 1995, courtesy of the US National Science Foundation, which inspired his novel Antarctica and he returned in 2016 with their Antarctic Media Program. Also in 2016, Kim received the Robert A. Heinlein Award, which is bestowed for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space. Adding to that honour, again in 2016, asteroid 72432 was named ‘Kimrobinson’.

Kim has also been asked to speak at science and climate conferences including COP26 in 2021, the UN’s Summit of the Future in 2024, and at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

Hattie Williams is an East London based writer, friend and former producer of the Iceland Noir Literary Festival. She left education in her teens to pursue a career as a musician, has toured Europe extensively, made three studio albums, and worked as a composer. In her mid-twenties she found herself working in publishing, quite by accident, and an admin temping job turned into a twelve-year career where she worked with some of the biggest authors in the world. Her debut novel, Bitter Sweet, was published in 2025 and has been translated into 13 languages. Light Years is her second novel and will be published worldwide in April 2027.

Dr. Mark Aldridge is an author, speaker and historian, specialising in the work of Agatha Christie. He has published three books on Christie, with the most recent, Agatha Christie’s Marple: Expert on Wickedness (2024), winning Crimefest’s H.R.F. Keating Award for best critical or biographical work. He is also the co-producer and co-presenter of the podcast The Swinging Christies and Associate Professor of Screen Histories at Southampton Solent University. 

Dr. John Curran is a lifelong fan of Golden Age detective fiction and one of Ireland’s foremost experts on classic crime. For many years he edited the official Agatha Christie Newsletter and helped to establish the Agatha Christie Archive. He was consultant to the National Trust during the restoration of Greenway House and wrote his doctoral thesis on the Golden Age of Detective Fiction at Trinity College, Dublin. His two volumes about Agatha Christie’s notebooks won three major US mystery awards (the Agatha, Anthony and Macavity), and his history of Collins’ Crime Club, The Hooded Gunman, was nominated for an Edgar and won the 2019 H.R.F. Keating Award for best critical book related to crime fiction. He set up the annual Bodies from the Library conference at the British Library and is in demand as a speaker and lecturer on Agatha Christie from his home in Dublin.

Kelly Mullen, is an author, producer and marketing executive. She took online writing courses during the pandemic which reignited her childhood passion for writing, and she has never looked back. Her debut novel, This Is Not a Game, was listed as one of Waterstones’ Best Crime & Thrillers of 2025 and was called “Fabulous, over-the-top fun” by The Guardian.

As an executive producer, Kelly’s credits include the Academy Award-nominated movie Trumbo starring Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren and the AppleTV+ documentary Dads, which she produced with Ron Howard. In addition, Kelly’s creative work for brands has won over 50 awards, including Cannes Lions and Clios.

Originally from Iowa, Kelly now lives in London with her husband and their rescue cats and is a passionate Agatha Christie fan.

Hildur Knútsdóttir was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. She writes fiction for both adults and teenagers, as well as plays, screenplays and short fiction. Hildur is known for her evocative fantastical fiction and spine-chilling horror. Her horror novella The Night Guest was chosen one of the best thrillers of 2024 by The New York Times. Her work has received various nominations and awards, including The Icelandic Women’s Literary Prize, The Icelandic Literature Prize, The Reykjavík Children’s Literature Prize for best original work and The Icelandic Bookseller’s Prize.

Johana Gustawsson is an award-winning French crime writer celebrated for her dark, intricately plotted psychological thrillers. Born in Marseille, she earned a degree in Political Science and worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press before turning her focus to fiction.

Johana gained international acclaim with her bestselling Roy & Castells series comprising of Block 46, Keeper, and Blood Song. Her novels are widely known for seamlessly weaving historical atrocities with contemporary true-crime elements to create deeply atmospheric narratives.

Her standalone gothic thriller, The Bleeding, and her tense mystery Scars of Silence further established her reputation as a leading voice in European noir. Translated into over 20 languages, Johana currently lives in Sweden, where she continues to craft chilling fiction.

Íris Ösp Ingjaldsdóttir is an Icelandic writer of stand-alone psychological thrillers. Her debut novel, the highly acclaimed Röskun (Disturbed), a psychological thriller with horror elements, was published in 2019 and adapted into a major Icelandic film in 2026. Her second novel, Bylur (Blizzard), was published in 2025, and her third is scheduled for publication next spring. Íris is a lawyer and worked as such for many years.

Katrín Jakobsdóttir was the Prime Minster of Iceland from 2017 to 2024. Katrín was a member of the Alþingi (the Icelandic Parliament) joining in 2007, but before that she worked in publishing and education. She served as the minister for education, research and culture from 2009 to 2013 and lives with her husband and three sons in Reykjavík.

Hailing from a family of prominent Icelandic poets and academics, she wrote her Master’s dissertation on Icelandic crime writing. She is a long-term friend of Iceland Noir co-founder Ragnar Jónasson, first working together nearly ten years ago as part of the jury for an award for best crime fiction in translation in Iceland.

Matt Newbury, is the Creative Director of the Agatha Christie Festival, which takes place in and around the author’s birthplace of Torquay in Devon each September. He is also the co-author of the popular Wild Swimming Walks series of guidebooks and the author of the forthcoming Finding Agatha: Adventures in the footsteps of the Queen of Crime.

Wendy Walker is the author of the psychological suspense novels All Is Not Forgotten, Emma In the Night, The Night Before, Don’t Look For Me, What Remains, American Girl, Blade, Ten Years Gone and the Audible Original audio plays, Mad Love and The Room Next Door. Her novels have been translated into 23 languages, topped bestseller lists both nationally and abroad, and have been optioned for both television and film.

Wendy holds degrees from Brown University and Georgetown Law School. Prior to her writing career, Wendy trained for competitive figure skating, worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs, and practiced both corporate and family law. She resides in Connecticut where she raised her three sons.

Liz Nugent is a best-selling Irish crime writer and first began to write for broadcast in 2003. Up to 2013 she was a Story Associate on the popular Irish television soap opera Fair City, and had several pieces accepted for Sunday Miscellany, a radio series specialising in nostalgic autobiographical writing.

Liz’s first novel, Unravelling Oliver (2014), was published to critical acclaim and cemented her as the award-winning psychological suspense author we know today. Following her debut novel, Liz went on to write Lying in Wait (2016), Skin Deep (2018), Our Little Cruelties (2020), Strange Sally Diamond (2023), and The Truth About Ruby Cooper (2026).

All six novels topped the Irish bestseller list whilst Liz also received multiple awards, including Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards for Unravelling Oliver and the Irish Tatler Woman of the Year award in Literature in October 2017. Furthermore, Liz was also awarded Writer of the Year at the Goss.ie Women of the Year awards in 2023.

Liz has also seen her work translated into over 30 languages across 42 territories with some of her books having been optioned for screen adaptations.

David Brawn joined HarperCollins 40 years ago and has been Publisher of Estates since 1995, managing legacy authors including Agatha Christie, J.R.R. Tolkien, Alistair MacLean and Desmond Bagley. In 2015 he relaunched the Collins Crime Club imprint to bring classic books back into print, as well as new continuations, anthologies and award-winning non-fiction.

His publishing tenure had coincided with a major re-evaluation of Agatha Christie’s work and the Golden Age, with major film and television activity and the extension of the Poirot and Marple universes with new stories from Sophie Hannah, Lucy Foley and the world of the Mr Men.

Brynja Hjálmsdóttir is a poet and author from Iceland. She has received multiple awards and nominations for her work, and has been described by critics as “one of Iceland’s finest young writers”. Her work, composed of surrealist imagery and rhythmic language, addresses diverse subjects and often draws from the absurd and grotesque.

Brynja was the 2022 recipient of the Ljóðstafur Jóns úr Vör poetry prize, and of the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Encouragement Award. Her first book, Okfruman, came out in 2019 and was awarded Poetry Book of the Year by The Icelandic Booksellers’ Choice Awards, as well as being nominated for The Icelandic Women’s Literary Award (Fjöruverðlaunin). Her second book of poetry, Kona lítur við (2021) came out in the USA in 2024. Brynja’s first novel Friðsemd, came out in November 2024 and her forthcoming novel, Undir fögru skinni, is a ghost story set in modern day Iceland.

Anna Rún Frímannsdóttir was born and raised in Reykjavík, Iceland. She holds degrees in Icelandic and Media Studies and works as a journalist for the Culture Desk at Morgunblaðið, Iceland’s leading daily newspaper. Alongside her journalism, Anna Rún writes crime fiction. Her debut novel Dauðaþögn, published in 2024, became a bestseller in Iceland and was nominated for the Storytel Awards in 2026. Her second novel Eftirför, published in 2025, went straight to the top of the Icelandic bestseller lists, becoming the country’s best-selling book in July, and was nominated for the Icelandic Crime Novel Award, Blóðdropinn. She is currently working on her third novel, a standalone sequel featuring the same central characters.

Anna Margrét Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic author. Her debut novel Hringferðin, was published in 2021 and received such acclaim that it sparked the creation of a bestselling crime series featuring the detective duo introduced in the book. The series now spans four parts, including Örvænting (2023), Öskrið (2024), and Símon segir (2025).
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In addition to crime fiction, Anna Margrét has written the Storytel Award-nominated children’s book Dularfulli steinninn í garðinum (2023), along with short stories, a screenplay, and a short play.
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Anna Margrét is an International Relations graduate. Alongside writing, she works for the Reykjavík Capital District Fire and Rescue Service, a job that greatly inspires her creative side.

Jón Atli Jónasson is considered one of the foremost Icelandic playwrights. His plays have been performed in London, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Athens. He has written several scripts for film, most notably The Deep, based on his own play. It was shortlisted at the Academy Awards for best foreign feature in 2015.

Jón Atli has also written three novels, a short story compilation and a novella. His serialised radio drama based on the Guðmundur and Geirfinnur case (Iceland’s most notorious criminal case) won third prize at Prix Europa in 2017. His latest work is the crime novel, Breathless, published by Storytel Iceland. He also has various projects in different stages of development including Warner Brothers TV in Germany and Turbine Studios in the UK.

Kamilla Einarsdóttir, born and raised in Reykjavík, is the author of two novels and was nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize in 2021. Her debut novel was adapted for the stage by the National Theatre of Iceland, marking her as a distinctive voice in Icelandic literature. Currently a librarian, Kamilla’s career has been as eclectic as it is intriguing, including stints at a strip club and the Post Office. Though she has yet to publish a crime novel, Kamilla is an aspiring criminal, with a particular interest in light sedition, espionage, and other forms of playful treason.

Sigríður Pétursdóttir was born in Húsavík. After graduating from the textile department of the Iceland University of Education in 1985 she worked as a teacher and in radio until her move to Sweden to study film and storytelling in 1996.

Sigríður has decades of experience as a broadcaster and critic, having worked primarily for RÚV (the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service), where she hosted cultural programs both on radio and television. Furthermore, Sigríður has delivered numerous lectures on film, served on international panels, written for newspapers and magazines, and was the vice-chair of the Icelandic Film Council.

Þórdís Gísladóttir is an Icelandic children’s book author and novelist, poet and translator of well-known Swedish authors. She is educated in Nordic studies from the University of Iceland and Uppsala.

Þórdís debuted in 2010 with the poetry collection Leyndarmál annarra and has also appeared with the lyric collections Velúr (2014) and Óvissustig (2016). She is known for the children’s books about Randalín og Mundi (2012, 2013, 2015) and Doddi (2016, 2017).

She has worked as a literary critic, taught and lectured at schools in Iceland and abroad, written articles in Icelandic and foreign magazines, made broadcasts and delivered canons at RÚV, worked as web editor for the Nordic Council and the Icelandic magazine Börn og menning.

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardottir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright and screenwriter, Lilja has written eleven crime novels, many of which have been translated into multiple languages and hitting bestseller lists worldwide.

Lilja has won The Icelandic Performing Arts Award for ‘Best Play of the Year’, The Icelandic Crime Fiction Awards twice, been longlisted for the CWA International Dagger, shortlisted for the prestigious Glass Key Award twice and had a Guardian Book of the Year. The film rights for the Reykjavík Noir trilogy (Snare, Trap and Cage) have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. She lives in Reykjavík, Iceland, with her partner but also spends considerable time in Scotland.

Bergur Ebbi was born in 1981is a poet and essayist, also widely known in his home country as a stand-up comedian and social commentator.

Recurring themes in Bergur Ebbi’s work are technology, identity, and the search for human context in an ever-changing world.

“Bergur Ebbi is the new type of writer that plays with moods drawing culture, politics, morals and the mundane in to one mix; for a better perspective of what is happening in the world.“ Jón Gnarr (on Room Temperature)

Áslaug Kristjánsdóttir spent more than a decade as a sexologist and sex therapist before turning to fiction. Her debut novel puts a relational therapist at its centre. Gerðu eins og ég segi (Do as I Say) is a domestic noir about power, submission, and a marriage that becomes a battlefield when the line between love, lust and control keeps slipping. Her bestselling Lífið er kynlíf (Lifetime of Sex), a sexologist’s guide to long-term relationships, came out in 2023.

She lives in Reykjavík, still lectures at three Icelandic universities and appears regularly in the Icelandic media as an expert on sex and relationships.

Kevin Wignall is a British writer, born in Brussels in 1967. He spent many years as an army child in different parts of Europe, and went on to study politics and international relations at Lancaster University.

He’s currently based in the west of England, though he travels a great deal. His novels and short stories have inspired film-makers, musicians and other artists, topped bestseller lists and been shortlisted for numerous awards. He’s also now moved into creating art where he’s developing a substantial following – understandably, one of the main themes that interests him is the crossover between literary and visual culture.

Gunni Helga is a highly celebrated Icelandic actor, director, and children’s book author. After graduating as an actor in 1991, he became a household name in Iceland. He co-hosted the beloved children’s TV show Stundin okkar and appeared in international films including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Since 2011, he has been one of Iceland’s best-selling children’s authors, famous for his Great Football Saga and the Stella book series. His popular book My Bonkers Mum! won the prestigious Icelandic Literary Award. Known for his humorous and engaging storytelling, he was also nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2022. Today, he remains a major figure in Icelandic cultural life.

Halla Oddný Magnúsdóttir is an Icelandic writer, broadcaster, musician and arts adviser. She has authored and presented numerous programmes for television and radio and presents the Iceland Symphony Orchestra’s televised concerts on Iceland’s national broadcasting service, RÚV. She regularly moderates literary conversations and interviews authors.

Halla has written extensively about classical music, including programme notes for Deutsche Grammophon, the Icelandic Opera and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, where she has also served as artistic adviser. As a curator, she has worked on festivals including Rás 1 Music Festival and Reykjavík Midsummer Music. A trained pianist, she has appeared as a collaborative artist in Deutsche Grammophon recordings and in concert, most recently in programmes celebrating the centenary of composer György Kurtág at Müpa Budapest and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.